Thursday Night For First Big South Win
RADFORD, Va. – Gardner-Webb put six players in double figures and shot 66.7 percent in the second half to key a 91-71 win over Radford in the Big South Conference opener for both teams.
The win by Gardner-Webb (2-4, 1-0 Big South) was its first as a member of the Big South Conference.
“This was a team win for us, and our kids came out and put together a great effort mentally and physically against a very good Radford team,” said head coach Rick Scruggs. “This is the first game all season we’ve had our entire starting five healthy, and I was worried whether or not we’d be able to click enough to get the win. They played hard, played smart and played together on both ends.
“Road wins are tough, especially in this league. This was a true team effort.”
Gardner-Webb missed 10 of its first 11 shots, and sat at just 3-for-15 from the floor as Radford (2-4, 0-1 Big South) built an early 19-7 lead. But GWU recovered from that point, surging ahead for good on a Takayo Siddle three-pointer with 4:34 to go before intermission that gave the ‘Dogs a 30-27 edge. Just moments later, Gardner-Webb’s Nate Blank swished another three-pointer for a 38-29 lead – capping a 31-10 run for the Bulldogs, and a 21-point swing that took just 11 minutes.
Scruggs’ squad led 38-34 at the half, and built its lead to 48-38 with 16:52 to play in the game on a Jonathan Moore layup. After Radford cut the lead back to nine, 56-47, with 13:10 to go on a pair of Phillip Martin free throws, Gardner-Webb went on a 9-0 run that included treys by Grayson Flittner, Blank and C.J. Hailey to go up, 65-47, with 11:49 left.
Radford would get no closer than 15 points the rest of the way, as Gardner-Webb continued to make shots all angles in building its lead to 21 points with 7:10 left and as large as 23 points in the final three minutes.
Aaron Linn battled through foul trouble to score a team-high 22 points in just 22 minutes for the Runnin’ Bulldogs – who overcame the chilly early shooting effort as a team to shoot 52.2 percent for the game (36-of-69).
Linn led a parade of six men in double digits, as Blank added 14 points, Flittner and Siddle scored 12 apiece and Moore joined Josh Henley with 10 points. Henley added a team-high eight boards off the bench, and was part of a reserve effort that outscored Radford 31-9 in bench points. Hailey (five points) and Matt Maden (four points, four rebounds) each notched career-high totals in points and minutes in the game.
Gardner-Webb’s efficiency on offense was punctuated by 23 assists on 36 buckets and just 10 turnovers, and the ‘Dogs shot a sizzling 61.1 percent (33-of-54) over the game’s final 33 minutes. GWU turned 23 Radford miscues directly into 30 points.
Radford was paced by Kenny Thomas’ 25 points and 6-foot-8 forward Joey Lynch-Flohr’s 20 points (10-of-12 free throws). Art Parakhouski led the Highlanders with 11 boards, as the team shot 43.8 percent for the game (21-of-48).
Gardner-Webb will stay in Virginia for another stiff test on Saturday, traveling to face the Big South’s hottest team – Liberty (5-1) – at 3:00 pm ET Saturday in Lynchburg. The game will be televised live by MASN (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network), with Jim Hunter and Craig Escherick providing the call. GWU will also provide a radio call live on Teamline.
