Time:  3 p.m.
Location:  Farmville, Va.  •  Willett Hall
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FARMVILLE, Va. – After securing a 64-61 victory over Presbyterian to improve to 3-0 in the Big South, Gardner-Webb will put its five-game winning streak on the line when it travels to face Longwood on Saturday, January 15 in Farmville, Virginia.
 
Tipoff inside Willett Hall is slated for 3 p.m. Fans can tune in to watch on ESPN+, while radio coverage with Phil Constantino on the call can be listened to on both WGNC FM 101.1/AM 1450 and the Runnin' Bulldogs Sports Network (RBSN).  
 
Gardner-Webb leads the all-time head-to-head series over Longwood, 15-9. While the Lancers enter Saturday riding a three-game winning streak over the Runnin' Bulldogs, head coach Tim Craft still holds a 10-4 record over them since taking over at the helm in 2013-14.
 
GWU battled past Presbyterian in a high-intensity victory inside Paul Porter Arena during its last time out on Wednesday. D'Maurian Williams, Lance Terry and Anthony Selden combined for 42 points and the 'Dogs stormed back from a six-point halftime deficit to seal a 3-0 start to their Big South season for the first time in program history.
 
For Longwood, clutch buckets and defensive stops in overtime paved the way for the Lancers to run past Radford, 83-75, to open conference play on Wednesday night. After a Radford rally tied the score at 69 as time expired, the LW defense did not allow Radford to hit a shot for the first four minutes and change of overtime while slowly pulling away for an eight-point win.
 

BULLDOG BITES

 

NATIONAL RANKS (TOP 100) 17th – Total blocks (82) 18th – Defensive 3P% (27.6%) 24th – Blocks per game (5.5) 29th – Defensive FG% 74th – Def. reb. per game (27.4) 79th – FG% (46.4) 80th – Total steals (114) 80th – Total rebounds (568) 85th – Total assists (221) 95th – Total rebounds per game (37.9) 96th – Scoring margin (8.4) 98th – 3P FG attempts (361)

LARGEST MARGINS OF VICTORY (TOP 5) 62 – vs. Carver (100-38) 33 – vs. Converse (79-46) 28 – vs. WCU (87-59) 25 – at Charleston So. (88-63) 25 – vs. NC Central (83-58)

OPPONENT FG% (LAST 5) Converse: 27.0% at Georgia: 37.3% at CSU: 39.0%  Hampton: 36.2%   Presbyterian: 38.6%

OPPONENT 3-PT PERCENTAGE (LAST 5) Converse: 20.0% at Georgia: 15.8%  at CSU: 24.1% Hampton: 36.4% Presbyterian: 28.6%

DOUBLE-DIGIT OUTINGS (POINTS) 14 – Lance Terry 12 – D'Maurian Williams 9 – Kareem Reid 6 – Jordan Sears 5 – Anthony Selden 3 – Zion Williams 3 – Julien Soumaoro 1 – Ademide Badmus 1 – Leon Williams

 
STREAKING DAWGS:
During its 5-game winning streak, GWU has:

• Outscored opponents 386-299 (GWU – 77.2 PPG; Opponents – 59.8 PPG)
• Shot 48.6% on FGs and 38.0% from 3-pt
• Held all 5 opponents below 40.0% FG shooting (Avg. – 35.6%)
• Limited opponents to 25.0% 3-pt shooting
• Not allowed more than 69 points (Hampton – Jan. 8)

FIRST TIME, GOOD TIME:
Prior to this season, Gardner-Webb had never started a Big South slate at 3-0 in 13 seasons as a member of the league. In fact, the 'Dogs had started 2-0 just once before this season. In three Big South wins, GWU has outscored its conference opponents 230-191 (+39). 
 
GOOD COMPANY:
With its win over PC, Gardner-Webb notched its first 5-game win streak of the season. Prior to this season, the last time GWU won 5-straight came its run to the NCAA Tournament in 2019. That season, GWU knocked off Presbyterian and Longwood to end the regular season, and then knocked off High Point, Campbell and ultimately Radford to claim the Big South Championship.
 
KEEP ON WINNING: GWU's 5-game winning streak is now 3 shy of the team's longest winning streak under Coach Craft (8), which also came during the 2018-19 season. While this season's streak features one win over a Power 5, the 8-game winning streak included two wins over Power 5 opponents (Georgia Tech, Wake Forest).
 
REMAINING UNBEATENS: Gardner-Webb is 1 of 4 remaining unbeaten teams in Big South play, joining North Carolina A&T (3-0), Winthrop (2-0) and Longwood (1-0). While GWU has started 2-0 in Big South play once before, the Runnin' Bulldogs have never started 3-0 to start league play in its first 13 seasons in the Big South.
 
BACK-TO-BACK POTW: After averaging 18.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 2 games last week, including setting a career-high with 20 points versus Hampton, sophomore Anthony Selden was named Big South Player of the Week for the first time in his career. Gardner-Webb has now won back-to-back Big South Player of the Week awards after Zion Williams earned the honor on Jan. 3 following Gardner-Webb's 77-60 victory over Georgia.
 
WINNING IN FASHION: Gardner-Webb's average margin of victory in 9 wins this season is 23.8 points, with the closest victory being a 3-point win over Presbyterian the last time out. Five wins have come by 25 points or more, with the largest margin of victory coming by 62 points versus Carver (100-38).
 
BIG SOUTH SUCCESS: Under Coach Craft, the Runnin' Bulldogs have not endured a losing season in Big South Conference play in his eight full seasons. Craft is 84-61 (.579) in the Big South, reaching at least 10 wins in 7 of his 8 seasons.
 
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS: Through 16 games, Gardner-Webb has held opponents to a 39.1% field-goal percentage, the top mark in the Big South and the 26th best average in the nation. GWU has kept opponents below 40.0% shooting in its last 6 of the last 7 games and 11 times overall this season.
 
DEFENDING THE PERIMETER: GWU also currently ranks 15^th in the country in opponent 3-point percentage at 27.7%. Outside of its 2 games against nationally ranked opponents, Gardner-Webb has been excellent defending the perimeter this season. In 14 games not against ranked teams, GWU has held opponents to just 23.0% (82-of-350) shooting from deep.
 
BLOCK PARTY: Gardner-Webb's 86 total blocks this season are 15^th most in Division I, while its 5.4 BPG average ranks 24^th in the nation and 2^nd in the Big South. Ludovic Dufeal leads the way averaging 2.0 BPG, followed by Kareem Reid (1.6 BPG) and Anthony Selden (1.4 BPG).
 
BACKCOURT BROS: The duo of D'Maurian Williams and Lancy Terry has been one of the best 1-2 punches on offense in the Big South this season. Williams (14.4 PPG) and Terry (14.1 PPG) rank 5^th and 6^th in the Big South in scoring, respectively, as Gardner-Webb is the only Big South school to feature two players in the top 6 in scoring.
 
BACKCOURT BROS (CONT.): D'Maurian Williams and Lance Terry have both finished in double figures in 10 games this season, including in 7 of the last 8 games. The duo has combined for 158 of 386 total Gardner-Webb points (41.0%) during its current 5-game winning streak.
 
DOUBLE-DIGIT D'MAURIAN: D'Maurian Williams continues to get it done on offense for GWU. The 2nd-year guard has finished in double figures 12 times this season, including in 7 of the last 8 games. He has finished with 20+ points in 4 games, the 4^th-most of any player in the Big South trailing only John-Michael Wright (HPU – 7), Rayshon Harrison (Presbyterian – 6) and D.J. Burns (Winthrop – 5). The Phoenix, Arizona native currently leads the Runnin' Bulldogs averaging 14.4 PPG.
 
DOWNTOWN D'MAURIAN: Much of D'Maurian Williams' offensive success this season has come from distance. Williams has gone 20 for 39 from distance over the last 6 games (51.3%) and is currently 3^rd in the Big South in 3P% at 38.8%. Additionally, Williams has hit on 2 or more 3-pointers in 12-of-16 games this season and has hit 3 or more in 9-of-16 games.
 
DUFEAL DIMES: While not a major scoring threat (27 points on 18 shots in the last 5 games), Ludovic Dufeal has still made a major impact on offense, combining for 15 assists during the current 5-game winning streak. Dufeal, who averages 0.75 APG for his career, tied a career high with 5 assists versus Converse on Dec. 19 before setting a new career high with 6 assists on Dec. 29 versus Georgia. This season, Dufeal has averaged 2.1 APG in 11 games since returning from injury and already has 23 assists after not registering more than 21 in any season prior (21 total as a junior, 20 as a sophomore, 3 as a freshman).
 
MORE LUDOVIC: Ludovic Dufeal has also been crashing the boards, grabbing double-digit rebounds in 3 of the last 7 games. He set a new career high with 15 boards at VMI and currently averages a team-high 6.1 boards overall this season after averaging 4.4 last season and 5.2 as a sophomore. His 15-rebound performance was also the most by a GWU player since Tyrell Nelson grabbed 16 boards on Jan. 6, 2016.
 
MASTER OF EFFICIENCY: Kareem Reid, who has finished perfect from the field in 4 games this season, ranks 10th in NCAA Division I with a FG% of 61.7% (74-of-120). He remains GWU's 3rd-leading scorer at 10.7 PPG trailing only D'Maurian Williams (14.4 PPG) and Lance Terry (14.1 PPG). Reid, who entered the season with a single-game career-high of 13 points, has already eclipsed that total in 5 games this season while finishing in double figures 7 times.
 
GWU BLOCK KING: With 3 blocks versus Converse on Dec. 19, senior Ludovic Dufeal became Gardner-Webb's all-time career blocks leader with 145 (Division I era) eclipsing the previous record of 144 set by Simon Conn (02'-03 to '05-'06).
 
SUCCESSFUL BIG SOUTH OPENER: Gardner-Webb cruised to an 88-63 victory in its Big South opener on Wednesday night. D'Maurian Williams scored 20, Lance Terry added 19 and Anthony Selden matched a career high with 16 points as the Runnin' Bulldogs shot 54.0% from the field in a 25-point rout of the Buccaneers to boost Coach Craft to 5-4 in Big South openers in his GWU tenure.
 
DOWN GO THE (UGA) BULLDOGS: Gardner-Webb pulled off an upset over Georgia on Dec. 29, a 17-point win over the Bulldogs on Dec. 29 in Athens. GWU led for all but 1:24 of play early in the opening half, and it took only 7:17 for the Runnin' Bulldogs to open a double-digit lead. Zion Williams, Lance Terry and Jordan Sears all finished with 14 points on a combined 15-31 shooting, Ludovic Dufeal recorded 11 rebounds and a career-high six assists and Georgia never came any closer than 7 points.
 
A WIN LIKE NO OTHER: The 17-point margin of victory over Georgia was the largest ever for Gardner-Webb over a Power 5 opponent. Prior to that, the largest margin of victory stood at 16 points when GWU upset #20 Kentucky, 84-66, on Nov. 7, 2007.
 
POWER 5 WIN: The win over Georgia was Gardner-Webb's first over a Power 5 program since taking down Wake Forest (12/29/18) exactly 3 years to the date. It was the 13^th Power 5 win in team history and the sixth for Coach Craft in his 9-year tenure at the helm.
 
SEC TERRITORY: GWU's victory in Athens was its second win all-time against an SEC opponent. The other win came back on Nov. 7, 2007, a 16-point win over #20 Kentucky, 84-66.
 
LOCKDOWN D: GWU held Converse to 27.0% shooting, the lowest shooting percentage of any opponent since Brevard shot 18.0% against the 'Dogs on December 19, 2018, nearly 3 full years ago.
 
THREE-FOR-ALL: The 'Dogs knocked down 16 3-pointers on Dec. 19 against Converse, the most in a contest since February 10, 2020 against High Point.
 
100 BLOCK CLUB: With 4 blocks vs. North Carolina Central on Nov. 29, Kareem Reid became sixth Runnin' Bulldog to eclipse 100 career blocks since Gardner-Webb's move to Division I in 2002-03. Reid also became the 46th player in Big South Conference history to eclipse 100 career blocks.
 
100 WINS: Coach Craft is the third coach in Gardner-Webb history to reach 100 career wins in six seasons. The Tallahassee, Florida native joined Hall of Famers Eddie Holbrook (141) and Jim Wiles (103) on that list on Jan. 19, 2019. Craft currently ranks third all-time in career wins at GWU trailing Holbrook (212) and Rick Scruggs (199).