Longwood pulls away down stretch to score win at Gardner-Webb

By Jacob Conley (@gwujake)

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. — Gardner-Webb held its own against Longwood for long stretches Wednesday, but the visiting Lancers closed out each half well to pull away from the Runnin’ Bulldogs, 86-66.

“Gardner-Webb pushed us,” Longwood coach Ronnie Thomas said. “We knew they would. Our guys stayed focused, buckled down defensively and were able to push the lead back out.”

Longwood started the game on a 9-2 run capped on a three by Alphonzo Billups. Jacob Hogarth ended it with a drive to the basket. The Lancers then got hot from deep with three straight triples. When Billups hit another, the visitors led, 24-9.

Jamias Ferere garnered a rebound and putback and pressure led to a Colin Hawkins steal and layup for Gardner-Webb to cut the deficit to 24-16. Former Lancer DJ Jefferson followed with a three and Spence Sims hit a pair from deep. When the dust settled, GWU had erased the 15-point deficit and the game was tied at 31.

Elijah Tucker scored four in row for Longwood, and Jacoi Hutchinson converted a three-point play as the Lancers pushed their lead back to 44-35 at the half.

The Lancer run continued in the second half, as a hook shot by Tucker gave Longwood a 13-point lead. Jefferson sliced into it with a deep three and by the time he converted a three-point play, the deficit shrank to 52-48.

Elijah Kelly hit a big three for Longwood and Emanuel Richards garnered a midrange jumper. Hogarth converted a three-point play, but Tucker did the same and Hogarth picked up his fourth foul in the process.

With Hogarth out of the game, Longwood took advantage with a series of paint points that saw the lead grow to 72-58. Sims hit a three, but Johan Nziemi did the same for Longwood. The Runnin’ Bulldogs could not make a final push, falling 86-66.

OLD MAN TUCKER: Redshirt senior Elijah Tucker had a big game with 16 points and seven rebounds. The most important stat, however, may be the five fouls he drew against Jacob Hogarth.

“Elijah had a good game,” Thomas said. “But nobody really stood out above the rest. That’s what I want to see. We shared the basketball all game long.”

GWU head coach Jeremy Luther has a different opinion.

“Elijah Tucker was the difference in the game tonight,” he said. “He is probably the best big man in the Big South. Jacob Hogarth is the only guy on our team that could match him. When he got in foul trouble and had to come out, you saw what happened.”

SHOWING SOME FIGHT: Gardner-Webb lost to Longwood by 35 (91-56) in Farmville earlier this season, but this game was much more competitive.

“The final score was not indicative of how close the game really was,” Luther said. “It was four points with around eight minutes left. The difference was, tonight we competed and we played hard. That doesn’t mean everybody played well, but everybody played with effort. I am proud of that. Jamias Ferere really stood out (16 points). He got the start and had a tremendous game. The wins and losses almost don’t matter at this point. Would we like to get a few more wins to sneak up to sixth or seventh? Yes, of course. But just give me effort and compete and I can live with the results, win or lose.”

UP NEXT: Gardner-Webb (3-21) will travel to Clinton, South Carolina to face Presbyterian on Saturday, while Longwood (13-12) will take on a challenge on the road at Big South-leading Winthrop the same afternoon. Both tips are set for 2 p.m.