BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb men's basketball team is on a roll.

Senior guard Caleb Robinson turned in his second double-double of the season, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds as the Runnin' Bulldogs held off USC Upstate 75-70 on  a HoopsComing Saturday inside Paul Porter Arena.

Robinson's 10^th board, an offensive putback between two Spartan defenders with 23.6 seconds remaining, extended the 'Dawgs lead to 72-69 as they went on the record their fifth- straight conference victory to improve to 10-12 overall and 5-2 in Big South play.

"It was an ugly game with both teams struggling to score," said Gardner-Webb head coach Tim Craft, whose team lead by 12 points on two different occasions in the opening and took a 36-27 lead into the locker room at halftime, "They really got it going in the second and Bailey (Spartan sophomore guard Justin) was good down the stretch. I love wins like this. We were fortunate they didn't shoot it well from the foul line today. These are the kind of games you have to win with some grit. You must find a way to get it done and we did today."  

Senior guard Quest Aldridge also scored in double figures for Gardner-Webb as he scored 14 points and was clutch hitting 4-4 at the free throw line in the second half. The Winston Salem native also picked off a Spartan pass and scored on a breakaway layup with seven seconds remaining to seal the win for the 'Dawgs.

"I had a feeling they were going to go to No.34 (Miguel Ayesa) because he's a really good shooter," said Aldridge. "I anticipated the pass and jumped the passing lane, and they threw it right to me. I then just went down and shot the layup."

In addition to Robinson and Aldridge, Gardner-Webb got solid performances from a quartet of players, including Ademide Badmus (nine points, three rebounds), Julien Soumaoro (eight points, four rebounds and four assists), DQ Nicholas (seven points and eight rebounds) and Isiah Richards (seven points, four boards).  

Gardner-Webb shot 50.9% for the game and 22.2 % (4-18) from behind the three-point line.

For USC Upstate, which falls to 6-14-and 1-7, Bailey scored a team-high 14 points, including 11 in the second half.  Nick Alves followed with 10 points while Trae Broadnax, Jorge Ochoa and Ayesa all added eight points each.  

Upstate, used a 20-13 spurt halfway through the second half to knot the game at 49-49 with 10:44 remaining, The Spartans were able to overtake the 'Dawgs twice, but were only able to hold the lead for a total of 24 seconds as Gardner-Webb kept digging in each time it was challenged.

 The Runnin' Bulldogs outscored the Spartans 46-24 in the paint and held a 41-27 advantage on the glass.

Gardner-Webb converted 15 of 23 (65.2%) shots from the charity stripe while Upstate was 8-23 (34.8%)


 Up Next
Gardner Webb will host defending conference champion Asheville in a 7PM tipoff on Wednesday. The game closes out the first round of conference play for both squads.