BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Freshman guard Jamias Ferere scored a career-high 16 points while pulling down a personal-best seven rebounds, but it was not enough as Gardner-Webb (3-21, 1-8) men's basketball came up on the short side of an 86-66 loss to Longwood (13-12, 5-5) Wednesday evening.

Guards Colin Hawkins and DJ Jefferson chipped in 11 points each while Jacob Hogarth finished the night with 10 points. As a team, Gardner-Webb shot 42% (24-51) from the field, including 6-for-20 from distance. The Runnin' Bulldogs connected on 12-of-20 free throws.

Longwood started the game strong after racing out to a 9-2 lead less than three minutes in. Hogarth connected on a tough basket in the paint while putting a stop to the run, but the Lancers tallied 12 of the next 14 points, building their lead to 21-6 with 14 minutes remaining in the half.

Hawkins drilled a corner three, sparking a quick 15-5 spurt by the Dawgs, trimming the deficit to 26-21. Gardner-Webb continued to battle, eventually knotting the score at 31-all following a deep three out of the hands of Sims, his first of three on the game.

The Lancers regained composure, scoring 13 of the final 17 points in the half while taking a 44-35 advantage into the intermission.

After Longwood's Emmanuel Richards was good on a layup to put the visitors up 50-37, the Runnin' Bulldogs put together a solid 11-2 offensive burst, capped by a fastbreak layup from Jefferson, pulling to within 52-48 with 12:00 left on the clock.

However, that would be as close as the Dawgs would get as Longwood carried a double-digit lead most of the remaining game time before taking the conference contest 86-66.

Gardner-Webb returns to the court on Saturday, February 7, traveling to Clinton, S.C. for a date with Presbyterian. Tip time is slotted for 2 p.m.