Time:  7 p.m.
Location:  Boiling Springs, N.C.  •  Paul Porter Arena
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BOILING SPRINGS – Gardner-Webb men's basketball will put its 7-1 home record on the line on Wednesday night, January 19 when the Runnin' Bulldogs welcome USC Upstate to Paul Porter Arena for the first of two contests between the two Big South foes this season. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Boiling Springs. 
 
For fans in attendance, admission will be half-priced at $5 per ticket for those able to donate two cans of soup upon entry. All other general admission tickets are priced at $10 per ticket and can be purchased either at the door or online here. Students are granted free entry with a valid Gardner-Webb ID.
 
For fans not in attendance, live video coverage will be available on ESPN+ with Phil Constantino and former Penn State Head Men's Basketball Coach Jerry Dunn on the call. Radio coverage with Jim "Mojo" Morrison can also be heard on WGNC 101.1 FM/1450 AM as well as the Runnin' Bulldogs Sports Network.  
 
Separated by only 30 miles between the two campuses, Gardner-Webb and USC Upstate are set for their 29^th all-time meeting on Wednesday night as GWU looks to improve on its 15-13 head-to-head record against the Spartans. The Runnin' Bulldogs have won four of their last five over Upstate, including in the most recent contest on March 22, 2021 in which the 'Dogs claimed a 69-58 road victory in Spartanburg. Head Coach Tim Craft owns a 6-1 record all-time over the Spartans during his Gardner-Webb tenure.
 
Last time out for Gardner-Webb, a free throw from Anthony Selden gave the Runnin' Bulldogs a one-point lead with 48 seconds remaining, but Longwood came through with seven made free throws in the closing moments as the Lancers defeated the Runnin' Bulldogs, 66-60, Saturday afternoon inside Willett Hall. GWU held a lead for just under 30 minutes of total game action, including a game-high 12-point advantage in the first half and multiple 10-point leads in the second half. Longwood, on the other hand, only secured its largest lead of the game (6) when it converted on two free throws with 3.0 seconds remaining. The Lancers led for just 7:53 of game action on the afternoon.
 
As for USC Upstate, senior forward Bryson Mozone sunk a turnaround jumper from the edge of the lane to put Upstate ahead 73-72 with 3.6 seconds remaining. As Asheville in-bound the ball looking for a last-ditch shot attempt, junior guard Mysta Goodloe stepped in, forcing the turnover and drawing the foul before stepping to the free throw line to ice the 76-73 victory.

BULLDOG BITES

ESPNU WILD CARD:
ESPNU has selected the Gardner-Webb at UNC Asheville men's basketball contest as its second Big South Wildcard broadcast of the 2021-22 season, it was announced today by the Big South Conference office.  The game will move from its current Wednesday, Jan. 26 date to Thursday, Jan. 27 and will tip at 7:00pm inside Kimmel Arena in Asheville, N.C. The matchup will mark the second nationally-televised meeting between the squads, as the first was Feb. 23, 2017 on ESPNU and won by the home-standing Runnin' Bulldogs, 81-76.  It will be Gardner-Webb's eighth appearance in the Big South's ESPNU Wildcard series, and 13th for Asheville.
 
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 on Jan. 12. Five wins have come by 25 points or more, with the largest margin of victory coming by 62 points versus Carver (100-38).
   
HISTORIC BIG SOUTH START:
Before doing so this season, Gardner-Webb had never started a Big South slate at 3-0 in 13 prior seasons as a member of the league. With a 64-61 win over Presbyterian on Jan. 12, the Runnin' Bulldogs moved to 3-0 for the first time before falling for the first time when Longwood handed them their first loss on Jan. 15, 66-60.
 
GOOD COMPANY:
With its win over PC, Gardner-Webb notched its first 5-game win streak of the season, as well as its first since its run to the NCAA Tournament in 2019. That season, GWU knocked off Presbyterian and Longwood to end the regular season, before taking down High Point, Campbell and ultimately Radford to claim the Big South Championship. The longest winning streak under Coach Craft is 8, which came during 2018-19 nonconference play and included wins over two Power 5 opponents in Georgia Tech and Wake Forest.
 
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 (finished .500 twice). Craft is 84-62 (.575) in the Big South, reaching at least 10 wins in 7 of his 8 full seasons.
 
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Through 17 games, Gardner-Webb has held opponents to a 38.7% field-goal percentage, the top mark in the Big South and the 20th best average in the nation. GWU has kept opponents below 40.0% shooting in 7 of the last 8 games and 12 times overall this season, while 10 of GWU's last 12 opponents have failed to eclipse 70 points.
   
DEFENDING THE PERIMETER:
GWU also currently ranks 16^th in the country in opponent 3-point percentage at 27.6%. Outside of its 2 games against nationally ranked opponents, Gardner-Webb has been excellent defending the perimeter this season. In 15 games not against ranked teams, GWU has held opponents to just 23.6% (90-of-381) shooting from deep. Only two teams (No. 16 Arkansas – 13, No. 7 Duke – 10) have hit double-digit 3s against GWU this season, while 14 teams have been held to 8 or fewer (including the last 12).
   
BACK-TO-BACK POTW:
After averaging 18.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in two wins over Charleston Southern and Hampton, and 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 on Jan. 10. Selden followed his teammate, Zion Williams, who earned Big South Player of the Week the week prior for his performance in a 77-60 win over Georgia (14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block).  

BLOCK PARTY:
Gardner-Webb's 86 total blocks this season are 16^th most in Division I, while its 5.5 BPG average ranks 19^th in the nation and 2^nd in the Big South. GWU has recorded 4 or more blocks in a game 14 times this season, and has finished with either more blocks than its opponent or the same number of blocks as its opponent in 14 of 18 games, including the last 14 of 15. The Runnin' Bulldogs currently have 3 players averaging 1.4 BPG or more (Dufeal – 2.1, Reid – 1.6, Selden – 1.4).
 
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 (14.3 PPG) and Terry (14.0 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 finished in double figures in the same game 11 times this season, including in 8 of the last 9 games. The duo has combined for 481 of 1239 total Gardner-Webb points this season (38.8%).
 
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 13 times this season, including in 8 of the last 9 games. He has finished with 20+ points in 4 games, tied for the 4^th-most of any player in the Big South trailing only John-Michael Wright (HPU – 8), Rayshon Harrison (Presbyterian – 7) and D.J. Burns (Winthrop – 5). The Phoenix, Arizona native currently leads the Runnin' Bulldogs averaging 14.3 PPG.
 
DOWNTOWN D'MAURIAN:
Much of D'Maurian Williams' offensive success this season has come from distance. Williams has gone 24 for 47 from distance over the last 7 games (51.0%) and is currently 3^rd in the Big South in 3P% at 39.6%. Williams has hit on 2 or more 3-pointers in 13-of-17 games this season and has hit 3 or more in 10-of-17 games.
 
CONSISTENCY IS KEY:
While D'Maurian Williams leads the team in scoring, Lance Terry has quietly produced all season long for Gardner-Webb. Terry has finished in double figures in 15 of 17 games this season and in 10-straight games (averaging 14.2 PPG during that 10-game span).
   
SURGING SELDEN:
Anthony Selden has exploded off the bench over the last 4 games. After logging double figures only twice during nonconference play, Selden has done so in all 4 Big South games thus far this season. In 4 league games, Selden has averaged 16.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steal, all while setting a new career-high in points (20) and tying career-highs in assists (3) and steals (2). After averaging just over 22 minutes per game (MPG) in nonconference games, Selden has averaged 30 MPG in 4 conference games.
 
DUFEAL DIMES:
While not a major scoring threat (27 points on 18 shots in the last 6 games), Ludovic Dufeal has still made a major impact on offense. 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 12 games since returning from injury, and already has 25 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 3 times this season. Dufeal set a new career-high with 15 boards at VMI and currently averages 5.8 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, has a FG% of 61.7% (79-of-128). He remains GWU's 3rd-leading scorer at 10.8 PPG trailing only D'Maurian Williams (14.3 PPG) and Lance Terry (14.0 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 10 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).