BOILING SPRINGS – Gardner-Webb (15-11, 9-4) had its six-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday night as Winthrop (18-8, 11-2) overtook the Runnin' Bulldogs inside Paul Porter Arena by a final score of 81-70.
Gardner-Webb jumped out to an early six-point lead before the Eagles tied the game at 11-11 with 13:25 to play in the opening frame. After a series of lead changes over the next two minutes, a Chase Claxton dunk put Winthrop ahead by two at the 10:08 mark, 18-16, and Winthrop never trailed again.
Three Runnin' Bulldogs finished in double figures as
Lance Terry scored a team-high 21,
D'Maurian Williams tallied 15 and
Kareem Reid added 10.
Collectively, GWU shot 43.3-percent (26-of-60) and 31.0-percent (9-of-29) from distance, but the 'Dogs were unable to keep pace with a hot-shooting WU team that connected on 49.0-percent (25-of-51) of its tries from the field and 42.0-percent (12-of-28) of its attempts from 3-point range as five different Eagles finished with double-digit scoring outputs.
Williams also dished out a team-leading five assists while tying with both
Ludovic Dufeal and
Anthony Selden for a team-high in rebounds with six apiece. Williams and Dufeal both finished with three steals, while Selden also finished with nine points, one block and one steal off coming in early off the bench.
Winthrop led by as many as nine in the first half before consecutive buckets from Terry trimmed Gardner-Webb's deficit to five at the break, 37-32. The Eagles then managed to stretch their lead to double digits less than five minutes into the second half, however, increasing the advantage to as many as 13 halfway through the frame.
The Runnin' Bulldogs made a push late as a Williams 3-pointer made it a 72-67 game with 1:11 to play, but Winthrop was able to close with nine free throws in the final 65 seconds to close out its road victory and maintain its position atop the Big South Conference's South Division standings.
GWU outscored WU by a final tally of 32-24 in the paint, but the Eagles were able to hit 12 3s, the second most against the 'Dogs this season.
Gardner-Webb will look to bounce back on the road on Saturday when the Runnin' Bulldogs travel to Clinton, S.C. to face off against Presbyterian. Tipoff against the Blue Hose is slated for 4 p.m.
