BOILING SPRINGS --- Tyrell Nelson (Charlotte, N.C.) posted his fifth double-double with 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds to lead four Gardner-Webb players in double figures, as the Runnin' Bulldogs' last-minute rally fell just short in a 76-75 setback to VMI on Monday evening in Paul Porter Arena.
VMI (4-6) shot 43.8 percent from the floor on the night, including a 48.3 percent clip in the second half, while holding Gardner-Webb (5-8) to a field goal percentage of 40 percent in the contest. The Runnin' Bulldogs edged the Keydets on the glass, 45-40, while shooting just 19-of-35 at the free throw line – including a 13-for-26 effort in the second half.
Nelson led the Runnin' Bulldogs with his fifth double-double of the season, pouring in 14 points to go along with a season-high 15 boards. Isaiah Ivey (Georgetown, Ky.) added 13 points, including 11 in the second half, while Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) chipped in 11 points, four assists and a game-high five steals.
Adonis Burbage (Orlando, Fla.) and Dylan Poston (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) tallied 10 and nine points, respectively, as Harold McBride (Bronx, N.Y.) dished out a game-high five assists.
QJ Peterson led the way for VMI with a game-high 22 points, hitting 7-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the free throw line while pulling down a team-high nine boards. Trey Chapman added 13 points, as Julian Eleby chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds. Phillip Anglade scored 10 points for the Keydets.
The teams battled throughout the early moments of the first half, with neither side gaining more than a three-point advantage until a jumper by David Efianayi (Orlando, Fla.) at the 10:49 mark gave GWU a 16-12 advantage. The Runnin' Bulldogs would stretch the lead further to 33-23 over the next five minutes, opening their largest margin of the game on a Poston trey with 5:28 left in the half.
VMI answered in a big way over the final five minutes of the period, closing the first half with a 17-2 surge to take a 40-35 advantage into the intermission.
Gardner-Webb battled back in the opening moments of the second half, starting the period with a 13-8 run to knot the score at 48-48 with 13:58 to play. The Keydets would quickly answer with a 16-2 surge, pushing the lead back out to double digits at 64-50 following a Peterson slam at the 8:39 mark.
The Runnin' Bulldogs kept fighting over the next eight minutes, pulling to within eight on a Burbage trey before a three-point play by Rideau made it a one possession game, 73-70, with 29 ticks left. With Gardner-Webb forced to foul, Peterson sunk a trio of clutch free throws over the next 11 seconds, putting VMI ahead 76-72 with 18 ticks on the clock.
Peterson would miss the back end of the second set of freebies, allowing Gardner-Webb to push up the floor and cut it to one, 76-75, on a Burbage trey with 11 ticks left. Eleby then missed the front end of the one-and-one moments later, giving Gardner-Webb a chance for the game-winner. McBride got a good look on the dribble drive, pushing through the lane and putting up a shot that drifted wide off the glass to hand VMI the one-point win.
Gardner-Webb returns to the court on Monday, December 28 following the Christmas holiday when the Runnin' Bulldogs host Middle Georgia State College at 7:00 pm in Paul Porter Arena.
