CLINTON, S.C.  – The Gardner-Webb men's basketball team's six-game winning came to a end Wednesday night at Presbyterian.

Despite a game-high 19 points from senior guard DQ Nicholas, the Runnin' Bulldogs fell just short as Lucas Steiber's three-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark giving the host Blue Hose a 77-75 victory inside the Templeton Center.

The loss also snapped a seven-game winning streak against Presbyterian for Gardner-Webb, which fell to 11-13 overall (6-3 in Big South play).

Presbyterian, which last beat Gardner-Webb back on February 6, 2020, improves to 11-14 overall (3-7 in Big South).  

The Blue Hose, who trailed for much of the opening half, used a 10-run over the final 1:40 to overtake the 'Dawgs and take a 41-38 lead and momentum into the locker room at halftime.

"We were very sloppy for us," said Gardner-Webb head coach Tim Craft, whose team allowed 11 Presbyterian points off nine turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. "We didn't take care of the basketball and that was something we were emphasized coming into the game. I credit PC (Presbyterian College) tonight, they played well and made plays on offense. We were really struggling to guard them. In the second half we were stringing some stops together to give ourselves a chance, but we couldn't make the plays down the stretch."

Free throw shooting was the main thing that did the Runnin' Bulldogs in, both down the stretch and for the game. Gardner-Webb shot 15-27 (55.6%) from the charity stripe, including 10-20 (50%) in the second half. The 'Dawgs missed their final three free throw attempts in the game's final 11 seconds.

"Fifty-five percent from the foul line that certainly hurt us," said Craft. "They were 80% (24-30) and that really hurt us. It's something you know (missing free throws) that's going to bite you at some point and tonight it did. Hopefully it's an area we can improve going forward."

Senior guard Quest Aldridge scored in double figures for Gardner-Webb for the fourth-straight game as he followed Nicholas, who also had five rebounds and three assists, with 16 points.

Classmate Caleb Robinson added his 19^th double-figure scoring game for the 'Dawgs with 14 points to go with six boards as Gardner-Webb shot 48.2% (27-56) for the game.
Junior forward Kaleb Scott scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Presbyterian before fouling out in the final minute of the game.

Kobe Stewart added 14 points and pulled down nine rebounds while Trevon Reddish-Rhone added 12 points and Crosby James chipped in 11 points for the Blue Hose, who shot 44 % (24-54) for the game and 5-16 (31.3%) from behind the arch.

Gardner-Webb, which hit 6-of-14 (42.9%) from deep, outscored Presbyterian 36-28 in the paint. The Runnin' Bulldogs held a 38-30 advantage on the glass.

UP NEXT:  Gardner Webb will return to Boiling Springs on Saturday to play its next game against High Point on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off at Paul Porter Arena is slated for 1PM.