BOILING SPRINGS – Gardner-Webb came alive in the second half and overtime Saturday night, rallying for an 87-74 win over Hampton in a key Big South Conference tilt.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs (12-7, 2-2 Big South) evened their league mark and improved to 7-0 at home this season. Gardner-Webb has won 19 of its last 21 in Paul Porter Arena overall.
 
The win gave head coach Tim Craft his 100th career win, all at Gardner-Webb, over the past six seasons. The Tallahassee, Fla., native joined Hall of Fame coaches Eddie Holbrook and Jim Wiles as the only Gardner-Webb men's basketball coaches to reach at least 100 wins in year six.
 
Freshman Jose Perez led the charge with a game-high 21 points and 11 rebounds for Gardner-Webb. DJ Laster added 17 points and nine boards, David Efianayi scored 16 points and Nate Johnson scored 15 points for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
 
Gardner-Webb jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the early going, but saw Hampton (7-10, 2-2 Big South) heat up – inside and out – to surge in front by four points late in the half. The Pirates led 36-32 at the break behind 12 points from forward Akeem Mitchell.
 
Hampton extended its lead to as large as 10 points in the second half, taking advantage of cold Gardner-Webb shooting and a heavy edge on the offensive glass. Four consecutive free throws by Kalin Fisher put the Pirates up 50-40 with 13:48 remaining, but Gardner-Webb had a run in store.
 
Perez scored 11 critical points in a 16-5 run for the 'Dogs over the next 3:56, draining his second trey of the half to put Gardner-Webb up 56-55 with 9:24 to play in the game. Gardner-Webb extended its run to 20-5 with a pair of Johnson free throws and a Laster layup to hold a 60-55 edge with 7:48 remaining.
 
Hampton fought back to retake the lead, but laster tied the game 63-63 with a bank shot from 20 feet with 6:08 to play. After Gardner-Webb took its final lead, 70-67, on four-straight points from Efianayi with 1:52 to play, the Pirates hit the offensive glass to get the game knotted up.
 
Jermaine Marrow made a free throw with 1:25 left to cut the lead to two, then Trevond Barnes recovered from a blocked dunk attempt to draw a foul with 14.3 seconds left. He sank both free throw tries to tie the score at 70-70.
 
Gardner-Webb had one last chance to win, but Efianayi's driving shot was deflected and Hampton held the tie.
 
Perez took a pass from Efianayi and stepped into another three-pointer for a 73-70 lead with just 23 seconds off the clock in overtime and Gardner-Webb never trailed again. Hampton pulled within two on a pair of Lysander Bracey free throws with 3:32 left and within three on a Marrow free throw with 2:45 on the clock – but Gardner-Webb got a clutch three-pointer from point guard Christian Turner with 2:19 left to spark a 10-0 run that closed the game.
 
Turner came into the game after sitting for much of the second half, but scored all eight of his points in the extra period to help GWU stave off any Hampton rally. He and Jaheam Cornwall combined for 16 points, six assists and just one turnover from the point guard spot on Friday evening.
 
Gardner-Webb shot 71.4 percent from the floor in overtime and did not allow a made field goal by Hampton in the extra period. The Runnin' Bulldogs had just one turnover combined in the second half and overtime, blocked four shots and had seven steals.
 
Johnson was a defensive force before fouling out, holding the nation's fifth-leading scorer – Marrow – to just 14 points on 3-of-18 shooting with five turnovers.
 
Gardner-Webb shot 44.3 percent for the game and made 10-of-22 from long range (45.5 percent).
 
Hampton got 17 points and 10 rebounds from Fisher, 14 apiece from Marrow and Mitchell and eight each from Trey Carver and Ben Stanley (eight rebounds). The Pirates shot just 30.0 percent from the floor in the second half and missed all six field goals in overtime – sitting at 33.3 percent for the game.
 
Hampton did make 24-of-34 from the charity stripe to help offset its shooting woes from the fioor – and turned 16 offensive caroms into 17 second-chance points.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs will face two tough road tests next week, traveling to Rock Hill, S.C., for a nationally-televised game at Winthrop (ESPNU) on Thursday, January 24. Tip is set for 7:00 pm.
 
Gardner-Webb plays at Charleston Southern on Saturday (5:30 pm / ESPN+).