Gritty Bulldogs fall to Radford

By Jacob Conley (@gwujake)

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. — Even though they are plagued with injuries, the Gardner-Webb Runnin’  Bulldogs played right with the Radford Highlanders before falling, 89-80, in Boiling Springs. Leading scorer Spence Sims was in street clothes with a broken hand, and Jacob Hudson was also out with a pulled groin.

“We had no business being that close in this game,” GWU head coach Jeremy Luther said. “With all the injuries we have, it should have been a 25, 30-point game. That just goes to show you how hard the team battled. They gave 110 percent and battled until the last whistle. Yes, we lost, but you can’t be mad with that kind of effort. I am so proud of the team.”

The Runnin’ Bulldogs’ grit even drew compliments from Radford coach Zach Chu.

“I think we looked at the record (2-17) and we were surprised at how good Gardner-Webb is,” he said. “They jumped on us early. Then Dennis (Parker, Jr.) grabbed a couple of rebounds and we hit some shots. It was not easy though. No game in this league ever is.”

GWU started out hot from the floor, making its first four shots. After a DJ Jefferson three, the Runnin’ Bulldogs led, 9-1, forcing a Radford timeout. After Ace Talbert hit a three, GWU had a double-digit lead at 16-5. Radford’s Del Jones answered with a three.  Walk-on Bo Barber electrified the home crowd with a steal and layup as GWU led, 20-8.

Radford used pressure to get back in the game and by the time Dennis Parker, Jr. had a steal and layup, the lead shrunk to 20-15. An old fashioned three point-play from Brennan Rigsby, Jr. and two foul shots from Jones tied the game and Jones then hit a three, giving Radford its first lead with 7:59 left in the half, at 27-25.

The Radford run continued with a Parker three-point play to give the Highlanders a 33-25 advantage. The visitors continued to extend their lead and by the time Jones beat the halftime buzzer with a layup, Radford led, 45-31.

Jacob Hogarth broke GWU’s field goal drought with the first basket of the second half, but Lukas Walls hit a three for the Highlanders. The teams then began a long stretch of trading baskets, with Jefferson doing the majority of the damage for Gardner-Webb, but the defense then struggled to get a stop.

That changed when Barber chased down a long rebound and found Hogarth for a layup. Colin Hawkins then scored four in a row as GWU cut the deficit 64-56. Jones pushed the lead with a floater.

The teams went on another long stretch of trading baskets, but Curtis Williams hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 9. Jefferson scored four straight from the foul line, but Parker converted a big four-point play. GWU never really challenged from that point as they fell, 89-80.

THE TURNING POINT: Each coach chose a different moment that defined the game for their respective side. For Chu, it was Parker’s four-point play just before the final media stoppage pushed the Radford lead from five points to nine points.

“I can’t overstate how big that play was,” Chu said. “Gardner-Webb was pushing us and they had the momentum. Dennis has been struggling for a game and a half. He still had the confidence to take and hit that shot under pressure. Del Jones was also big for us all night. He seemed to hit shot after shot when we needed it the most.”

Luther says the 9:10 field goal drought to end the first half was the difference in the contest.

“Because of injuries and foul trouble, all five players were walk-ons and backups to the backups during that stretch,” he said. “I love those guys like they were my own sons, but that’s not the lineup to get you lots of points. I’m proud of the guys for fighting back. We were down just two possessions with around four minutes to go.”

BANGED-UP BULLDOGS: GWU is missing four starters from the opening day lineup against Minnesota: Julius Clark, Spence Sims, Jacob Hudson and NaVuan Peterson.

“I sure would have liked to had a healthy team going into conference play,” Luther said. “If we did, I think we are 3-1 instead of 0-4. There is nothing you can do about High Point the other night. It’s unfortunate, but we are getting better. We are so much better than we were in November. I’ve had fellow coaches reach out and tell us to hang in there and keep our heads up. We are building something special here and we are going to keep fighting.”

LEADING SCORERS: Jones led five Radford players in double figures with 27, while Jefferson led GWU with 21. Hogarth recorded a double-double for the Runnin’ Bulldogs with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

UP NEXT: GWU will host Presbyterian on Saturday at 2 p.m., while Radford will host Longwood at 2:30.