CONWAY, S.C. --- Junior Harold McBride (Bronx, N.Y.) poured in a career-high 24 points off the bench, Tyrell Nelson (Charlotte, N.C.) added 17 points, and Jerome Hill (Adel, Ga.) recorded his Big South Conference-leading 17th double-double of the season, as seventh-seeded Gardner-Webb rallied from a 13-point first half deficit for a thrilling 72-71 overtime win over second-seeded High Point in the quarterfinals of the Big South Championships on Friday evening in The HTC Center.

With the win, Gardner-Webb (20-13) advances to Saturday's semifinal round to take on the winner of third-seeded Coastal Carolina and sixth-seeded UNC Asheville. Gardner-Webb shot 40.6 percent from the floor on the night, including a 47.8 percent clip in the second half, while outscoring High Point (22-9) in the paint, 38-30.

High Point connected on 41.0 percent of its attempts from the field in the contest, including an 11-for-23 effort in the first half, while winning the battle on the glass by a 42-36 margin.

McBride led the way for Gardner-Webb with a career-high 24 points, connecting on 8-of-13 from the floor and 5-of-9 at the free throw line, while also recording four steals. Hill added his 17th double-double of the season with 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, as Nelson chipped in 17 points with an 8-for-9 effort from the floor. Tyler Strange (Leominster, Mass.) recorded game-highs of five assists and five steals.

John Brown led all scorers with 33 points on 11-of-21 shooting, converting 11-of-13 at the free throw line while pulling down 10 rebounds to account for a double-double. Anthony Lindauer and Devante Wallace each added eight points, as Lorenzo Cugini and Wallace pulled down 11 and seven rebounds, respectively.

High Point had the hot hand from the floor early on, knocking down three of its first five shots to take an early 9-4 advantage following a Cugini trey at the 15:57 mark. After the Runnin' Bulldogs answered with back-to-back buckets, the Panthers countered with a 5-0 spurt, pushing the lead to 14-8 on a fade away jumper by Brown with 12:05 left in the first half.

The Panthers would stretch the run to 15-6 over the next five minutes, widening the gap to 24-14 on a McIntyre lay-in with 8:41 on the clock. High Point kept pushing, extending the lead to 32-19 before Gardner-Webb closed out the first half with a 13-2 surge, cutting the advantage to 34-32 at the break despite High Point shooting 21 percentage higher in the opening 20 minutes.

Gardner-Webb carried the momentum into the second half, outscoring High Point by a 14-7 margin over the opening seven minutes of the period, and taking its first lead of the night, 46-41, after McBride converted a pair of free throws before knocking down a corner three at the 13:08 mark.

The Runnin' Bulldogs would push the advantage to as many as nine before High Point answered with a 7-0 run, knotting the score at 57-57 on a runner by Perez-Laham with 3:46 to play.

The teams traded buckets over the final three and a half minutes of regulation, with Nelson throwing down a highlight reel alley-oop off the inbound pass from McBride 1:21 left in regulation. Gardner-Webb nearly prevented the game from going to overtime, but Strange's buzzer-beating bid failed to fall with the score knotted at 63-63.

The Runnin' Bulldogs came out firing in the extra period, opening an early 69-64 lead on a clutch trey by McBride at the 2:58 mark. High Point wasted little time responding, scoring the next six points to snatch a 70-69 advantage on a tough jumper by Brown with 28 ticks left.

Hill answered with a hard-nosed play of his own, rolling off the pick, converting the layup and drawing the foul to take a 71-70 lead with 18 seconds remaining. The junior forward completed the three-point play moments later, doubling the margin to 72-70 for the Runnin' Bulldogs.

Brown drew a foul of his own with 6.6 seconds on the clock, going to the line for two shots and a chance to pull the Panthers even. He missed the first and made the second, halving the margin to 72-71. McBride missed both free throws off the ensuing inbound, giving the Panthers a chance at the last shot with 4.6 ticks left.

High Point quickly pushed it up the floor and gave Wallace a good look from three, but the shot hit back iron and bounced clear of the rim to give Gardner-Webb the 72-71 victory.

Gardner-Webb advances to the semifinal round to take on the winner of Coastal Carolina and UNC Asheville on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 pm in The HTC Center.