“It feels good,” head coach Tim Craft said. “This team has stayed together and our team leaders have kept everyone focused. The thing about winning is it gives everyone a renewed energy going forward.”
GWU got off to a quick 5-0 start thanks to DQ Nicholas. By the time he scored on a back cut, the home team led, 10-2. Caleb Robinson further electrified the crowd with a fast-break tomahawk dunk as Gardner-Webb expanded its lead to 17-2, Presbyterian did not convert its first field goal until the 13:30 mark of the first half, just before Lucas Steiber hit back-to-back threes to extend the lead to 25-6 at the under-12 media timeout.
Julien Soumaoro connected on consecutive buckets to push the lead to 31-8. Robinson hit a pair of free throws and Nicholas scored on a drive to the basket. The visitors made a push to cut the deficit under 20, but Soumaoro hit a big three to quell the momentum. Nicholas scored on a pair of driving layups as part of a 6-0 GWU run. Soumaoro then beat the halftime buzzer with a circus shot as GWU was doubling up the Blue Hose at the break, 48-24.
Ademide Badmus opened the second half with a nice post move, and a backdoor cut by Robinson made the margin 53-28. Presbyterian made a push to cut the deficit to 56-39 with 10:13 left in the game, but Buddy Simmons came off the bench to hit a big three, pushing the lead back to 20, at 61-41.
Nicholas converted an old-fashioned three-point play, followed by a Soumaoro triple from the top of the key. After Nicholas turned the same trick, the lead was back to the halftime advantage of 24 points. GWU cleared the bench for the final stages of the contest, with more than enough cushion to claim the 76-60 win.
CLAMPING DOWN: GWU put forth one of its best defensive efforts of the season, particularly in the first half, where the Blue Hose was limited to just six made field goals on 31 percent shooting.
“I’m really pleased with the defense,” Craft said. “I went back and watched the film from the Charleston Southern game, and we did not do that bad of a job defending. They just did a good job of attacking what we gave them. Tonight, not only did we defend well, but we were able to create turnovers and convert those into points.”
STAT SHEET STUFFER: Spearheading that defense and putting together an all-around solid game was Caleb Robinson. In just 22 minutes off of the bench, he had 10 points, seven rebounds, six steals and four assists.
“Caleb had a great game,” Craft said. “He was a spark for sure. He was able to start the break for us off of his steals and find someone on a hit-ahead pass for easy baskets. I think four assists is a career-high for him. I was impressed with the way he played today.”
UP NEXT: GWU (6-12, 1-3 Big South) returns to action on Wednesday, traveling to Radford. Presbyterian hosts High Point the same night.
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