BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb (2-14, 0-1) men's basketball opened Big South Conference play with a tough 89-79 loss at the hands of Charleston Southern (10-6, 1-0) on Wednesday afternoon inside Paul Porter Arena. The Runnin' Bulldogs led by as many as 17 in the first half but could not maintain the lead.

Graduate Navuan Peterson had his best game in a Black and Red uniform, scoring a team-high 17 points on 5-of-8 from the field, including 3-for-5 from behind the three-point line. Sophomore Jacob Hogarth continued his stellar play with 15 points and four rebounds. Colin Hawkins and Spence Sims also notched double-digit scoring after posting 14 and 12, respectively.

As a team, Gardner-Webb shot 35.6% (21-59) from the field which includes a 38% (8-21) clip from distance. The charity stripe was kind to the Dawgs with Gardner-Webb knocking down 29-of-33 shots.

Charleston Southern was led by A'lahn Sumler's game-high 29 points while three other Bucs also posted 10 points or more. CSU ended the game with a slim 38-35 margin on the boards.

After a slow start in the first half, Gardner-Webb started to pick up the pace at the 12:31 mark of the opening frame. Trailing 10-5, Peterson buried a three while sparking a 15-2 run, pushing Gardner-Webb ahead 20-12. The lead grew to as many as 17 (41-24) in the first 20 as the Runnin' Bulldogs controlled a 46-34 lead heading into the brief intermission.

However, Luke Williams nailed back-to-back threes for Charleston Southern, capping a 21-7 run that gave the Buccaneers the lead for the first time since early in the first half. The Runnin' Bulldogs were not able to recover before eventually dropping the contest by a final of 89-79.

Gardner-Webb will return to action on Saturday, January 3, traveling to Rock Hill, S.C. to face the Eagles of Winthrop in Big South Conference action. Tip for that contest is slated for 4 p.m.