BOILING SPRINGS --- Isaiah Ivey (Georgetown, Ky.) drained a three-pointer from the corner with 2.5 seconds left in overtime to lift Gardner-Webb to a 69-66 Big South Conference win over Presbyterian on Saturday evening, as Harold McBride (Bronx, N.Y.) and Tyrell Nelson (Charlotte, N.C.) paced four Runnin' Bulldogs in double figures – each with a double-double.
With the victory, Gardner-Webb (13-12, 8-5 Big South) pushes its win streak to three games and moves into the fifth and final first-round bye in next month's Big South Tournament. The loss drops Presbyterian to 8-15 overall and 3-9 in Big South play – good for 10th in the league standings.
Gardner-Webb shot 41.4 percent from the floor on the night – including an even 50 percent in the first half – while converting 15-of-21 at the free throw line. The Blue Hose connected on 37.7 percent of their attempts overall, and shot 46.9 percent in the second half. Presbyterian edged Gardner-Webb on the glass, 40-37, as the Runnin' Bulldogs converted 20 PC turnovers into 21 points.
McBride paced four Runnin' Bulldogs in double figures with his first career double-double at Gardner-Webb, converting 8-of-8 at the free throw line and dishing out 10 assists to go along with four boards and three steals. Nelson added his 10th double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Dylan Poston (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) poured in 14 points – including four straight three-pointers in the first half – as Brandon Miller (Orlando, Fla.) posted a trio of career-highs with 11 points, eight assists and four blocks.
DeSean Murray led the way for Presbyterian with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-19 shooting, as the sophomore added team-bests of eight boards and four steals. Markus Terry chipped in 10 points with a 3-for-8 night from the floor while Austin Venable and Ed Drew each added eight points.
Both teams stumbled out of the gate in a bit in the first half, combining for 25 points over the final 12 minutes as Gardner-Webb took a 15-10 lead into the under-eight media. After Miller threw down an easy slam on a nifty dish from McBride, Poston caught fire for four straight threes to propel the Runnin' Bulldogs to a 31-20 lead with 3:21 left in the first half.
Nelson would cap the opening period with a pair of buckets – including a last-second tip-in off his own miss – to give Gardner-Webb a 37-22 advantage at the break.
The Runnin' Bulldogs carried the momentum into the second half, opening the period with a 6-3 spurt to take their largest lead of the night at 43-25 on a pair of McBride free throws with 17:48 to play.
Gardner-Webb held the double-digit advantage for much of the next 12 minutes, claiming a 55-41 lead on a Nelson put-back before McBride up GWU ahead, 61-48, with the second of back-to-back jumpers with 4:46 to play.
Presbyterian would answer with a 13-0 run to close out regulation, holding Gardner-Webb scoreless for the final four and a half minutes of the second half, and sending the game to overtime when Will Adams nailed a three from the corner with four seconds left.
The Blue Hose extended the spurt to 18 straight points with a three-point play by Murray midway through the extra period, opening a 66-61 lead with 2:30 left in overtime. Gardner-Webb answered with less than a minute to go, as McBride pulled up from the top of the key and drained his only three-pointer of the night to cut the margin to 66-64 with 51 seconds to go.
A key foul by Presbyterian sent Poston to the line for the one-and-one 12 seconds later and the senior guard did not waste the chance, converting both ends to knot the score at 66-66 with 39 ticks on the clock.
The Runnin' Bulldogs' defense came up big on the ensuing possession, forcing the tough baseline jumper from Reggie Dillard and giving the Runnin' Bulldogs the last shot of the period with less than 15 seconds left.
McBride quickly pushed the ball up the floor and found Ivey wide open in the corner, as the senior pulled up and buried the trey in front of his bench with 2.5 seconds on the clock to give Gardner-Webb the 69-66 win.
Gardner-Webb returns to the court on Thursday when the Runnin' Bulldogs travel to Buies Creek, N.C. to take on Campbell in a critical Big South clash. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 pm on the Big South Network.
