ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Eastern Illinois made two free throws after a foul off the ball with 2.4 seconds left to beat Gardner-Webb, 79-78, Friday in the opening game of the visitcurrituckOBX.com Battle of the Blue Ridge at US Cellular Center.

Gardner-Webb (1-4) dropped its second game of the season by two points of less. The Runnin' Bulldogs had one final chance, but Eric Jamison, Jr., missed a chance near the buzzer and was unable to draw a foul on the play.

David Efianayi gave Gardner-Webb a 78-77 lead with 9.2 seconds left on a driving layup in traffic and Eastern Illinois (2-2) drove the length of the court before stalling and calling a timeout. The controversial foul was whistled away from the ball on a screen and Rade Kukobat knocked down both free throw chances to put the Panthers ahead.

The Runnin' Bulldogs caught fire early in the game and led by as many as 10 points midway through the first half. Eastern Illinois heated up from long range to close the half and Gardner-Webb led by just one point, 39-38, at the break.

Eastern Illinois continued to be the aggressor early in the second half, leading for all but 28 seconds over the half's first 10 minutes. Gardner-Webb finally retook the lead on a Justin Jenkins' trey with 9:16 left – and the teams went back-and-forth with the lead until a quick burst by the Panthers gave them a 74-68 lead with 2:26 left on a Josiah Wallace layup in the paint.

Gardner-Webb was able to chip away at the lead, getting a three-pointer from Jose Perez on the next trip to cut the margin in half and three free throws from Efianayi to cut the lead to 76-74 with 1:20 remaining.

Christian Turner made a pair of free throws with 52.3 seconds left to cut it to one then, after a defensive stop, Efianayi knifed into the lane, spun and sank a short shot in the paint for the lead with 9.2 seconds on the clock.

That set up the final possession that left Eastern Illinois in front for good.

Efianayi led Gardner-Webb with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, as the Runnin' Bulldogs shot a strong 52.9 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from deep (8-of-14). Gardner-Webb also dominated the charity stripe, driving and converting 16-of-21 chances (76.2 percent).

Perez added 15 points and Nate Johnson scored 10 to pace the Gardner-Webb scoring.

As efficient as Gardner-Webb was on offense, its defense and rebounding were problematic on Friday. The 'Dogs allowed Eastern Illinois to shoot 50.8 percent overall and 12-of-26 from three-point range (46.2 percent) – while also seeing the taller Panthers outwork the battle on the glass by a +12 margin (35-23).

That led to a 17-6 edge in second-chance points for the Panthers.