Boiling Springs, N.C.  – On an afternoon in which the Gardner-Webb men's basketball team honored and celebrated the One More, One Less Project, the 'Runnin Bulldogs lost a hard-fought battle with first-place High Point 78-62 Saturday inside Paul Porter Arena.

The One More, One Less Project - which exists to inform, inspire and intertwine the local church with foster care, reunification and adoption, is a special and important cause to head coach Tim Craft, who adopted his youngest son Christian out of foster care.

"The cause is very close to me and my family," said Craft. "A lot of people are unaware of the situation that so many kids face without homes. There are 217 kids in Cleveland County foster care and only 55 foster families. Statewide, there are approximately 12,000 in foster care in North Carolina and approximately just 6,000 foster families. So whatever we can do to raise awareness of the important cause is huge."

While the 'Dawgs cause off the court was a big success, on the court High Point pulled away in the second half for its second victory of the season vs Gardner-Webb.

It was the Panthers' first time sweeping the season series since 2020-21. High Point won the first meeting at home, 85-76 back on January. 6^th.

Gardner-Webb now stands at 11-14 overall (6-4 Big South) while High Point improves to 21-5 (10-1 Big South).

"High Point did a great job of making plays and dominating the last eight minutes of the game, on both ends of the floor," said Craft, whose team held a 36-32 halftime advantage. "Our defensive game plan produced some good things for us in the first half, but we stopped executing in the second half. "They were attacking the things that we were leaving open defensively, so give them credit for making the halftime adjustments. We've got to do a better job of executing down the stretch."

Senior guards Caleb Robinson and DQ Nicholas both scored a team-high 16-points each against High Point.

Robinson, who recorded his 20^th double-figure scoring game for the 'Dawgs, also grabbed eight boards.

Senior guard Quest Aldridge scored in double figures for Gardner-Webb for the fifth-straight game as he followed Robinson and Nicholas with 14 points.

Gardner-Webb shot 39.6% (21-53) for the game and hit 3-of-14 (21.4%) from deep. At the charity-stripe the 'Dawgs hit 65.4 % (17-26).
 
Seven-foot freshman center Juslin Bodo Bodo scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead High Point.

Kimani Hamilton added 15 points, including 3-5 from three-point range. Thiam Abdoulaye netted 15 points and Duke Miles contributed 10 points for the Panthers, who outscored Gardner-Webb 46-26 in the second half.

High Point shot 35.5 % (24-68) for the game and 7-14 (29.2%) from behind the arch.

The Panthers, who shot 85.2% (23-27) at the free throw line, held a 46-39 advantage on the glass.
 
UP NEXT:  Gardner Webb plays its next game against Charleston Southern on Wednesday evening. Tip-off at Buccaneer Field House is slated for 7PM.