HIGH POINT, N.C. – Gardner-Webb made a run over the final few minutes, but came up short in an 87-79 loss at High Point Saturday night.

The loss snapped a three-game win streak for the Runnin' Bulldogs (18-11, 8-6 Big South) and dropped GWU into a tie with High Point (14-13, 8-6 Big South) for fifth in the league standings. 

The Panthers currently have the tiebreaker over GWU with two games remaining – and the final first-round bye – based on a January win over second-place Campbell.

High Point came out on fire Saturday, going to forward Ricky Madison often in the paint to defeat Gardner-Webb's defense. That led to a shooting percentage near 70 percent for much of the first 20 minutes, until a late cold spell saw the Panthers finish at 60.0 percent (18-of-30) for the half.

The lead sat at 48-39 after a three at the horn from Curtis Holland III and the lead expanded to as many as 17 points midway through the final stanza.

Gardner-Webb was finally able to make its valiant push after the eight minute media timeout. With High Point still sitting on a comfortable, 76-65, lead, the 'Dogs went on an extended 15-6 run over the next 5:46 to pull within a single possession – 82-79 – on a DJ Laster layup with 1:27 left.

GWU made 6-of-7 shots during the run, with Laster (five points) and David Efianayi (four points) providing much of the fuel.

Efianayi corralled a rebound on High Point's next possession and raced down the court, but the ball was knocked out of bounds with just 52 seconds left on the clock. An inbounds play, and layup, was off the mark from there – and High Point scored the game's final five points for the final margin.

Nate Johnson and Efianayi led Gardner-Webb with 15 points each. Brandon Miller came off the bench to score a season-high 12 points in the post and Laster finished with 11 points. GWU assisted on just 11 of its 26 made baskets and had just five offensive rebounds for the game.

The 'Dogs shot a strong 57.8 percent overall (26-of-45) and 11-of-23 from three (47.8 percent). Nine missed free throws (16-of-25) hindered things, as did a minus-12 (33-21) deficit on the backboards.

High Point turned in aggressive results on the glass, turning 15 offensive caroms into a 22-6 edge in second chance scoring. The inside work of the 6-foot-8 Madison was decisive, as he made his first nine field goal attempts and finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds – six coming on the offensive end.

High Point, averaging just over 67 points per game on the season, and 5.4 made threes per game, knocked down 12 treys and scored nearly 20 points above that season average on Saturday. The Panthers cooled considerably in the second half, but finished the game at 50.8 percent (31-of-61) and 12-of-22 from deep (54.5 percent).

Jahaad Proctor finished with 16 points and Jordan Whitehead teamed up inside with Madison to finish with 15 points and seven boards (three offensive). High Point's work on the backboards led to 16 more shot attempts on the night. The Panthers also shared the basketball at a much higher rate, assisting on 23 of 31 made baskets.

Gardner-Webb will close its season out at home, beginning with surging Presbyterian (17-12, 9-5 Big South) on Wednesday night in Boiling Springs. Tip is set for 7:00 pm.