FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood used a 16-5 run late in the game to surge in front for good, and Gardner-Webb dropped a critical 79-73 decision on the road Saturday in Big South men's basketball action.
Gardner-Webb (7-9, 2-1 Big South) saw its four-game win streak snapped, and lost to the Lancers (4-12, 1-2 Big South) for the first time since November 18, 2008.
The Runnin' Bulldogs led by as many as nine points in the first half after a slow start from the field, but had to rally for a 36-35 lead at the break after Longwood began to make a push.
The Lancers made their first four shots out of the locker room to take the lead early in the second half, and played with a high energy the rest of the way.
Gardner-Webb was able to keep pace for most of the half, responding with an 8-0 run to go up 49-44 by the first media timeout (15:14). Longwood came out firing out of that stoppage, using an 8-2 run to retake lead at the 11:33 mark – forcing a Gardner-Webb timeout.
Gardner-Webb pushed back in front 57-56 momentarily, but the Lancers used the three ball to spark a 16-5 run to effectively put the game away – leading 72-62 with 4:45 left.
The Runnin' Bulldogs used a 10-1 spurt to get within one, 73-72, with 1:27 left – but Longwood was able to make enough free throws down the stretch to hold the lead.
Liam O'Reilly made two free throws to cut the lead to 72-70 with 1:47 remaining. After Longwood's JaShaun Smith made one of two free throws on the other end, O'Reilly went back to the line with 1:27 left to play. The Austin, Texas, made both to trim the lead to one point.
Longwood ran the clock down to an even minute, and a foul was whistled on an Isaiah Walton three-point attempt from the right wing. The Lancers' top scorer missed the first, but made the next two to put his squad up by a full possession.
Walton then forced a turnover on the other end with 49.7 seconds left, poking away an errant pass in the lane. He was fouled with 37.5 seconds left and made both free throws to give Longwood a 77-72 lead.
Gardner-Webb could not connect on a flurry of three-point attempts in the closing seconds and Longwood closed out the win at the free throw line.
The Runnin' Bulldogs shot 48.1 percent from the floor overall, including a 51.9 percent effort in the second half, but went cold from deep over the final 20 minutes. The 'Dogs made just 1-of-8 from long range in the second half (12.5 percent), which proved costly.
O'Reilly scored 22 points to lead all scorers, and added 10 rebounds. He was joined in double figures by
DJ Laster (16 points),
David Efianayi (14 points) and
Patrick Zeck (12 points).
The Runnin' Bulldogs were doomed by 18 turnovers (11 in the second half), which led to 22 Longwood points. GWU also had only nine assists on 26 made baskets.
Longwood got 21 points and 13 points from guard B.K. Ashe, who made 3-of-4 from long range in the decisive second half. Walton added 18 points, Spencer Franklin hustled in the post for 11 points and Charles Glover drained a trio of three-pointers to finish with 11.
Longwood shot a strong 49.1 percent for the game, which was sparked by a 54.2 percent effort in the second half (13-of-24). The Lancers made 5-of-9 threes in the second half and finished at 47.1 percent from that range for the game (8-of-17).
The Lancers' bench outscored Gardner-Webb's by a 33-9 margin and the home team controlled most of the game's hustle stats – leading in second-chance points (+3), fast break points (+3) and points off of turnovers (+10).
Gardner-Webb will return to Boiling Springs next week, hosting High Point on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm (Big South Network).
