BOILING SPRINGS – Liam O'Reilly scored 24 points to lead Gardner-Webb to a 72-61 win over Big South Conference regular season champion UNC Asheville Saturday on Senior Day in Paul Porter Arena.

The Austin, Texas, guard made 9-of-18 shots, including 4-of-7 from three-point range in the win – which helped the Runnin' Bulldogs (14-17, 9-9 Big South) earn a bye and advance to the quarterfinals of the Big South Conference Championships on Thursday in Asheville, N.C.

David Efianayi added 19 points and DJ Laster scored 16 points to go with 11 rebounds in the win. Justin Jenkins added a career-high eight points off the bench for Gardner-Webb, who played without three scholarship players on Saturday due to injuries.

Gardner-Webb used an 11-2 run late in the first half to seize control of the game. Down 34-32, O'Reilly went on a tear to score eight in a row and put the Runnin' Bulldogs up 40-34 with 1:52 left in the half. After a bucket by Asheville (20-11, 13-5 Big South) stemmed the tide, Efianayi nailed a three-pointer to give Gardner-Webb a 43-36 lead at halftime.

Asheville missed eight of its first nine shots of the second half, and the Runnin' Bulldogs steadily built a double-digit lead. O'Reilly started things with a jumper, then fed Laster for an easy layup and a 47-36 edge with 17:56 to play. Another layup with 15:44 left by Efianayi pushed the lead back to 51-41, but Asheville had a rally of its own in store.

The visitors took advantage of a three-plus minute drought by Gardner-Webb to make a run, going on an 11-2 run to trim the GWU lead to 53-52 with 11:01 left on a MaCio Teague trey. The Runnin' Bulldogs never relinquished the lead, rebounding the basketball well on both ends and getting two key baskets from O'Reilly to hold off Asheville's charge.

After a wing jumper from Drew Rackley cut the lead back to 62-60 with 6:00 to go, Gardner-Webb closed the game on a 10-1 run for the final margin. O'Reilly scored four points in that clinching rally for the Runnin' Bulldogs, as well as pulling down a pair of defense rebounds.

Gardner-Webb made 8-of-15 from deep in the first half, but slipped to 1-for-7 in the second to finish at 39.1 percent for the game from three-point land. The Runnin' Bulldogs sat at 39.7 percent overall from the floor (25-of-63), but made up for a cool shooting night by attacking the offensive and defensive backboards.

Gardner-Webb held a dominant, 51-30, rebounding edge that included 18 offensive caroms. That led to a 13-5 edge in second-chance points, but kept several long possessions alive that limited Asheville's ability to rally. In addition to Laster's big rebounding performance, GWU got seven boards from Eric Jamison, seven from O'Reilly, six from Jaheam Cornwall and six from David Efianayi. Cornwall also added six assists with no turnovers from his point guard spot.

Asheville shot 50.0 percent in the first half and 41.1 percent for the game, but made just 6-of-22 from long range and 64.3 percent from the free throw line. Playing without star wing Ahmad Thomas, the Bulldogs got 15 points from Wnuk, and 11 each from the dynamic backcourt of Teague and Raekwon Miller. Gilmore added nine points and six boards in the post.

The two sets of Bulldogs split the season series for the second year in a row, with each winning at home.

Gardner-Webb should be the No. 6 seed in the tournament when seeding is announced later Saturday or early Sunday. 

Regardless of opponent, the Runnin' Bulldogs will play in the second quarterfinal of the day on Thursday at Kimmel Arena. Tip is set for 3:00 pm, or soon after the end of the 1:00 pm quarterfinal between the No. 2 and No. 7 seeds.