BOILING SPRINGS --- Dylan Poston (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) poured in a career-high 22 points to lead four Runnin' Bulldogs in double figures, as Gardner-Webb held on for an 81-71 Big South Conference win over Longwood Saturday evening on Senior Night.
With the win and Liberty's loss to Presbyterian, Gardner-Webb (15-14, 10-7 Big South) moves into pole position for the fifth and final first-round bye in next month's Big South Tournament.
The Runnin' Bulldogs shot 43.9 percent from the floor on the night – including a 48.6 percent clip in the first half – while connecting on 13 three-pointers and converting 14 Longwood (8-21, 4-12 Big South) turnovers into 25 points. The Lancers won the battle on the glass by a 46-33 margin and edged Gardner-Webb in the paint, 38-30.
Poston led all scorers with a career-high 22 points, connecting on 7-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the free throw line while knocking down a trio of three-pointers. Isaiah Ivey (Georgetown, Ky.) nearly tallied his first career double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Adonis Burbage (Orlando, Fla.) posted 15 points.
Tyrell Nelson (Charlotte, N.C.) chipped in 10 points and three assists off the bench, as Harold McBride (Bronx, N.Y.) equaled his career-high with 10 dimes.
Lotanna Nwogbo paced the Lancers with a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing a game-high 11 boards while Shaquille Johnson nearly recorded a triple-double with 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Darrion Allen and Khris Lane chipped in 16 and 12 points, respectively.
Gardner-Webb came out firing in the first half, jumping out to a 15-2 lead in the opening six minutes after McBride and Burbage knocked down back-to-back treys. After Longwood answered with a 9-2 spurt to trim the margin to 17-11, Gardner-Webb countered with a 20-5 surge to push the advantage to 37-16 following an Ivey lay-in at the 4:41 mark.
The Runnin' Bulldogs would close the half with 11 of the period's final 20 points to take a 48-25 lead into the intermission.
Longwood's shooters came back to life early in the second half, as the Lancers connected on 10-of-16 to start the period and cut the lead to 62-49 on a Lane jumper with 10:57 to play. Gardner-Webb responded to weather the storm, and push the lead back out to 20 after Poston nailed a trey at the 1:44 mark to cap a 19-12 run.
The Lancers kept fighting in the final 90 seconds, scoring the game's final 10 points to trim the margin to 81-71 on a last-second jumper from Al Burge.
Gardner-Webb returns to court next Saturday, February 27 when the Runnin' Bulldogs travel to Lynchburg, Va. to close out the regular season with a 12:00 pm battle against Liberty on the American Sports Network.
