BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb used a balanced offense and a pair of big runs in both the first and second half to defeat Western Carolina 87-59 in Paul Porter Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Gardner-Webb evens its record at 3-3 with its third straight win while the Catamounts fall to 3-4.
Marcus Banks led the Catamounts with 10 points followed by
Marvin Price with nine and
Nicholas Robinson with eight. Robinson also grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.
D'Maurian Williams led four Gardner-Webb players in double figures with 25 points. Jordan Sears added 17 points followed by Kareem Reid and Julien Soumaoro with 10 each. Zion Williams narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
After a Sears steal and layup opened the scoring, the Catamounts answered with a 5-0 run as a
Vonterius Woolbright layup put WCU ahead 5-2 at the 18:41 mark. The Runnin' Bulldogs responded with a 10-2 run capped by a Reid layup to take a 12-7 advantage with just under 14 minutes to play in the half. After a Banks 3-pointer brought the Catamounts within two, 12-10, at the 12:33 mark, Gardner-Webb went on a 19-7 run over the next seven minutes as a Ludovic Dufeal 3-pointer put the hosts ahead 31-17 with 5:10 to play. Gardner-Webb took a 38-24 lead into halftime.
Joe Petrakis kicked off a 9-2 Catamount run with a 3-pointer 19 seconds into the frame as WCU cut the deficit to seven, 40-33 at the under-16 media timeout. Gardner-Webb answered with a 15-3 run capped by a Williams layup for a 55-36 advantage with 12:47 remaining. Price completed a three-point play to bring the Catamounts within 16, 68-52, with just over seven minutes to play but WCU would get no closer down the stretch.
The Catamounts finished 18-for-50 (36 percent) from the field and tied a season-low with eight 3-pointers (8-for-28). Gardner-Webb went 32-for-62 (51.6 percent) from the field with an 18-for-30 (60 percent) mark in the second half. The Runnin' Bulldogs converted 17 WCU turnovers into 25 points and outrebounded WCU 36-31.
WCU returns to Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center on Wednesday, hosting Warren Wilson at 5 p.m. in the first game of a doubleheader with the Catamount women's team. The WCU women face USC Upstate at 7:30 p.m.
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