BOILING SPRINGS – Winthrop used a 22-9 run to open up a tight game in the second half and beat Gardner-Webb, 90-71, Thursday night to drop the Runnin' Bulldogs to their third loss in a row.

The Eagles (17-9, 11-4 Big South) won for the 10th time in the last 11 games and got a career-high 36 points from Xavier Cooks. The senior forward added 16 rebounds, six blocked shots, three steals and three assists on the night – posting 23 points, 12 boards and all six blocks in the second half.

Gardner-Webb (12-16, 7-8 Big South) lost for the fourth time in five games, despite getting 24 points from Liam O'Reilly and 20 points from David Efianayi. DJ Laster added 14 points for the Runnin' Bulldogs, who found foul trouble early in the game.

Both GWU point guards had three fouls before the first half ended, and the Eagles finished 13-of-17 at the line in the opening 20 minutes to take a 44-39 edge into the locker room.

Gardner-Webb whittled the margin down as close as two points midway through the second half, and trailed 61-58 after a Justin Jenkins layup with 9:50 left. The Eagles took off from there, putting together the 22-9 run to seize complete control.

Cooks was the catalyst during that stretch on both ends of the floor.

Gardner-Webb shot 53.3 percent in the first half, but faded to 32.4 percent in the second (11-of-34) to shoot 42.2 percent for the game. That included a 5-of-22 effort from long range (22.7 percent). The Runnin' Bulldogs were out muscled on the glass by a 46-31 margin and saw Winthrop own a +13 edge at the free throw line.

GWU made 12-of-15 at the stripe, but saw the Eagles make double figures free throws in each half to finish at 25-of-34 from the line.

In addition to Gardner-Webb's three double figures scorers, Eric Jamison came off the bench to finish with nine points and six rebounds. No other GWU player scored more than two.

Outside of Cooks' masterful performance, Winthrop got 19 points from forward Josh Ferguson – as the 6-foot-8 inside duo combined for more than half (55) of the team's points. Anders Broman added 15 points and Adam Pickett finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

No other Winthrop player had more than three points in the game. The Eagles shot 46.7 percent for the game (28-of-60), using a 53.3 percent burst in the final 20 minutes.

Gardner-Webb will hit the road for two in a row, beginning on Sunday afternoon at High Point.