UNC Asheville races past Gardner-Webb with late rally in tale of two halves

By Jacob Conley (@gwujake)

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. — Gardner-Webb’s defense turned in one of its best performances of the year. Unfortunately for Jeremy Luther’s Runnin’  Bulldogs, they could not hold a 13-point second-half lead, falling to Big South leader UNC Asheville on Wednesday, 61-53 Wednesday.

That win pushes the Asheville winning streak to four games, and keeps the Bulldogs atop the Big South with a 5-1 conference mark.

“It’s just one of those games where it’s one of the best defensive efforts of the year, but one of the worst on offensive,” Luther said. “I’m super proud of the way we competed. We just did not hit enough shots and that’s the disappointing part.”

Jamaine Mann (17 points) opened up the  game with seven quick points, including a deep three as Gardner-Webb led at the first media stoppage, 7-0.  UNC Asheville answered with a 6-2 run as both offenses struggled with turnovers. The Runnin’ Bulldogs also had trouble on the boards, as they were being outrebounded 6-0 on the offensive glass early.

Asheville tied the game at 9 at the 9:24 mark of the first half, but Buddy Simmons (18 points) hit back-to-back threes to restore a 15-9 advantage for the home team with 7:43 left in the half. Simmons hit another trey later in the half.  Anthony Selden followed with a layup and Simmons had another triple. As a result, GWU opened a double-digit lead at 24-13.

The visiting Bulldogs  got their first triple of the game from Jordan Marsh, but Mann finished the half with a nice spin move as GWU took a 29-20 at the break.

Selden opened the second half with a pair of free throws, but UNCA’s Fletcher Abee and Marsh hit threes. Not to be outdone, Simmons hit two more triples of his own to keep a nine-point lead, at 39-30. A bucket by Toyaz Solomon cut the deficit to 40-37, but Pharrell Boyogueno then hit a three. After Abee hit one of his own, the GWU lead had shrunk to 45-43.

Asheville took a 48-45 lead on a three from Josh Banks with 8:39 left in the game, forcing a timeout from Luther. That stoppage did little to help the home team, as the Bulldog lead grew to nine points on a dunk by Solomon. An Abee three pushed the lead to 10 before Mann hit a three and sank a pair of foul shots. A trapping GWU defense forced a turnover, but Isaiah Richards missed a layup on the other end and Asheville was able to salt the game away from the foul line.

More On The Defenses: Gardner-Webb held Asheville to just 61 points, the Bulldogs’ second-lowest scoring output of the year. The other was the 54-point output in the season opening loss to Alabama. Ironically, it was GWU’s lowest offensive output of the season, just missing the 54 points scored against Charlotte.

A Tale Of Two Halves: The Runnin’ Bulldogs held Asheville to just 20 points in the first half on 20 percent shooting. The visiting Bulldogs doubled up GWU in the second stanza, with 41 points on 55 percent shooting. Conversely, Gardner-Webb only shot just over 20 percent in the second 40 minutes while only converting at a 5-for-24 clip from the field.

“We knew Asheville was going to make a run,” Luther said. “They are too good not to. They are first in the league for a reason. To be fair, as good as we played defensively in the first half, they missed some shots, too. It did not feel like they missed any in the second half. Then we could not score for about five minutes (4:53) and that was the difference in the game.”

A Good Bye?: Due to the unbalanced Big South slate, GWU will not return to the court until January 29, against Longwood.

“I know the guys want to get right back on the court and get this out of their minds,” Luther said, “But we need a break. We need to hit the reset button and get ready for the second half of conference play. We are going to give them a couple days off away from basketball, and then they can come back and make a push toward the end of the season.

 

Up Next: As mentioned, GWU will return to action on January 29 as the Runnin’ Bulldogs host Longwood. UNC Asheville will travel to Charleston Southern on Saturday.