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KENNESAW, Ga. – Tyrell Maxwell's fourth down pass was picked off at the Kennesaw State one-yard line with seven seconds left as the Owls held off Gardner-Webb for a 12-7 win Saturday afternoon.

Gardner-Webb (2-4, 1-1 Big South) held the Owls (5-1, 1-0 Big South) to just four field goals, but could not muster any offensive punch until the final six minutes.

Trailing 9-0, Gardner-Webb freshman Josh Bettistea capped a 58-yard drive on a one-yard touchdown run with 5:33 remaining in the game – and the extra point trimmed the Owls' lead to 9-7.

Kennesaw State got a big conversion to get into field goal range on its next drive, however, and Justin Thompson's fourth field goal of the day put the Owls up 12-7 with just 1:44 left. Kennesaw State was able to chew 3:53 off the clock on the drive and forced GWU to use its balance of timeouts.

After taking over at his own 40, Tyrell Maxwell marched his team downfield with a chance to win – hitting Jacob Henderson on a key fourth down pass inside the 10-yard line with just 32 seconds left. Two dropped passes – one on first down in the end zone and on third down at the goal line – forced a fourth down situation with less than 10 seconds left.

Kennesaw State defensive lineman Nick Perrotta picked off Maxwell's fourth down pass near the goal line to preserve the win.

The Owls took an early 3-0 lead on Thompson's 30-yard field goal with 4:14 left in the first quarter and went up 6-0 with his 33-yard make with nine seconds left before the half.

Gardner-Webb was bottled up in the first half, managing just 38 offensive yards in the first 30 minutes – and just 66 yards through the end of the third quarter. The 'Dogs managed just six offensive plays in the third quarter, as Kennesaw State held the football for 12:13 in that period – and ran 18 plays.

The Owls put together a massive 19-play, 83-yard drive that spanned the third and fourth quarters, chewing up 10:47 of game clock. Gardner-Webb's defense held up, and forced a short Thompson field goal from 26 yards that put Kennesaw State up 9-0 with 13:47 left in the game.

Freshman Robert McKoy gave Gardner-Webb life after that score, taking the ensuing kickoff 54 yards back to the Kennesaw State 42-yard line. Maxwell took off for a nine-yard gain on first down and Bobby Clark converted a first down down to the KSU 33.

Maxwell hit Clark for a nine-yard gain on 3rd-and-10 at the Owls' 30, but was stopped on a fourth-down try for a short loss to turn the football over.

The GWU defense forced a quick punt after nearly forcing a turnover, and the Runnin' Bulldogs were finally able to get on the board. Bettistea provided the spark, carrying 17 yards for a first down and picking up 15 more on a face mask penalty.

Bettistea — who played at nearby Alatoona (Ga.) High – picked up 15 more yards on four-straight carries inside the KSU 15-yard line and scored on second down. Maxwell set up the score with a 17-yard run to erase an earlier holding penalty.

Kennesaw State needed to run some clock and did so, converting a third down at its own 34 and getting into field goal range on a 39-yard pass play from Trey White to Justin Sumpter down to the 21-yard line. GWU got a stop at its own 14-yard line on third down, but Thompson's final tally ensured the 'Dogs would need a touchdown to win the game.

Maxwell darted 21 yards on a second-down scramble to start that drive, and ran 11 yards to set GWU up at the Kennesaw State 28-yard line with less than a minute left. A sack was followed by three-straight incompletions, but Maxwell found Henderson on a 22-yard gain over the middle with 19 seconds left to set up the final series of events.

Gardner-Webb had 200 yards of total offense in the game, with 94 coming in the final 15 minutes.

Maxwell finished with 15 carries for 67 yards, but was sacked twice. The sophomore had a difficult day passing the football, completing 8-of-21 attempts for 73 yards. Henderson caught three passes for 45 yards and was the lone receiver with more than one catch.

Bettistea came on strong in the fourth quarter, carrying eight times for 43 yards and his touchdown (5.4 yards per carry).

Azziz Higgins had 12 solo tackles to lead a busy Gardner-Webb defensive unit. Tanner Burch finished with 10 hits, Jebrai Regan added eight stops and OJ Mau and Chad Geter finished with seven hits. Aaron Cook had five solo stops and a sack on Saturday afternoon.

Kennesaw State rolled up 353 yards of total offense in the game, including 239 on the ground and – despite not finding the end zone – kept the football away from Gardner-Webb for 38:40 and racked up 20 first downs.

White finished the game with 170 yards rushing on 34 carries – including several long scrambles in the first half to extend drives. He was just 9-of-17 passing for 114 yards and was sacked for the first time in 2015.

Jake McKenzie finished with 34 yards on 11 carries and Trey Chivers had 28 yards on eight attempts. Sumpter led the receiving corps with five catches for 70 yards

Dez Billingslea had six hits and a sack to pace a balanced tackling effort for the Owls.

Gardner-Webb's road gets even tougher next weekend, as No. 23 Charleston Southern rolls into town for a 1:30 pm kickoff. The Bucs topped Presbyterian, 10-7, to move to 2-0 in Big South action on Saturday.