BOILING SPRINGS – Gardner-Webb mounted a fierce rally in the fourth quarter Saturday, but a final drive fell short in a 30-27 loss to Charleston Southern in Big South Conference football action.

The Runnin' Bulldogs (3-6, 1-3 Big South) came out of the locker room slowly against the Buccaneers (3-6, 1-2 Big South), falling behind 24-0 by halftime as Charleston Southern racked up 293 offensive yards by the break – and limited Gardner-Webb to just 74 total yards and minus-7 yards rushing on the strength of five first-half sacks.

Gardner-Webb finally got on the board when Kalen Whitlow found Jameson Turner on a nine-yard touchdown pass with 10:24 to go in the third quarter, cutting Charleston Southern's edge to 24-7 – but a muffed punt helped the Buccaneers' efforts.

Jack Chambers capped an 11-yard scoring drive with a fade route touchdown to Kameron Brown to give the Bucs a 30-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Gardner-Webb took control of the game from there, stuffing the Charleston Southern ground game and using three Whitlow touchdown passes to pull within three points late.

Whitlow capped a long drive with a one-yard touchdown to Izaiah Gathings on fourth down with 14:21 to play in the game and heated up late to find Turner on a slant route for a 13-yard touchdown with 4:42 to play – cutting the lead to 10 points after the two-point conversion fell short.

Gardner-Webb got the ball back after a nice defensive effort and drove 66 yards to pull within three points. Whitlow tossed a fade route in the back of the end zone to Devron Harper from three yards away and the 'Dogs needed only a field goal to tie with 1:35 remaining.

GWU used its timeouts well, getting the ball back on a punt at its own 20-yard line with 31 seconds to play. A 32-yard pass from Whitlow to Gathings set GWU up at the Charleston Southern 48-yard line, but a three incompletions gave CSU the ball back with seven seconds left.

Whitlow nearly turned magician in the fourth quarter, completing 17-of-24 passes for 176 yards and three scores in his comeback effort. The graduate transfer finished the game 33-of-52 for 316 yards, four touchdowns and a pair of interceptions – and was sacked six times.

Gardner-Webb finished the day with 371 yards of total offense, with its ground game hampered by the Bucs' pass rush – and held to only 55 yards on 26 carries. The 'Dogs also were hampered by five turnovers (three fumbles, two interceptions).

Gathings had another career day, catching 14 passes for 172 yard and a touchdown – dragging defenders for first downs on a handful of plays. Harper finished with seven catches for 55 yards and a score – and Turner caught the first four passes of his career for 43 yards and two touchdowns.

Jayln Cagle was a bright spot on the ground in spurts, carrying 12 times for 69 yards. Darien Reynolds finished with 13 total tackles (nine solo), a 25-yard fumble recovery and a tackle for loss.

Janathian Turner finished with a career-high nine tackles and Devin Mines finished with seven hits (six solo), two tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble and recovery.

Charleston Southern had just 46 total yards in the second half and finished with 339 for the game. Jack Chambers was 25-of-37 for 191 yards and two touchdowns and ran nine times for 99 yards and a 70-yard score.

Cody Cline (11 tackles) and J.D. Sosebee (10 tackles) led Charleston Southern's defense. Three different Bucs had two sacks each, with Nick Salley forcing two fumbles. Cline and Anton Williams each had interceptions in the game off deflected passes.

Gardner-Webb will attempt to snap its three-game losing streak next Saturday on the road, traveling to face Presbyterian at 1:00 pm in Clinton, S.C. The game will air live on WGNC Radio (1450 AM / 101.1 FM / TuneIn App), with Brendan Boylan and Reggie Walker on the call. The game will also stream on ESPN+.