Arkansas 79, Gardner-Webb 63

Posted 6:08PM on Saturday 27th November 2004 ( 20 years ago )

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) Eric Ferguson scored 13 of his team-high 16 points in the second half Saturday as Arkansas defeated Gardner-Webb 79-63. The Razorbacks overcame a sluggish first half to remain undefeated. Arkansas (4-0) connected on 17 of its final 24 shots, making 71 percent of their field goal attempts in the second half. But when the Bulldogs' Mike Jones dunked the ball with 16:07 left in regulation, the game was very much in doubt, as the basket pulled Gardner-Webb (2-1) within two points, 33-31. That was as close as they would get, however. Arkansas built a double-digit lead by crashing the boards to get offensive rebounds and make put-backs. Arkansas forward Charles Thomas scored off an errant shot to give the Razorbacks a 41-33 lead with 13:29 left. Minutes later, Ferguson took over. The 6-1 guard knocked down a three-pointer moments after burying a pull-up jumper. The Razorbacks had a 66-50 lead with 4:03 left and then comfortably maintained the cushion they had built. After a five-day layoff since their trip to the Caribbean for three games in the Paradise Jam tournament, the Razorbacks struggled in the first half. They hit just 10 of their 29 shots from the field during the opening 20 minutes and couldn't shake loose from Gardner-Webb's man-to-man defense. But they managed to build a 19-11 lead when Ferguson lobbed a full-court bounce pass to Ronnie Brewer on the fast break and watched as Brewer dunked the ball with 8:56 left. That capped a 6-2 spurt that included put-backs from Arkansas forwards Darian Townes and Rashard Sullivan. Gardner-Webb's Brian Bender scored seven points in the final 5:26 of the half to pull Gardner-Webb within three, 27-24, at intermission. Bender finished with 17 points to lead the Bulldogs, who otherwise performed poorly on offense. Gardner-Webb committed 11 turnovers and shot 35 percent from the field.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/11/146454