Box Score
CONWAY, S.C. – Tyrell Nelson scored 15 points, off the bench, to lead six double-figure scorers as Gardner-Webb University took an 81-65 victory past Longwood University in the first round of the 2014 VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Men's Basketball Championship on Wednesday night at The HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina. Onzie Branch added 13 points and Jerome Hill and Tyler Strange each had 12 points for the No. 3S Runnin' Bulldogs (18-14), who advance to play No. 2N VMI in a quarterfinal on Friday, March 7. Senior
Tristan Carey/Colonial Beach scored a game-high 18 points to lead the No. 6N Lancers, while sophomores
Karl Ziegler/Annandale and
Lucas Woodhouse/Greenlawn, New York added 14 points and 10 points, respectively. Longwood completes its campaign with a final record of 8-24 overall.
"It was a good first year," said first-year Longwood head coach
Jayson Gee. "I thought we laid some foundation in our program. My number one goal was to establish relevance. I'm really proud of the way our guys played and fought to the end.
"What you'll see mostly (in the future) is better defense. That's my staple, my signature; defense. We will be back, make no mistake about it. What you saw this year, you will never see again, and we're excited about that."
Longwood took its only lead of the night on the game's first basket by Ziegler at 18:32, and the Lancers were able to tie the contest on two occasions during the early going, including 7-7 at 15:08 on a three-point field goal by Woodhouse, and 10-10 at 13:30 on a steal and layup from sophomore
Leron Fisher/Baltimore, Maryland. It was a two-point game at 15-13 following a pair of free throws by Fisher, before Gardner-Webb scored seven unanswered points to lead 22-13 at 10:04, getting four quick points from Donta Harper. Another three-pointer from Woodhouse had the Longwood within 22-18 with 8:34 left until halftime, but the Runnin' Bulldogs used an 11-2 run to lead 33-20 at 4:22 following a pair of three-pointers, including one by Strange. GWU maintained its margin at the break, leading 39-26, behind nine first-half points each from Nelson and Strange, along with eight from Harper. Woodhouse had eight points at the intermission for the Lancers.
Longwood closed to within 42-32 early in the second half at 17:12 on a jumper and two free throws by Ziegler, and the Lancers were still within 48-37 at 14:19 after a three-pointer by Carey. A quick 8-2 run by Gardner-Webb, however, made it a 17-point margin at 56-39 with 11:27 remaining as Nelson scored four more points. Carey, who scored 16 second-half points, made a jumper at 10:07 to pull Longwood within 59-45, but that was as close as it would get. The Runnin' Bulldogs used a 12-3 run to take their largest lead of the contest at 71-48 with 6:06 on the clock. The Lancers made one final push and managed to get within 14 points again at 76-62 on a slam dunk by freshman
Damarion Geter/Dayton, assisted by Woodhouse at 2:00, and a late three-pointer from Carey closed the scoring for the lower seeded team.
Carey led Longwood with his game-high 18 points, adding seven rebounds and a game-high four steals. He finished his Longwood career with 1,504 points to rank 6th all-time, and ranks 2nd all-time with 230 career three-pointers, while his 94 season three-pointers are a new school record. Ziegler had 14 points and Woodhouse added 10 points and a game-high four assists. He now totals 393 career assists to rank 3rd all-time, and his 213 season assists are a new school record, as well. Redshirt-junior
Jeylani Dublin/Brooklyn, New York finished with eight points. Longwood shot 43% (25-58) from the field, including 27% (4-15) on three-pointers and 69% (11-16) at the free throw line. The Lancers did force 15 turnovers that led to a 19-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
Nelson led Gardner-Webb with his 15 points, off the bench, adding a game-high three blocks. Branch had 13 points for the Runnin' Bulldogs, also off the bench, while Hill and Strange each finished with 12 points – Hill also grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds. Jarvis Davis contributed 11 points, off the bench, and Harper added 10 points. GWU shot 57% (29-51) from the field, including 46% (6-13) on three-pointers and 61% (17-28) at the line. The Runnin' Bulldogs out-rebounded Longwood, 42-22, including 13-5 on the offensive end, for a 21-6 advantage in second chance points, and the GWU bench outscored the Lancers' bench, 40-11.
Longwood and Gardner-Webb were meeting for the 11th time in the sport, and the Runnin' Bulldogs have now won three-straight to lead the overall series, 6-5.
Longwood could return as many as eight lettermen for 2014-15.
