RADFORD, Va. – Gardner-Webb defeated Radford on Thursday night with a final score of 61-48 on ESPNU to avenge their loss from earlier in the year. The Highlanders got the first bucket of the second half, but the 'Dogs used a 16-0 scoring run to gain control of the game and hold on for the victory and stay in the race for the Big South regular season crown.
With the decision, Gardner-Webb improves their win streak to six games while snapping Radford's nine-game stretch in front of a home crowd of over 2000. With the win, GWU sits in a tie for third with Longwood at 9-4 and sit one game behind Radford (10-3) and two behind the league-leaders UNC Asheville (11-2) as there are just five games left before the conference tournament.
The 'Dogs got out to a quick 12-4 lead before the Highlanders were able to go on a run of their own and take their lone lead of the night. A pair of
Ludovic Dufeal free throws with five minutes left in the opening half gave GWU the lead back and lead for the remaining 25 minutes of action. At halftime, the score stood at 26-23 with Gardner-Webb leading.
Bryan Antonine scored a layup on the Highlanders' opening possession to cut their deficit to a point. Over the 130 seconds, the Runnin' Bulldogs scored on their next five times down the floor and as they scored 12 unanswered during that time. In total, the run was 16-0 with the score at 42-25. Gardner-Webb never let Radford get back within singles digits the rest of the night en route to the win.
Radford's scoring total was the first time that they have been held under 50 this season as they were held to 32.2% (19-59) from the floor and 3-16 (18.8%) from deep. Antoine had the game-high in points as he finished with 16, but had his night cut short as he fouled out.
Gardner-Webb had one of the best shooting nights of the season as they finished 21-41 (51.2%) for the game and hit on 6-14 (42.9%) from behind the arc. The team struggled at the free throw line as they went 13-27 (48.1%).
The Runnin' Bulldogs finished with a +4 turnover margin and converted that into a 16-8 advantage in points off turnovers. Radford had a big margin on the boards as they pulled down 43-31 off the glass. They had 18 offensive rebounds but were only able to convert those into six second-chance points.
GWU had four players score in double figures with
Anthony Selden leading the team with 14.
Caleb Robinson added 12 with
Julien Soumaoro and
DQ Nicholas each with 11. Lucas Steiber pulled down a career high in rebounds with 10 with Soumaoro tying a career-high with six.
Kareem Reid had a pair of rejections on the night along with Nicholas' three steals to aid in the team's defensive pressure.
The 'Dogs will host their next two games as they look to continue their winning ways in Paul Porter Arena. They will face Campbell on Saturday for Hoopscoming with a tipoff slated for 2:00 p.m. and will look to split the season series after dropping their match in Buies Creek during January. They will follow that with a game on Wednesday night welcoming Winthrop to Boiling Springs for a black out where fans are encouraged to wear black to the game.
