Presbyterian dominates Gardner-Webb, whose coach says Bulldogs have “lost hope”

By Jacob Conley (@gwujake)

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. — Presbyterian entered Saturday’s game at Gardner-Webb with a 1-9 road record, but you would not know it by the way the Blue Hose played against the Runnin’ Bulldogs.

PC jumped out to a 21-3 lead and never looked back, as they extended Gardner-Webb’s long season with a 92-55 win.

“Really proud of the team,” head coach Quinton Ferrell said. “We have gotten off to slow starts defensively on the road this season, so I challenged the team to lock in on the defensive end and they responded.”

PC started the game on an 11-1 run capped on a runner by Triston Wilson, forcing a GWU stoppage. The first field goal did not come until the 13:55 mark on a hook shot by Jacob Hogarth, but that was the only bucket the hosts had at the under-12 media timeout, as they trailed, 15-3.

A three by Carl Parrish dug the hole deeper, and a trey by Wilson made the score 21-3. Curtis Williams hit a triple of his own for the Runnin’ Bulldogs, and Jacob Hudson scored on a driving layup to cut the deficit to 21-9. That spurt was short-lived, though, as a steal and layup by Khalon Hudson made the score 33-11. Spence Sims stopped the bleeding with a three, but Hudson answered with a three-point play as GWU trailed, 40-21, at the break.

Things went from bad to worse for the Bulldogs as Parrish and Wilson hit threes, growing the Presbyterian lead to as much as 28 points. Riek Riek hit a three for Gardner-Webb, but the deficit still stood at 54-31 with 13:50 left.

Sims was credited with a three after a basket interference call, but PC quickly pushed the lead back to 59-34 on a bucket by Jonah Pierce.

PC continued to push out its advantage and after a three-point play by Jaylen Peterson, the Blue Hose led by 30. The teams played out the string with Jamias Ferere getting five points off of the bench, but the day was all Blue Hose.

A BALANCED BOX: The Blue Hose’s Jonah Pierce had a whale of a game, with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Triston Wilson had 19 points while Peterson and Hudson had 18 and 17, respectively.

STARTING FAST, FINISHING STRONG: Even though Presbyterian had a 19-point halftime lead, Ferrell and the Blue Hose wanted to keep the pressure on the Runnin’ Bulldogs.

“I knew the first four-minute segment coming out of the locker room was going to be key,” he said. “They were either going to make a run and get back in the game, or we were going to pull away. After we won that first segment, our chances of winning went way up. Our guys did not get complacent and they kept playing like it was 0-0.”

“WE’VE LOST HOPE”

The normally upbeat Jeremy Luther was at a loss for words after another defeat.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” he said. “We felt really good about how we played against Radford. We had two good days of practice and momentum with a couple guys coming back from injury. Then we came out and could not hit shots. That’s my fault. I have to have them better prepared. For the first time all season, you could see it in their eyes. We lost hope. Again, that falls on me as a coach to get them motivated and figure this out.”

UP NEXT: Presbyterian (10-10) will host Charleston Southern on Wednesday, while Gardner-Webb (2-18) will visit Longwood. Both tips are set for 7 p.m.