BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb hosts UNC Asheville on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. for a Red Out. GWU is coming off a 79-78 overtime win at Presbyterian On Wednesday while UNC Asheville handed Longwood their first conference loss of the year on Thursday on ESPNU.

All Gardner-Webb fans are encouraged to wear red in support of Saturday's "Red Out" inside Paul Porter Arena. General admission tickets are on sale for $10/ticket, and can either be purchased at the door or ahead of time here. Entry for Gardner-Webb students is free with a valid student ID.
 
On Wednesday in Clinton, S.C., DQ Nicholas and Julien Soumaoro each had season highs in scoring with 20 and 18 respectively.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs have had a trio of players average in double figures this year with Anthony Selden and Nicholas leading the way at 11.5 per game. Kareem Reid is at 10.9 with Soumaoro knocking on the double digits at 9.9.
 
Coming off the bench, Lucas Stieber has found his stroke from deep going 8-13 since the start of conference play and finishing in double digits in a pair of games. Steiber had 11 on Wednesday converting a trio of shots from three-point range.
 
Gardner-Webb has been one of the toughest defensive teams in the league this year holding opponents to a 39.4 clip from the floor and ranking second in opponent scoring per game (64.4). The Runnin' Bulldogs are the only team in the league holding opponents to less than 40.0 percent shooting this season.
 
Asheville has fallen behind in each of their last three wins at the end of the first half. They were down by nine to High Point, 15 to Campbell, and five to Longwood. The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 119-75 in the second half to come back and claim the victories during those games.
 
UNC Asheville is led by the Preseason Big South Player of the Year Drew Pember. He has tallied over 19 points in their past four games and has registered a double-double in three of those. He leads the conference in blocks (48) and blocks per game (2.67) each within the Top 10 of the NCAA as well.
 
Taijon Jones has been one of the top shooters from behind the arc in the country this season, hitting on 52 of 111 attempts (46.8%) which ranks 11^th in the country.
 
Gardner-Webb holds the edge in the all-time series vs. Asheville, going 36-25 in the 61 total matchups. GWU has won the last three times out and had a 60-59 victory when they hosted the game in Boiling Springs last season. In the prior season, Asheville ended a five-game losing streak to GWU after a 79-75 on January 19, 2021, in Paul Porter Arena.