Runnin’ Bulldogs can’t keep pace with Tigers as Clemson outguns Gardner-Webb

By Jacob Conley (@gwujake)

CLEMSON, S.C. — Gardner-Webb played well in spurts, particularly late in the first half, but Clemson proved to be too tough as GWU fell Friday, 97-59, in Littlejohn Coliseum.

“Anytime you play a Power 4 school, they are bigger, stronger, faster than us,” GWU head coach Jeremy Luther said. “During my time at GWU, we are 7-106 in these games, so a win was not likely, but I am proud of the way our guys competed.”

Clemson got off to a dominant start in the paint with eight quick points. Jacob Hudson answered with a pair of free throws, but Jestin Porter hit a three and the Tigers led, 13-3, at the first media timeout. Spence Sims broke the field goal drought with a deep three, but GWU had no answer defensively. Porter hit his second triple to push the Clemson lead to 29-10 with 11:07 left in the first half.

Colin Hawkins cut into the deficit with a floater and Hudson canned a pair of free throws, but the home team responded with a quick 7-0 run. By the time Ace Buckner hit a three, Clemson had its largest lead to that point, at 36-14.

Julius Clark hit a driving layup and Sims hit a three as the Runnin' Bulldogs began to settle in the game. After Sims connected on a driving layup, GWU had cut the deficit to 41-25, forcing a Tiger timeout. NaVuan Peterson continued the run with a deep three to beat the shot clock, and DJ Jefferson connected on a reverse layup. As a result, GWU cut its halftime deficit to 45-30.

Clemson opened the second half with a pair of threes, including one from Porter. When RJ Godfrey later completed an old-fashioned three-point play, Clemson had its largest lead, at 59-32, after a 14-2 run.

Peterson stopped the bleeding with a layup and Hudson hit a foul shot. Clark hit a three, but once again, the visitors struggled to get a stop on the defensive end as Chase Thompson hit a three to push the lead to 70-40.

GWU continued to fight, as Jefferson garnered a steal and layup and Jacob Hogarth completed a three-point play. Just as quickly, Nick Davidson reeled off five quick points to push the Clemson lead to 78-47 with 7:25 left. The GWU offense went cold from that point and aside from a Sims Trey late, could not cut into the lead.

GETTING BACK INTO IT: GWU made a run late in the first half to keep the visitors in striking distance.

“I’m so proud of the guys for showing that effort,” Luther said. “I think we played harder for longer stretches in this game than we did in our first one at Minnesota. The score may not reflect it, but that’s something we can build on for sure.”

CLEMSON’S RESPONSE: The Tigers started the second 20 minutes on a 14-4 run and never looked back.

“Gardner-Webb is a good team,” the Tigers’ Nick Davidson said. “We knew they were going to make a run. Coach (Brad Brownell) told us that we were playing the scoreboard instead of playing Clemson basketball. We made adjustments and everything went much better.”

MIDNIGHT CINDERELLA? Gardner-Webb has been known for pulling off major upsets in the past. In fact, the Runnin’ Bulldogs beat Clemson back in 2014, the last time the two teams met.

“I try not to think about that game,” Brownell said. “That’s in the past. I did not even bring it up to our players. That’s all in the past.”

Luther agrees that the age of the upset is over.

“That probably won’t happen ever again,” he said. “Kids like Jose Perez, Buddy Simmons and David Efianayi are not coming to us now. They are being found and bought with NIL money. And it’s not just us. You can see it across the board. Tim (Craft, the former GWU coach now at Western Carolina) got beat by 30-something the other day at Cincinnati. That never would have happened before. Everything is chalk now. It’s just the reality we are living in. I love our guys and I think we can compete at our level, but not on this one, not anymore.”

TALE OF THE TAPE: Davidson led the Tigers with 18 points while Carter Welling notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. For GWU, Jacob Hudson and Spence Sims shared team-high honors with 11 points each.

UP NEXT: GWU will host North Greenville for its home opener on Monday, while Clemson hosts Morehead State Tuesday.