ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Senior guard Quest Aldridge drilled a clutch three-point shot with 7.1 seconds remaining to lift the Gardner-Webb men's basketball team to a 78-77 comeback victory over host Asheville Saturday afternoon in front of a capacity crowd of 3,129 inside Kimmel Arena.

The win gives Gardner-Webb, which won the first meeting against the Bulldogs at home, 80-73, back on Jan. 31st, a sweep of the season series for the first time since 2021-22. The Runnin' Bulldogs improved to 14-15 overall (9-5 in Big South play).

"I'm really proud of them," said Gardner-Webb head men's basketball coach Tim Craft after his team's comeback victory on Saturday. "Coach Luther (Associate Head Coach Jeremy) and I were talking after the game and in our 11 years together this must be one of the best wins we've had in terms of how we came back against this great team and in front of a great crowd. Today had to be the best crowd I've seen here (Kimmel Arena). We were 16 points down and nobody quit. Everybody stayed together and Julian Soumaoro got hot and got us back in it (game)."

Trailing by 16 points, 53-37, with 14:45 remaining, Soumaoro went on a three-point shooting spree to get the Runnin' Bulldogs back in the ballgame. The junior guard made four -consecutive trey's and was single-handedly responsible for a 12-5 run over a 3:10 stretch. The Bronx-native's hot shooting pulled the 'Dawgs within five points, 69-64 with 5:57 on the clock.

Gardner-Webb, which made 50% (12-24) of its three-point shots in the game, connected on 10 of 16 attempts (62.5%) in the second half. Graduate-senior Lucas Steiber also had a big three-point shooting game for the 'Dawgs as he connected on 3 of 4 of his attempts behind the three-point line.

Soumaoro, who connected on all four of his three-pointers in the second half, tied for a game-high 16 points, pulled down four rebounds and dished out four assists before fouling out with 3:32 left.

Aldridge, who has now scored in double-figures in seven of the past nine games, had 13 points, including 3-6 three-point range, and four assists.

Junior forward Ademide Badmus netted 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds while senior guards DQ Nicholas (11 points, five rebounds, five assists) and Caleb Robinson (10 points, four rebounds, three blocks) round out the list of five double-figure scorers for the Runnin' Bulldogs.

Defensively, Robinson's third block came on an attempt at a game-winning shot by Asheville's Drew Pember as time expired.

Gardner-Webb shot 46.8% (29-62) for the game and 57.1% (8-14) from the free-throw line. The Runnin' Bulldogs had a 39-28 advantage on the glass.

Asheville, which falls to 19-11 overall (11-4 in Big South), was led by Fletcher Abee and Toyaz Soloman, who scored 16-points each to tie Soumaoro for game-high honors.

Josh Banks (15 points) and Nick McMullen (12 points) also scored in double figures for the Bulldogs, who led 40-30 at halftime.

UP NEXT:  Gardner Webb will return to action next Thursday evening when the Runnin' Bulldogs return to Boiling Springs to take on Longwood. The 'Dawgs were selected for the second consecutive week to host the ESPNU Big South Thursday Night Wild Card Game of the Week. Tip-off at Paul Porter Arena is slated for 7PM. Gardner-Webb, who defeated Longwood, 76-64, in Farmville, VA back on January 24^th is seeking a sweep of a third Big South opponent this season.