RADFORD, Va. – Gardner-Webb dropped its second road game of the conference season Thursday night, falling 75-58 at first-place Radford.

The Runnin' Bulldogs (11-7, 1-2 Big South) fell victim to a barrage of three-pointers from the Highlanders (12-6, 4-0 Big South) in the first half and were unable to fully recover.

Gardner-Webb's offense continued to misfire, falling more than 20 points short of its season scoring average on Wednesday night and failing to reach 65 points for the third game in a row – all in Big South Conference action.

Both teams struggled to make shots early, but Radford built its lead as large as 10 points in the first half – primarily behind seven three-point makes in that period. Donald Hicks, Jr., heated up midway through the half and finished with 12 points by the break on four treys.

Gardner-Webb trimmed the lead back to 37-31 with a pair of late buckets in transition and shot 50 percent for the half to keep the game within striking distance.

The Runnin' Bulldogs stayed close until late in the game, pulling as close as three points on a three-pointer by Jose Perez with 8:07 remaining in the game to make the score 56-53.

Radford responded with a decisive, 12-0 run, buoyed by a pair of three-pointers and three easy buckets from Ed Polite, Jr., to pull away.

Gardner-Webb halted the run with a pair of free throws from David Efianayi to cut the lead to 68-55 with just over three minutes left, but Radford wouldn't allow the 'Dogs to get any closer – answering with a 7-0 spurt to raise the lead to 20 points.

The Runnin' Bulldogs shot 45.8 percent from the floor overall, but were only 5-of-14 from long range and lost the rebounding battle by a 34-23 margin.

Efianayi led GWU with 17 points, DJ Laster added 14 points and Perez scored 10. Jaheam Cornwall came off the bench to make both his three-point attempts, but no other Gardner-Webb player scored more than five on the night.

Radford finished at a crisp 49.1 percent for the game, rebounded the ball well and made a sizzling 13-of-26 from deep. Hicks led the way with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from long range, Polite added 17 points and nine rebounds – and Travis Fields, Jr., made four treys to finish with 14 points.

Gardner-Webb will return home for its next test, hosting Hampton at 7:00 pm in Paul Porter Arena Saturday night (Jan. 19) on very short rest. 

The game will stream live on ESPN+, with Fabian Fuentes on the call.