BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Playing its first game in a week, Gardner-Webb (2-17, 0-4) men's basketball was upended by visiting Radford (10-9, 3-1) by the final of 89-80 on Wednesday evening inside Paul Porter Arena.
The Runnin' Bulldogs showed no signs of rust after racing out to a 16-5 lead fueled by seven quick points from junior DJ Jefferson. However, a 17-6 scoring run by the Highlanders knotted the score at 22-all before a corner three out of the hand of Del Jones gave Radford its first lead of the contest, 27-25, with eight minutes to play in the opening half.
That advantage ballooned to 33-25 before a pair of makes at the charity stripe by freshman Jamias Ferere and graduate Bo Barber trimmed the deficit to 33-29. The close of the half belonged to the visitors as Radford outscored the Dawgs 12-2 over the final 2:41 while taking a 45-31 lead into halftime.
Sophomore Jacob Hogarth opened the scoring in the second half for Gardner-Webb with a tough layup over a defender but five in a row by the Highlanders pushed the lead to its biggest of the evening, 50-34.
Radford maintained a comfortable advantage before a 6-0 mini run, capped by another close bucket by Hogarth pulled the Runnin' Bulldogs to within 58-48 at the 14:04 mark of the second. Jefferson connected on a pair of free throws to trim the gap to 63-58 but Radford answered the bell while jumping back out to a double-digit lead the majority of the final five minutes, eventually pulling out an 89-80 win.
The Runnin' Bulldogs placed four different players in double figures, including a team-high 21 points from Jefferson. Hogarth provided 18 points and a team-best 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Guards Colin Hawkins and Curtis Williams III chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively.
As a team, Gardner-Webb finished the game with a 50% clip from the field after knocking down 27-of-54 shots, including five makes from distance. The Dawgs also went 21-for-26 at the free throw line.
Gardner-Webb returns to action on Saturday, January 17, playing host to the Blue Hose of Presbyterian College in a Big South contest inside Paul Porter Arena. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.
