HIGHLIGHTS
BOILING SPRINGS – Four players finished in double figures as Gardner-Webb notched its third-straight victory on Saturday with a commanding 28-point win over Western Carolina inside Paul Porter Arena, 87-59.
The win improves the Runnin' Bulldogs to 3-3 overall, while the loss drops Western Carolina to 3-4.
Gardner-Webb maintained control from start to finish, outscoring WCU by 14 points in both halves. In total, all but 3:08 of game action was spent with the 'Dogs in the lead.
The Runnin' Bulldogs put together impressive overall performances on both ends of the floor as GWU wrapped up the afternoon shooting 51.6% from the field (32-of-62) and 37.5% from 3-point range (12-of-32) while holding the Catamounts to just 36.0% from the field (18-of-50) and 28.6% from downtown (8-of-28).
Fresh off a career night the last time out, sophomore
D'Maurian Williams rained in six triples and scored a game-high 25 points to lead Gardner-Webb. Williams also tied a career high with four assists to match freshman
Julien Soumaoro (10 points, 4 assists, 2 steals) for a team-high.
Sophomore
Jordan Sears erupted for a season-high 17 points to go along with two assists and two steals, and junior
Kareem Reid -- who entered Saturday as the nation's leader in field goal percentage at 74.4% -- finished 5-of-7 from the field with 19 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and a game-high three steals.
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Zion Williams also filled the box score and nearly secured a double-double with nine points a team-high 10 rebounds.
After taking a 38-24 lead into halftime, the 'Dogs connected on a blistering 60.0% of shots in the second half with seven 3-pointers on 13 attempts, while the defense, boosted by the return of senior
Ludovic Dufeal, poured in 25 points off 17 forced turnovers compared to just six points off nine turnovers for WCU.
Dufeal, who provides a veteran presence that was missed through the first five games of this season, made significant contributions on and off the stat sheet. He tallied four points, five rebounds, three assists and one block in nearly 20 minutes of action off the bench.
Western Carolina began to make a charge early in the final frame, cutting into Gardner-Webb's lead to make it 40-33 with 16:45 to play. However, the Runnin' Bulldogs immediately answered with three conversions from the charity stripe from Soumaoro, followed by back-to-back triples from Williams and sophomore
Anthony Selden (6 points, 2 blocks) as the 'Dogs raced out to a 14-3 run to regain a commanding 19-point advantage.
Consistent execution on both ends then allowed Gardner-Webb to methodically build upon its lead, ultimately extending its edge to 28 points by the sound of the final horn to cap off its second-largest margin of victory this season.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will close out a four-game homestand on Monday, Nov. 29 with a showdown against North Carolina Central. Tipoff inside Paul Porter Arena is slated for 7 p.m.
