Time:  2 p.m.
Location:  Rock Hill, S.C.  •  Winthrop Coliseum
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ROCK HILL, S.C. – Following a brief two-game skid, Gardner-Webb (9-9, 3-2) will aim to return to the win column on Saturday afternoon, January 22 when the Runnin' Bulldogs travel to Rock Hill for a showdown against the Big South's preseason favorite, Winthrop.
 
Tipoff inside Winthrop Coliseum is slated for 2 p.m. Fans can tune in to watch on ESPN+, while radio coverage with Phil Constantino and Jim "Mojo" Morrison on the call can be heard on the Runnin' Bulldogs Sports Network (RBSN). 
 
Gardner-Webb will be searching for its first win in the head-to-head series since it last defeated the Eagles by a final score of 74-70 in Boiling Springs on February 13, 2020. Winthrop has gotten the best of the Runnin' Bulldogs in the two most recent contests, including a 91-83 victory in Rock Hill when the two teams last squared off a season ago.
 
NATIONAL RANKS (TOP 100)
*as of Friday, Jan. 21
 
15th – Total blocks (99)
17th – Blocked shots per game (5.5)
18th – Defensive 3P% (28.2%)
24th – Defensive FG% (39.1)
56th – Defensive rebounds per game (27.4)
78th – Total rebounds (670)
91st – Total steals (131)
92nd – Total assists (259)
93rd – 3P FG attempts (427)

BULLDOG BITES

HE'S CRAFTY:
Head Coach Tim Craft's 147 overall victories rank 9th all-time in Big South history, and he is three wins away from becoming the eighth with 150. He is also currently eighth with 84 career Big South wins. Meanwhile, Craft has recorded wins over six Power 5 opponents during his tenure in Boiling Springs. His Runnin' Bulldog squads have downed Clemson (2014-15), Purdue (2014-15), Nebraska (2016-17), Georgia Tech (2018-19), Wake Forest (2018-19) and Georgia (2021-22).
 
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).
 
LARGEST MARGINS OF VICTORY (TOP 5)
62 – vs. Carver (100-38)
33 – vs. Converse (79-46)
28 – vs. Western Carolina (87-59)
25 – at Charleston So. (88-63)
25 – vs. NC Central (83-58)
 
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING:
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 84-63 (.571) in the Big South, reaching at least 10 wins in 7 of his 8 full seasons.
 
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Through 18 games, Gardner-Webb has held opponents to a 39.1% field-goal percentage, the
top mark in the Big South and the 24th best mark in the nation. GWU has kept opponents below 40.0% shooting in 7 of the last 9 games and 12 times overall this season, while 10 of GWU's last 13 opponents have failed to eclipse 70 points.
 
OPPONENT FG PERCENTAGE (LAST 7)
• Converse: 27.0% (17 for 63)
• at Georgia: 37.3% (22 of 59)
• at Charleston Southern: 39.0% (23 of 59)
• Hampton: 36.2% (17 of 47)
• Presbyterian: 38.6% (22 of 57)
• at Longwood: 33.8% (24 of 71)
• USC Upstate: 47.2% (25 of 53)
 
DEFENDING THE PERIMETER:
GWU also currently ranks 18th in the country in opponent 3-point percentage at 28.2%. Outside of its 2 games against nationally ranked opponents, Gardner-Webb has been excellent defending the perimeter this season. In 16 games not against ranked teams, GWU has held opponents to just 24.5% (99-of-404) 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.
 
OPPONENT 3-PT PERCENTAGE (LAST 6)
• Converse: 20.0% (6 of 30)
• at Georgia: 15.8% (3 of 19)
• at Charleston Southern: 24.1% (7 of 29)
• Hampton: 36.4% (8 of 22)
• Presbyterian: 28.6% (8 of 28)
• at Longwood: 25.8% (8 of 31)
• USC Upstate: 39.1% (9 of 23)
 
BLOCK PARTY:
Gardner-Webb's 99 total blocks this season are 12th most in Division I, while its 5.5 BPG average ranks 17th in the nation and 1st in the Big South. GWU has recorded 4 or more blocks in a game 15 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 16. The Runnin' Bulldogs currently have 3 players averaging 1.3 BPG or more (Dufeal – 2.0, Reid – 1.6, Selden – 1.3).
 
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 (14.1 PPG) and Terry (13.8 PPG) rank 6th and 7th in the Big South in scoring, respectively, as Gardner-Webb is the only Big South school to feature two players in the top 7 in scoring.
 
BACKCOURT BROS (CONT.):
D'Maurian Williams and Lance Terry have finished in double figures in the same game 12 times this season, including in 9 of the last 10 games. The duo has combined for 502 of 1,300
total Gardner-Webb points this season (38.6%).
 
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 14 times this season, in- cluding in 9 of the last 10 games. He has finished with 20+ points in 4 games, tied for the 4th-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 14.1 PPG.

DOWNTOWN D'MAURIAN:
Much of D'Maurian Williams' offensive success this season has come from distance. Williams has gone 25 for 53 from distance over the last 8 games (47.2%) and is currently 3rd in the Big South in both total triples (45) as well as 3P% (38.5%). Williams has hit on 2 or more 3-point- ers in 13-of-18 games this season and has hit 3 or more in 10-of-18 games.
 
CONSISTENCY IS KEY:
While D'Maurian Williams leads the team in scor- ing, Lance Terry has quietly produced all season long for Gardner-Webb. Terry has finished in double figures in 16 of 18 games this season and in 11-straight games (averaging 14.9 PPG during that 11-game span).
 
DOUBLE-DIGIT OUTINGS (POINTS)
16 – Lance Terry
14 – D'Maurian Williams
11 – Kareem Reid
7 – Jordan Sears
6 – Anthony Selden
3 – Zion Williams
3 – Julien Soumaoro
1 – Ademide Badmus
1 – Leon Williams
 
SURGING SELDEN:
Anthony Selden exploded off the bench in the first 4 games of Big South play. After logging double figures only twice during nonconference play, Selden did so in all of the first 4 Big South games this season. In 5 total league games, Selden has averaged 12.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 blocks, 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 27 MPG in 5 conference games.
 
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).
 
DUFEAL DIMES:
While not a major scoring threat (27 points on 21 shots in the last 7 games), Ludovic Dufeal has still made a BIG 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 1.9 APG in 13 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 5.4 boards overall this season after averaging 4.4 last sea- son 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 61.6% (85-of-138). He remains GWU's 3rd-leading scorer at 11.0 PPG trailing only D'Maurian Williams (14.1 PPG) and Lance Terry (13.8 PPG). Reid, who entered the season with a single-game career-high of 13 points, has already eclipsed that total in 6 games this season while finishing in double figures 11 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. D'Maurian Williams scored 20, Lance Terry added 19 and Anthony Selden matched a career-high with 16 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 beating Wake For- est (12/29/18) exactly 3 years to the date. It was the 13th 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).