THE GAME
Gardner-Webb (7-11, 3-3 Big South) will face a red-hot Charleston Southern (10-9, 4-3 Big South) on Saturday afternoon in Paul Porter Arena. The game will tip at 4:30 pm as part of a Big South Conference doubleheader with the GWU women – who host Radford at 2:00. Both games will stream live on ESPN+, with Fabian Fuentes and Brendan Boylan on the call.

THE SERIES
Gardner-Webb owns a 18-7 edge in the all-time series, including a 12-1 mark in Boiling Springs ... GWU is 10-1 vs. CSU in Paul Porter Arena ... The two teams split the season series in 2018-2019, with Gardner-Webb winning on February 13 by a 77-74 score ... Each of the last two games in Boiling Springs have been decided by five combined points, with GWU winning both games.

GARDNER-WEBB QUICK LOOK
•    Tim Craft was the third coach in Gardner-Webb history to reach 100 career wins in six seasons. The Tallahassee, Fla., native 
    joined Hall of Famers Eddie Holbrook  (141) and Jim Wiles (103) on that list when GWU rallied for an 87-74 overtime win 
    against Hampton on January 19, 2019 in Paul Porter Arena.

•    Under Craft, the Runnin' Bulldogs have not endured a losing season in Big South Conference play in his six seasons. Craft
    is 63-47 in the Big South, reaching at least 10 wins in five of his six seasons so far.

•    Gardner-Webb had a basketball oddity on Monday night, as its home game was suspended due to a severe shot clock 
    malfunction. GWU led 39-31 at the break, led by 19 points from Jose Perez, but Hampton chose not to finish the game
    with manual shot clock timing. League officials agreed to suspend the game until February 24. A start time is TBD.

•    Since returning from injury, guard Nate Johnson (6-3, 180, Jr.) has averaged a red-hot 18.8 points per game to go with 5.5 
    rebounds and 1.9 steals. The Miami, Fla., native is shooting an even 50.0 percent from three-point land during that stretch
    and has also made 24-of-26 free throws (92.3 percent). He has hit a new career-high in scoring twice in six games.

•    Gardner-Webb is 3-0 when it makes at least 20 free throws in a game this season.

•    Gardner-Webb got off to a slow start to league play for the second year in a row. After going 2-4 to start Big South action last 
    season, GWU rallied to finish in a tie for third by season's end. The 'Dogs famously ran the table in the league tournament for 
    their first NCAA Tournament berth.

•    GWU went 11-3 last season in "close games" – games decided by  two possessions or less or in overtime. That included an 8-1 
    mark in Big South play. GWU is 2-5 in "close games" this season, including home losses to Furman, Presbyterian and Radford.

•    Last season, Gardner-Webb reached the 20-win mark for the second time under Tim Craft, but did so in the regular season for 
     the first time since the move to Division I in 2000. GWU had previously reached 19 regular season wins in 2001-2002 (23-9) and
    2012-2013 (20-13).

•    Point guard Jaheam Cornwall had a three-game stretch vs. Wichita State (11/18), South Carolina (11/22) and UT-Martin 
    (11/26) that saw him score 60 points (20.0 ppg), make 65.5 percent of his field goals (19-of-29) and 78.9 percent of his three-
    point shots (15-of-19). 

•    Swingman Jose Perez narrowly missed his second career triple-double on November 26, going for nine points, 11 rebounds 
    and 10 assists in  the win over UT-Martin in Cancun. Perez had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists vs. Savannah State last 
    December 1.

•    Perez broke out of a season-long shooting slump at Winthrop, nailing 11-of-17 field goals and 11-of-14 free throws en 
    route to a career-high 35 points in the triple-OT loss to the Eagles. He added six rebounds and six assists. The performance 
    marked career-highs in field goals made and field goal percentage for the Bronx, N.Y., sophomore.

•    Ludovic Dufeal has swatted a career-high 32 shots this season, pacing the Big South with 1.9 blocks per game. The 6-foot-8
    forward is also averaging career-highs in scoring (6.1 ppg) and rebounding (5.4 rpg). Teammate Kareem Reid is averaging
    a strong 1.5 blocks per game in just 14.1 minutes of action – with the pair keying Gardner-Webb's defense to 77 blocked shots
    so far this season. Dufeal has a 7-foot-3 wingspan and Reid is blessed with a phenomenal 7-foot-5 wingspan.