BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb trailed by only two at halftime, and remained in striking distance throughout the second half, but Wofford was able to overcome a late charge in the final minutes with strong free throw shooting as the Runnin' Bulldogs suffered their first home loss of the season, 78-70.
 
Down 38-36 at the break, Gardner-Webb (4-5) went toe-to-toe with the Terriers (7-3) throughout the second half before ultimately trailing by just four points with under a minute remaining.
 
Entering Wednesday's tilt as one of the top free throw shooting teams in the nation, Wofford capitalized from the charity stripe down the stretch, however, fending off GWU's comeback bid with four final free throws in the final 15 seconds to narrowly escape Paul Porter Arena with the nonconference victory.
 
Gardner-Webb, who moves to 4-1 at home on the young season, finished the game shooting 43.1% from the floor (25-of-58) and 42.1% from 3-point range (8-of-19), while Wofford shot 49.1% overall (26-of-53) but just 22.2% from downtown (4-of-18).
 
Junior Lance Terry led the way for the Runnin' Bulldogs, racking up a season-high 19 points – all in the first half – the most points he has scored since dropping 26 at Hampton on December 30, 2020.
 
Sophomore Jordan Sears tallied 12 points, and fellow classmate D'Maurian Williams also finished in double figures with 11 points, four rebounds and five assists for the second time in three games, tied for a career-high.
 
The two sides traded leads six times during a back-and-forth first half that brought the home crowd inside Paul Porter Arena to its feet on numerous occasions, including a 10-0 surge from the 'Dogs over a five-minute span with all 10 points coming from a red-hot Terry. Another 3-pointer from Terry soon followed to extend GWU's lead to four – its largest of the evening – but a counter run over the final three minutes helped the Terriers regain a two-point advantage heading into the locker room in which was capped off by a Max Klesmit layup at the buzzer.
 
Only trailing by two to start the second half despite allowing Wofford to shoot 53.6% over the first 20 minutes, Sears helped Gardner-Webb even the score at 42-42 with 17:57 to play. The Terriers scored the next five points in a row, however, reassuming a lead for the final time while clinging to it for the remainder of the contest.
 
Senior Ludovic Dufeal earned a start for the first time this season and posted a game-high four blocks, and the 'Dogs out-blocked the Terriers by a 7-2 margin despite losing the battle in the paint, 44-34. Junior Kareem Reid, who entered the night as the nation's leader in field-goal percentage, added nine points (3-of-8), five rebounds, three steals and one block, while graduate Zion Williams played big minutes off the bench and tallied as team-high six rebounds, including three on the offensive end.
 
Wofford was led by 28 points and 13 rebounds from B.J. Mack, while Klesmit posted 16 points and Ryan Larson added 13.
 
Gardner-Webb will look to rebound on the road on Saturday when it heads to Lexington, Va. to face VMI. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m.