BOILING SPRINGS – Liam O'Reilly scored a game-high 17 points to lead Gardner-Webb to a 59-54 win over Radford Friday night to move into first place in the Big South Conference standings.

The Runnin' Bulldogs (9-9, 4-1 Big South) moved to 7-0 at home this season and won their ninth in a row in Paul Porter Arena – with that streak dating back to last February.

David Efianayi scored 12 points and DJ Laster came off the bench to score seven of his 11 points in the second half for Gardner-Webb.

The Runnin' Bulldogs did not trail in the game, and built a double figures lead with 6:58 left in the first half – going up 18-6 on a three-pointer by Efianayi. That lead bulged to 15 points moments later, and saw Gardner-Webb hold a 28-16 lead at the break behind a strong defensive half.

Radford (11-7, 4-1 Big South) shot just 23.1 percent in the opening half (1-of-11 from distance), but would not go away quietly in the second half.

The Highlanders made their first three shots of the second half, cutting the lead to 33-24 with 17:53 on a Carlik Jones three-pointer. That forced a Gardner-Webb timeout and Efianayi seized momentum back with a three of his own with 17:33 remaining.

Radford went on an 8-2 run over the next four minutes, before Gardner-Webb resumed control of the game with a brief spurt. The 'Dogs used three buckets from O'Reilly and a hook from Patrick Zeck to spark a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to go up 48-34 with 9:55 remaining. A free throw by Laster pushed the lead to 51-36 with 7:37 remaining, but the Highlanders had plenty more in the tank.

The visitors eventually whittled the lead back down to four points, cutting the score to 56-54 with 1:09 left after a dunk by Ed Polite on a baseline drive. That capped a lengthy 18-5 run that tightened things considerably.

Gardner-Webb had the ball and ran the clock down to 36.2 seconds before a charge was whistled on O'Reilly to give Radford a chance to tie or take the lead. 

Radford got a nice look from long range from Travis Fields, Jr., but the shot was wide left and Patrick Zeck corralled the rebound. The Atlanta, Ga., sophomore calmly sank two free throws with 14.9 seconds left to effectively seal the game.

Zeck stole a pass on the other and, and Christian Turner knocked down a free throw with 5.1 seconds left for the final margin.

Gardner-Webb shot 38.2 percent for the game (6-of-18 from long distance) and made 11-of-15 from the charity stripe (73.3 percent). The Runnin' Bulldogs cleaned the glass well against a strong rebounding team, holding a 42-33 edge on the backboards.

L'Hassane Niangane finished with a career-high 12 rebounds and scored four points in the paint for GWU at center. Turner added eight points, four rebounds and two steals, as GWU overcame 20 turnovers by forcing 17 miscues by Radford.

Polite led Radford with 15 points and nine rebounds, and also had three steals. Tanner scored eight points off the bench on 2-of-5 shooting and four other Highlanders scored six points.

Radford shot 35.2 percent for the game (19-of-54), but missed nine free throws and shot just 6-of-22 from three-point range (27.3 percent).

Gardner-Webb will hit the road for its next test, traveling to defending Big South champion Winthrop on Monday night for a 7:00 pm tip (Stadium Network, Big South Network). Mike Hogewood and Jeff Jackson will have the call from Rock Hill, S.C.