COLUMBIA, S.C. – Gardner-Webb gave top-seed Virginia all it could handle for 30 minutes Friday afternoon, but the Cavaliers pulled away with a big second half for a 71-56 win in the first round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
Gardner-Webb (23-12) used the energy of a partisan Runnin' Bulldog crowd early to build a large first half lead, with its 30-16 edge midway through the first 20 minutes the biggest deficit the Cavaliers (30-3) had faced all season.
"I'm just unbelievably proud of our team for really just our entire season. This hurts to lose, but in our second half, we just didn't play particularly well," said GWU head coach
Tim Craft "I thought Virginia had a lot to do with that. I think Virginia's a terrific team, obviously.
"[I'm] just really proud of our group, proud of these guys up here and all the guys in our locker room and what they've done for our school, for our university, for our alumni, our former players, our community. This run that they've been on, that we've been on, has just done so much for a lot of people in our area and that are associated with Gardner-Webb."
The Runnin' Bulldogs took the first lead of the game, and took advantage of a pair of Virginia turnovers to get out in transition for a 6-4 lead by the first media timeout. The Runnin' Bulldogs kept plugging away, and extended its lead to 17-10 by the 11:10 mark, getting a three from
David Efianayi and a layup from
DJ Laster to continue its early surge.
GWU made four field goals in a row during one stretch, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Floaters from
Nate Johnson and
Jaheam Cornwall sparked another mini-rally and the Runnin' Bulldogs pushed in front by double figures, 26-14, with 7:40 to play in the half.
Virginia used its size to begin to chip away, trimming the lead to 30-22 by the four minute media. The Cavaliers crashed the glass to keep several possessions alive – using a 6-0 run to get closer as Gardner-Webb went nearly three minutes without scoring.
Gardner-Webb held onto the lead at halftime, going into the locker room up 36-30. It was the third-straight game Virginia trailed at the half, but the top-seed Cavaliers came out of the locker room on fire – and seized control of the game.
A 10-0 run forced a Gardner-Webb timeout with 15:20 left in the game, after Ty Jerome drained a three from the left wing to give Virginia a 42-38 lead.
Gardner-Webb turned the basketball over five times in the first five minutes of the second half, extending its scoring drought further as the Cavaliers continued to surge further in front.
Efianayi stemmed the tide with a three to trim the lead to 44-41, but Virginia hit the offensive glass on the other end and Mamadi Diakite's follow shot and free throw pushed the margin back to 47-41 on the next possession.
Virginia continued to turn Gardner-Webb over on the other end, and another 8-0 mini-spurt built a 20-3 overall run that put the Cavaliers up 52-41 on De'Andre Hunter's transition three with 11:23 to play in the game.
Another three, this time by Braxton Key with 10:17 left pushed the lead to 55-41 and the second-ranked team in the country pulled away slowly from there.
Gardner-Webb shot a sizzling 53.6 percent in the opening half (15-of-28) to hold its lead, but made only 7-of-22 shots in the closing 20 minutes (31.8 percent). The 'Dogs also got the free throw line just twice each half, knocking down 3-of-4 chances.
Freshman sensation
Jose Perez led the Runnin' Bulldogs with 19 points, knocking down 7-of-10 shots (4-of-6 from three-point range). The Bronx, N.Y., native added three rebounds and three assists.
Efianayi added 12 points and Laster scored 10 – all in the first half – in their Gardner-Webb finale.
Gardner-Webb finished at 44.0 percent for the game overall, with 16 turnovers proving costly in the second half.
Virginia shot 51.9 percent for the game (28-of-54), made 8-of-13 free throws and held a 35-21 edge on the glass to rally for the win.
De'Andre Hunter led the Cavaliers with 23 points, Diakite added 17 and Jerome scored 13.
Gardner-Webb's season is complete. Virginia advances to face No. 9 seed Oklahoma on Sunday in the Round of 32.