ROAD KILL: Simmons scores 27 as GWU holds off Upstate

By Jacob Conley (@gwujake)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Gardner-Webb’s Buddy Simmons and USC Upstate’s Karmani Gregory both scored 27 points, but it was the Runnin’ Bulldogs who got more help from their supporting cast as they held off the Spartans, 96-87, in a high-scoring affair.

“Upstate is a lot better than their record shows,” Gardner-Webb head coach Jeremy Luther said. “They are a lot like us in that they have been in pretty much every game, Every time we would try to pull away from them, they would come right back. Full credit to them.”

USC Upstate started 4-for-5 from the floor, but only led 12-11 thanks to a trio of triples from Gardner-Webb. The Runnin’ Bulldogs took their first lead on a drive by Anthony Selden, and by the time he scored again, GWU led at the first media stoppage, 18-12. That run continued with a bucket from Isaiah Richards and a pullup jumper from Simmons. As a result, GWU led, 23-12.

Mister Dean and Gregory broke the run and scored six straight for the Spartans. When Dean hit a foul shot, the game was tied at 25 with 9:20 left in the first half. The game continued to swing back and forth until Selden sparked a 9-0 run with a rebound and a reverse layup. Simmons hit a three in the stretch before Pharrell Boyogueno converted a three-point play, reestablishing a double digit lead for Gardner-Webb. Dean reentered the game with two fouls and scored four quick points, helping USC Upstate cut its halftime deficit to 50-43.

Jamaine Mann opened the second half with a bucket, but Gregory hit a three and GWU was hit with a flagrant-1 foul that drew the game closer. Mann took over with a pair of post moves to push the lead back to nine, but Upstate hit back-to-back threes to cut the deficit to 64-61.

Richards answered with a three-point play and Shahar Lazar hit a three from the corner. Dean came back in the game to key a 5-0 Spartan run, but he quickly picked up his fourth foul. That allowed GWU to go on a 7-0 run, with Selden doing most of the damage. By the time he hit a deep three, the visitors’ 10-point lead had been restored at 71-61. The lead grew to as many as 15 on a dunk by Boyogueno with 3:47 left, but Upstate would go away. Gregory led the Spartans back and by the time he hit a pair of free throws, the hosts had pulled to within 88-83 with 27 seconds left.

Simmons was fouled, and GWU pulled everyone off of the line for the 95 percent foul shooter. He missed the front end, but somehow managed to grab the rebound among three white shirts and was fouled again. From that point, Simmons and others were able to salt the game away from the foul line.

Stat Sheet Stuffers: As you might expect with such a high-scoring game, there were plenty of outstanding performances on both sides. Gardner-Webb placed all five starters in double figures. In addition to Simmons’ 27, Selden had 19, Mann garnered 17, Boyogueno picked up a double-double with 12 and 11 rebounds and Richards rounded things out with 11 points. For Upstate, Gregory had 27, Dean chipped in with 15, Carmelo Adkins with 14 and Daniel Helterhoff finished with 11 points. GWU shot over 50 percent from the field for the game and outrebounded the Spartans at a 44-32 clip, leading to a 20-7 edge in second chance points.

Road Kill: With the win, GWU has its first conference road win of the season and the first victory away from Boiling Springs since December 21 against East Carolina.

“It’s hard to win on the road,” Luther said. “We have been close in the past with late leads, but could not finish. That was the difference in the game. Today we finished, but we can’t be satisfied with this one. We have to build on it and try to get another one next week at Longwood.”

Getting Defensive: While Upstate coach Marty Richter is pleased with his team’s offense, he says the Spartans have to play better on the defensive end of the floor.

“When you play fast and aggressive like we do, you are going to see a lot of points and that’s great,” he said. “I’m not taking anything away from that. But we have to get stops defensively. We let their guard (Simmons) go off for 27 and we gave up a 15-0 run in the first half. That was the difference in the ballgame. We were playing catchup all night long after that. We fought so hard to get back in it and then boom another run. If we could get some stops, we would start flipping these games to wins.”

Up Next: GWU travels to Longwood to face the Lancers for a big game Wednesday. Both teams are tied for sixth in the Big South with 5-7 records. Meanwhile, the Spartans will enjoy a bye before they travel to Charleston Southern on Saturday.