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Postgame Interview with Coach Craft
 
GREENVILLE, N.C. – Gardner-Webb led for the majority of the afternoon on Saturday, and was within one possession with just under over minutes to play, but East Carolina executed down the stretch to escape with a 62-52 victory over the Runnin' Bulldogs from Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
 
Trailing 52-49 with 3:04 remaining, junior Lance Terry was unable to convert on a 3-pointer from the right wing to even the score. ECU then went on to finish the game on a 10-3 run to edge out the 10-point victory.
 
Gardner-Webb led by as many as nine points in the first half – 25-16 – and never trailed over the opening 23:07 of action. A 3-pointer from East Carolina's JJ Miles with 16:53 remaining finally put the Pirates ahead for the first time, a lead the they ultimately maintained for the duration of the contest.
 
East Carolina managed to stretch its lead to double figures with 8:14 to go, but a resilient effort from GWU allowed the 'Dogs to claw back to within one possession thanks to a 7-0 run and a pair of buckets from junior Kareem Reid.
 
"They made a nice run and pushed the lead out, but credit to our guys," said head coach Tim Craft. "We stayed together and stayed in it and got a stop to get it three points. We had a good shot to tie the game with three minutes to go, but in that last three minutes, they made the plays they needed to make to win the game on both ends, and we did not."
 
Reid, who entered Saturday sporting the third-best field-goal percentage in the nation, finished the day with seven points (3-of-5), seven boards and two blocks. Sophomore Jordan Sears led all Gardner-Webb scorers with 12 points, and Terry added 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
 
Despite starting the game 5-of-7 from the field with a trio of 3-pointers, the Runnin' Bulldogs struggled from the floor overall, hitting at just a 34.5% clip from the field overall (20-of-58). The GWU defense stepped up in a big way to keep the 'Dogs in it throughout, however, holding the Pirates to 37.5% from the field (21-of-56) and 25.0% from downtown (6-of-24) while forcing ECU into 16 turnovers.
 
"We scrapped and battled and forced some turnovers," said Craft. "I thought the defensive activity over some stretches was really, really good. I think the biggest thing was we just never got going offensively. Other than the first 10 minutes, we made some shots, made some players, but from then on out we just never got going offensively."
 
With its four-game winning streak now snapped, Gardner-Webb will look to return to the win column on Wednesday night, Dec. 8 back at home inside the friendly confines of Paul Porter Arena. Tipoff against the Terriers is set for 7 p.m.