Postgame Interview with Tim Craft
LAS VEGAS – Sophomore
D'Maurian Williams tied a career high with 21 points, and Gardner-Webb charged back from a nine-point second-half deficit to nearly pull off a season-opening upset.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (0-1) were unable to convert on opportunities down the stretch on Wednesday night as UNLV (1-0) held off held on for a six-point win inside Thomas & Mack Center, 64-58.
In a three-point game 48 seconds remaining, Gardner-Webb junior
Lance Terry stole the ball from UNLV and drew a foul at the rim on the opposite end of the floor, which ultimately resulted in a technical foul on UNLV's Donovan Williams for taunting that resulted in four consecutive free throws for the 'Dogs.
However, standing on the charity stripe with an opportunity to take a one-point lead with for consecutive makes, Terry connected on just one of his four free-throw attempts to bring the 'Dogs to within two, 60-58.
The Runnin' Rebels immediately took advantage of the opening on its next trip down the floor, as Bryce Hamilton avenged an earlier turnover to ultimately re-open a two-possession contest that the 'Dogs would ultimately be unable to overcome in the waning moments as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
"I think overall, we didn't play particularly well. But I thought the good thing was that we stayed together on the road." said Gardner-Webb head coach
Tim Craft. "We continued to battle and fight in the second half when we were down eight, down six, down seven, and then ultimately gave ourselves a chance to take the lead with roughly 50 seconds to play, so those things are great."
D. Williams also ripped down 10 rebounds for the Runnin' Bulldogs to set a second career-high of the night for the Phoenix, Arizona native and reigning Big South Conference All-Freshman selection. The double-double marked the first of his career.
"[D'Maurian] is a great player, and it's really great to see him come alive scoring the ball," reflected Craft. "He's kind of finding his groove here in the last couple of weeks, and that really showed tonight. We are going to need him and we are going to need that from him. He is an All-League player, I think, so I'm excited to see him build his confidence."
Terry finished with 13 points and two steals, graduate
Zion Williams notched eight points and a team-high 11 rebounds in his first game dawning the Red and Black, while
Jordan Sears dished out four assists for the 'Dogs. Junior
Kareem Reid, GWU's most imposing threat down low, was relatively held in check on the night as he finished with six points and two blocks in just under 15 minutes of action.
As both offenses continued to struggle offensively, Gardner-Webb stepped up in a big way on the defensive side of the ball, holding UNLV to 30.3% shooting from the floor and limiting the Runnin' Rebels to just 2-of-25 from 3-point range.
"I thought [the defensive effort] was pretty good," Craft explained. "We got in foul trouble, so we were shuffling
Kareem Reid in and out of there. I think
Ademide Badmus, for a freshman in his first game playing college basketball did some nice things. I did think we did a pretty nice job defensively, other than rebounding. They beat us up on the glass and had 17 offensive rebounds, and Bryce Hamilton was just really, really good down the stretch. We certainly did a good job of making it tough on them and forcing them into some tough shots, and certainly holding them to a low field goal percentage."
Badmus, a freshman from Lynn, Mass., played just over 20 minutes of action in his career debut. A big body and a physical presence in the paint, he manufactured several good looks for the 'Dogs underneath the basket as he rounded out the night with six points, six rebounds and one block.
Like UNLV, Gardner-Webb also did not shoot the ball particularly well, hitting at a 38.8% clip and connecting on just 3-of-20 from distance while turning it over 16 times and finishing minus-6 in points off turnovers. UNLV also managed to get to the line at a much higher rate than the 'Dogs as the home team shot 27 free throws to only 15 for GWU.
"You know, I thought we got some really good shots," continued Craft. "I thought we got some open threes just running our offense.
Lance Terry and
Jordan Sears were a combined 0-9, and those guys are great shooters. They just didn't have their best night, but they continued to battle and help us in different ways. Lance did a good job at getting to the rim some, and Jordan did a good job in terms of four assists and one turnover here on the road. I did think when we didn't turn it over we got good shots both in the paint and from 3, but we just had some we didn't convert on. When you have those kinds of nights, can you still give yourself a chance to beat good teams, and we did that tonight. We just weren't able to finish there in the last minute."
Gardner-Webb will continue its opening-season road trip by heading straight to Fayetteville to face the No. 16 nationally-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 3 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcasted live on SEC Network+.
*More to come...
