DURHAM, N.C. – After being down 16 points with three minutes left in the ball game, the North Carolina Central University men's basketball team would get the score within single digits before dropping its home opener 88-82 to Gardner-Webb University on Friday afternoon in McDougald McLendon Arena.

Junior Josh Smith led NCCU in scoring with 21 points to go along with five assists off the bench.

The Eagles started off slow, down 10 points before the first media timeout. NC Central would start clawing into the 16-6 lead with buckets from Smith, Floyd Rideau Jr. and Timmy Adedire.

After free throws from Perry Smith Jr. and a pair of threes from Smith, the Maroon and Gray were only down three points with 4:41 left in the half.

Gardner-Webb's Isaiah Richards, Darryl Simmons II and Anthony Selden would help stretch the lead for the Runnin' Bulldogs to nine points to wrap up the first half.

The Eagles went into the half down 47-38. Smith led NCCU with 13 points in the first half after making all three of his three-pointers. Po'Boigh King and Timmy Adedire had seven points each through the first 20 minutes.

Junior Dionte Johnson would catch fire, scoring all his 16 points in the second half helping cut the deficit to 53-49 with under 16 minutes remaining.

The game would start to get chippy as technical fouls were issued to both teams in the game and eventually ejections as Jaqai Murray and GWU's Jamaine Mann would have to leave the game.

With nine minutes remaining, King hit a jumper and the score was 68-63 in GWU's favor.

Foul trouble again plagued the Eagles as Keishon Porter and Adedire fouled out of the contest.

After trading buckets the rest of the half, Gardner-Webb would get up to a 16-point lead with three minutes remaining. NCCU still wasn't out of the game and attempted a comeback but fell short 88-82.

NC Central shot 49 percent from the field but was an efficient 15-of-20 from the free-throw line. The Eagles had a 20-6 advantage in points off turnovers but never led in the contest.

The Runnin' Bulldogs did most of their damage in the lane scoring 58 paint points. Leading all scorers in the contest was Selden of Gardner-Webb finishing with 26 points.

NCCU returns to the road facing another Big South Conference team on Tuesday, Nov. 12 heading to High Point University. The game starts at 7 p.m.