CHARLESTON, S.C. - Jon Moore scored 16 points and Luke Engelken added
15, but Gardner-Webb could not get over the hump in the second half and
fell, 72-61, at Charleston Southern.
The loss snapped a dominant stretch of six-straight wins by Gardner-Webb
(9-20, 4-12 Big South) over Charleston Southern, which dated back to
the 2007-2008 season.
Moore and Engelken's shooting helped the Runnin' Bulldogs make a late push after Charleston Southern stretched a 34-27 halftime lead to a 59-43 cushion with 5:47 left in the game.
The pair keyed a 10-0 run by
the 'Dogs that was capped by an Engelken trey with 2:37 left that made
the score 59-53. Moore assisted on that bucket
Charleston Southern halted the run with a Jemarco Warren layup, and GWU
would not be able to get the lead back under eight points the rest of
the way.
Warren led Charleston Southern with 20 points, leading a group of four players in double digits for the Buccaneers.
In addition to Moore and Engelken, Gardner-Webb got 11 points from Laron
Buggs - his third double-figure scoring game in a row - and eight
points from Santoine Butler.
No other GWU player had more than five points in the game, as the 'Dogs
shot 42.6 percent from the floor (23-of-54) and were outscored at the
free throw line 23-8, as CSU made 23-of-29 chances (79.3 percent) in
what proved to be the only major difference in the game's outcome.
Gardner-Webb will close out the regular season at home, beginning with a
Thursday night date (Feb. 24) with Radford. Opening tip is set for 7:00
pm in Paul Porter Arena.
