BOILING SPRINGS – Gardner-Webb (13-10, 7-3) never once trailed, taking a lead in the first minute and cruising to a fourth-straight victory with a commanding 69-62 win over North Carolina A&T (9-15, 4-6) Saturday afternoon inside Paul Porter Arena.
Zion Williams hit one of his three 3-pointers on the day to put Gardner-Webb ahead 80 seconds in, and GWU never looked back, leading by as many as 13 points before taking a 37-30 advantage into halftime. The Runnin' Bulldogs then grew their lead to 15 early in the second half, and ultimately fended off a late push from the Aggies down the stretch to secure their seventh Big South win of the season and improve on their best start to a Big South season in program history.
Anthony Selden scored a game-high 18 points and posted a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with three steals and one block.
Zion Williams tallied 12 points, eight rebounds and a season-high six assists,
D'Maurian Williams added 12 points and five assists, and Reid finished with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and three blocks for the 'Dogs.
Collectively, Gardner-Webb shot 44.6% (25 of 56) from the field and 47.6% (10 of 21) from distance while holding North Carolina A&T to 39.0% (23 of 59) shooting from the floor and 30.8% from beyond the arc as the Aggies finished as the 10
th opponent in GWU's last 12 game to shoot 40% or below.
After the Runnin' Bulldogs extended their lead to 15 with 15:32 to go, 47-32, North Carolina A&T went on a 10-0 run to cut its deficit to five with 11:43 remaining. GWU countered with an immediate 6-0 run of its own to reclaim a double-digit advantage, and the Aggies were unable to recover as they failed to come any closer than within five for the remainder of the contest.
The 69 points scored by Gardner-Webb are the most since scoring 78 on January 8 in a win over Hampton. The 'Dogs shot it a blistering 71.4% from deep and 51.7% overall in the first half as four players finished in finished in double figures of the seven who found the scoring column.
Looking ahead, Gardner-Webb will put its four-game winning streak on the line when it travels to Buies Creek, N.C. on Wednesday, February 9 to take on Campbell for a midweek Big South showdown. Tipoff against the Camels is slated for 7 p.m.
