LU defense keeps Gardner-Webb out of sync

Gardner-Webb’s Jonathan Moore got a clean, open look at a 3-pointer 27 seconds into the game Thursday night at the Vines Center.

But that was it. Moore’s 3 seemed to galvanize the Flames’ defense, and Liberty defenders began clamping down, playing a physical brand of on-ball defense that frustrated the slumping Bulldogs. The end result was a 68-57 victory, the Flames’ fourth in their first six Big South games.

Liberty (9-9, 4-2 Big South) smothered the Bulldogs’ perimeter game and kept the ball out of the post, away from the hands of Gardner-Webb’s taller forwards. The Bulldogs shot 31.3 percent, marking Liberty’s best defensive effort against a Division I team since the Flames held Charleston Southern to 26.6 percent on Dec. 3.

“Our goal was kind of to push them out three or four feet outside the arc,” said Liberty point guard Jesse Sanders, who flirted with a triple-double (12 points, nine rebounds, seven assists). “If they get comfortable, they’re tough to beat. They’re a great shooting team. Just good all-around guard play.”

With Gardner-Webb’s offense sputtering, the Flames opened up a big lead early in the second half, using a 17-5 spurt in the first five minutes to extend a six-point halftime lead to 43-25. GWU shot 26.7 percent in the first half, and Sanders could see the Bulldogs teetering. So the Flames wanted “to step on their throats” out of the break, he said, and that’s exactly what happened.

As the run ended, the look of defeat was evident in the Bulldogs’ body language. Gardner-Webb (4-12, 1-5) played a brutal non-conference schedule featuring games at Texas, Duke, North Carolina, Penn State and Charlotte. They were blown out in each game, and GWU coach Rick Scruggs admitted the schedule has wrecked his team’s confidence.

“Mentally, I think it killed us,” Scruggs said. “When you play the schedule we played, when you get down, you almost expect to be down. … You get used to it, and it becomes a habit. You form some habits in those games that we’re having a hard time breaking right now.”

Gardner-Webb managed one rally, an 11-0 run that cut Liberty’s lead from 19 points to eight with 3:24 left. But Flames guard Kyle Ohman went coast-to-coast for a layup to push the lead back to double digits, and Liberty cruised from there.

Ohman, the former walk-on turned team captain, reached a career milestone Thursday, scoring his 1,000th point on a free throw with 3:43 left in the first half. He finished with 17 points.

“When I started, I was just taking it one step at a time,” Ohman said. “I was just trying to make the team, and I’ve just been trying to improve my role every year since.”

Another player improving his role is forward Antwan Burrus. A month ago, LU coach Dale Layer said, “he’s coming,” in reference to Burrus, and the freshman hasn’t disappointed. Burrus had 10 points and nine rebounds Thursday, his fourth straight game with at least 10 points and five boards.

Burrus is the team’s youngest player, having turned 18 in October, and it took him some time to adapt to the level of effort required to play Division I basketball. His performance in Liberty’s last four games shows that he’s starting to get it.

“He struggled with work ethic early in the year, and it was not his fault,” Layer said.

“He learned how to work. And when you work, you get better. And when you get better, your confidence grows. That’s what Antwan’s done.”

DRIBBLES: C.J. Hailey led GWU with 20 points. … Bulldogs guard Grayson Flittner, a preseason All-Big South pick, played 18 minutes and scored six points. He missed GWU’s last two games with a sore knee. He underwent micro fracture surgery last April. … Liberty’s Jeremy Anderson was 3-for-6 from 3-point range, the third time in the last four games he hit at least three 3s. … Ohman’s left wrist was splinted and iced after the game. He fell on the wrist twice during the game, but he said he’ll be good to go Saturday against UNC Asheville.

GARDNER-WEBB (4-12)

Johnson 1-3 1-2 3, Hailey 7-16 4-4 20, Silver 3-18 2-2 8, McNair 1-7 0-1 2, Moore 4-7 2-2 14, Henley 0-2 0-1 0, Flittner 2-5 0-0 6, Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, Staton 0-1 0-0 0, MacMillan 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 20-64 9-12 57.

LIBERTY (9-9)

Ohman 5-8 6-13 17, Konan 1-3 0-0 2, Burrus 5-7 0-1 10, Gordon 3-10 2-2 9, Sanders 5-7 1-3 12, Perez 1-3 0-0 2, Stephene 2-3 0-0 5, Spencer 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 3-6 0-0 9, Minaya 0-1 0-0 0, Weaver 0-1 0-0 0, McMasters 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 26-52 9-19 68.

Halftime—Liberty 26-20. 3-Point Goals—Gardner-Webb 8-29 (Moore 4-7, Flittner 2-4, Hailey 2-7, Staton 0-1, McNair 0-2, Silver 0-8), Liberty 7-15 (Anderson 3-6, Stephene 1-1, Sanders 1-1, Ohman 1-1, Gordon 1-5, McMasters 0-1). Fouled Out—Anderson. Rebounds—Gardner-Webb 38 (Henley 9), Liberty 40 (Burrus, Sanders 9). Assists—Gardner-Webb 14 (Silver 5), Liberty 16 (Sanders 7). Total Fouls—Gardner-Webb 21, Liberty 15. A—1,203.