GREENVILLE, S.C. – Gardner-Webb stormed back into contention with a big second half push to force overtime, but Furman recovered to hold off the Runnin' Bulldogs, 88-86, in a non-conference men's basketball thriller.

Gardner-Webb (0-3) surged in front twice in the overtime period, but Furman (3-0) used a 7-0 run to retake the lead for good. The Runnin' Bulldogs had a chance to tie in the final 15 seconds, but a turnover thwarted that opportunity. Two missed free throws by the Paladins left the door open, but a half court heave at the buzzer was off the mark.

The Runnin' Bulldogs overcame a lackluster start, trailing by 13 at the break – but outscoring Furman 29-15 over the first 11 minutes of play in the second period to pull even on a DJ Laster three-pointer.

Furman did little wrong in the first half, shooting 64.5 percent and dishing off 14 assists on 20 made baskets to pull out to a 46-33 lead at intermission. Rafferty had his way in the post during that first half, scoring 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting – mostly point blank layups on post chances.

Gardner-Webb's adjustments paid off in the second half, with the smaller Runnin' Bulldogs swarming the post and forcing passes. The tougher perimeter shots fell for Furman at times, but not at the efficient rate they did in the first half.

After Laster tied the game, 62-62, Furman pushed back ahead by four, but consecutive tough baskets inside from Jose Perez knotted the score once again with 6:47 remaining. 

An old fashioned three-point play from Clay Mounce on the ensuing possession gave Furman the lead once again and the Paladins pushed the lead to 71-67 on a dunk by Noah Gurley with 4:27 to play in the game. 

The lead remained at four points heading into the final media timeout (3:33), when Perez used some interior savvy to score and cut the lead to 71-69 with 3:22 left. After a Gardner-Webb stop on the defensive end, the 'Dogs went inside to Perez again, and he drew a foul with 2:57 remaining.

The Bronx, N.Y., freshman made both chances to tie the score. 

Furman ran the shot clock down on the other end, and Mounce drained a three from the left wing with 2:19 left. Gardner-Webb's shot to tie was long and the Paladins worked it inside to Rafferty for a 76-71 lead with 1:54 left.

David Efianayi drew a foul with 1:36 left on a drive and made both to pull Gardner-Webb back within a single possession. A lob to Mounce pushed Furman back up five, but Efianayi drained a three with 1:06 left to pull Gardner-Webb even closer.

The Runnin' Bulldogs got a stop on the other end, and Efianayi raced down the court to draw another foul with 25.8 seconds left. He made the front end of the 1-and-1 and sank the bonus for a tie score.

Jordan Lyons pulled up late in the game clock, but his shot to win was blocked by Perez and Gardner-Webb corralled the rebound at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.

A turnover led to a run out and layup by Efianayi early in the overtime period, giving Gardner-Webb an 80-78 lead and, after Furman tied it, Nate Johnson sank a long trey for an 83-80 margin.

After a pair of empty possessions for both teams, Jordan Lyons shook free for an open three-pointer and drained the shot to tie – then came up with a steal and driving layup for an 85-83 Furman lead with 1:41 remaining in the overtime period.

Furman got the stop it needed on Gardner-Webb's next possession, as a drive by Perez was off the mark and Rafferty tapped out an offensive rebound with less than a minute to play. A three-pointer was off the mark, but Mounce tipped in the miss for an 87-83 lead with 22.0 seconds left.

Efianayi drained a three with 13.7 seconds left to cut the lead to one point and Gardner-Webb sent the Paladins to the line moments later. Lyons missed the front end, but made the second for an 88-86 lead.

A turnover on the other end thwarted Gardner-Webb's chance to tie, but Mounce missed both ends at the line with 3.2 seconds left. It was enough, however, as Jamison's heave from half court was well off the mark.

Perez came off the bench to score a career-high 23 points and pull down seven rebounds in 30 minutes of action. That led six men in double figures, as Efianayi came alive late to score 16 points, Laster scored 15 points, Christian Turner supplied 12 points and Jamison and Johnson each scored 10.

Gardner-Webb shot 50.0 percent for the game, including a 55.6 percent clip in the second half that allowed the 'Dogs to pull even. That included a 9-of-22 effort from long range (40.9 percent). The Runnin' Bulldogs cut down their turnover problems significantly, with only 11 miscues, but had only 12 assists on 32 made baskets.

Gardner-Webb also out rebounded the taller Paladins by one (35-34), was nearly even in paint points (50-46) and posted 13 second-chance points.

Furman got 26 from Mounce and 24 from Rafferty, as the interior trio of Mounce, Rafferty and Gurley (12 points) were the lone Paladins in double digits. 

Furman shot 53.0 percent from the floor, 34.8 percent from long range (8-of-23) and made just 10-of-17 from the charity stripe (10-of-17).

Gardner-Webb will hit the road again for its next game, traveling to face Savannah State on Friday, November 16. The game will tip at 7:00 pm.