Moore's 32 Points Lead Gardner-Webb To 78-65 Win Over Mercer At Legends Classic

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Senior Jon Moore scored 20 of his career-high 32 points in the first half to lead Gardner-Webb to a 78-65 win over Mercer Sunday at the 2010 Legends Classic.

Moore (Rogers, Ark. / Rogers HS) came off the bench to do his damage, hitting 8-of-15 shots (5-of-11 from three) and 11-of-13 free throws in 31 minutes of action. Gardner-Webb (5-3) got nine points and six assists from Luke Davis and eight points each from Mike Byron and Josh Henley.

“Jon really came out today, took advantage of some open looks and really was aggressive getting into the lane and to the free throw line,” said head coach Chris Holtmann. “I am very proud of the way he has bounced back after a tough opening night here on Friday.

“As a team, we are obviously pleased to come here and pick up two wins. We have to continue to develop and grow together, gain confidence and play with effort and toughness.”

GWU again made the most of its aggressive play by getting to the free throw line, making more free throws (27-of-37) than its opponent (13-of-19) for the second game in a row. The ‘Dogs also outrebounded Mercer 38-25 on the afternoon.

After falling behind by as many as seven points in the first six minutes of the game, Gardner-Webb closed the first half with a more concerted effort on the defensive end – holding Mercer (2-5) to 40.7 percent shooting in the half to take a 38-32 lead into the locker room. Moore was a major reason, entering the game with his team trailing by six points. He scored five quick points to help GWU trim the lead to one, and gave Gardner-Webb the lead for good on his second three-pointer of the half – a shot that put the ‘Dogs up 20-17 at the 8:45 mark.

Moore finished the half 6-of-11 from the floor and 5-of-7 from the charity stripe. He added two steals, an assists and a pair of rebounds in 16 minutes. Only Henley (3-of-4, six points) made more than two shots for the ‘Dogs in the opening stanza.

Mercer used a pair of Langston Hall treys to get within one possession three times in the first five minutes of the second half, but Gardner-Webb slowly started to pull away – and built its lead to double digits for good on a Davis layup with 9:39 left on the clock. The lead would balloon to as many as 17 points down the stretch and Mercer would not seriously threaten the rest of the way.

Hall led the Bears with 15 points on five three-pointers, Brandon Moore added 13 points and Jeff Smith scored 10. Brian Mills added eight points.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs open Big South Conference play Thursday night at High Point. Opening tip is set for 7:00 pm, with the game set for live television on MASN. WGWG-FM (88.3) and wgwg.org will also carry the game’s audio live.