BOILING SPRINGS – Gardner-Webb put five men in double figures but couldn't get over the hump late in a 79-75 loss to UNC Asheville Tuesday night.

The Runnin' Bulldogs (3-9, 2-5 Big South) dropped their third in a row in league play despite a career-high 19 points from D'Maurian Williams. Jacob Falko and Jamaine Mann each scored 14 for Gardner-Webb, Jordan Sears had 13 and Jaheam Cornwall scored 11.

Cornwall's driving layup with 9:00 to go gave the Brooklyn, N.Y., senior 1,000 career points.

UNC Asheville (8-6, 7-2 Big South) held a rebounding edge for the game (39-28), got a game-high 21 points from wing L.J. Thorpe and had a solid shooting night – finishing at 49.1 percent for the game.

Gardner-Webb handled the visiting Bulldogs pressure defense, coughing up only 11 turnovers for the game. GWU actually forced 15 Asheville turnovers and held a 23-11 edge in transition scoring as a result.

Still, the visiting Bulldogs made key plays when it had to, particularly in the second half. When Gardner-Webb used a quick spurt to trim Asheville's lead to 48-47 with 14:07 to play in the game, the visitors used an 11-2 run for its largest lead of the game – 59-49 – on an Evan Clayborne dunk with 9:56 to go.

Cornwall, Sears and Williams combined on a 6-0 run to trim the lead back to four, but Thorpe's trey with 6:27 left gave Asheville a healthy 64-55 edge. Gardner-Webb again pulled close, getting within 64-61 on a pair of Falko free throws with 5:23 to go, but Thorpe bulled his way down the lane on back-to-back trips for close shots to push the lead back to three possessions.

Cornwall found Dufeal open for a layup with 2:43 to play to cut the Asheville lead to 68-65, but Gardner-Webb would not be able to get any closer until its last possession. A Tajion Jones three-pointer just before the shot clock with 39.5 seconds to go gave the Bulldogs a 74-67 lead that would prove to be too much.

Cornwall drained a three under pressure with 28.4 seconds left to get the score to 74-70 and Sears drove for a layup after an offensive rebound with 8.9 seconds eft for a 76-72 margin. Jones made a free throw for a 77-72 lead and Falko sank a three on Gardner-Webb's final possession for a 77-75 score.

With just 0.8 seconds left when GWU got a foul on the inbounds, Jones made both free throws to seal the win.

In addition to Thorpe, Asheville's double figures scoring came from Jones (18 points), Clayborne (11 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Trent Stephney. The Bulldogs shot 50 percent in the second half and made 7-of-17 from long range for the game. A 20-for-28 effort at the free throw line was also helpful.

Gardner-Webb finished at 47.4 percent from the floor, made 10-of-23 from deep (43.5 percent) but got to the free throw line just 18 times (11-of-18).

The two teams will lace up again in Paul Porter Arena Wednesday night, with opening tip set for 7 pm. ESPN+ will host the live stream once again, with Fabian Fuentes and Jerry Dunn on the call.