BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb opened up its Big South slate with an 83-63 win over Charleston Southern on Thursday night. Ludovic Dufeal led the 'Dogs five double-digit scorers as he tallied a season-high 16 points. The win extends the team's home win streak to four as well as marks their sixth in a row over the Buccaneers.
 
Gardner-Webb got off to a fast 13-0 start to the game before the first media timeout was taken. CSU got their first point of the evening off a Tyree Byran free throw after over five minutes into the game.
 
The Bucs were unable to close bring the GWU advantage within single digits for the opening half. The 'Dogs were able to stretch their lead to 22 with 6:40 left in the first as they were up 38-16, this was tied for the largest margin of the game. Gardner-Webb took a 50-32 advantage into the halftime break after shooting 61.8% (21-34) from the floor and 5-10 from deep.
 
The 'Dogs continued to keep CSU at bay as they never let the visitors within 14 in the second half. Gardner-Webb sealed the win after a 7-0 run with buckets from Anthony Selden, Julien Soumaoro, and DQ Nicholas.
 
The other four in double digits for scoring for the 'Dogs were Caleb Robinson with 14, Nicholas with 13, and Soumaoro and Selden each had 11. Robinson also led the team in rebounding with a career-high 12 while Soumaoro set a new career high with six.
 
The rebounding battle was won by GWU with a 38-26 edge after pulling down 18 from the offensive glass. Gardner-Webb outscored Charleston Southern 48-24 in the paint and 18-8 on second-chance opportunities.
 
CSU turned the ball over 16 times with ten of them coming off steals. The defensive edge was also set by Kareem Reid as he swatted away a pair of shots to go along with his eight points. The Bucs finished the game shooting 41.7% (20-48) and 31.6% (6-19)
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs will be back in action on Saturday, December 31 at High Point as they look to start conference play at 2-0 for back-to-back seasons.