ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Gardner-Webb will begin its quest for its first Big South Conference men's basketball title on Thursday afternoon as the No. 6 seed seed, taking on No. 3 seed and defending champion Winthrop in the second quarterfinal of the day.

The Runnin' Bulldogs (14-17, 9-9 Big South) finished in a four-way tie for fifth in the regular season, winning two games last week to avoid the first round/play-in games for the second year in a row.

The reward is a third meeting this season with the lone team in the Big South Conference that holds two wins over Gardner-Webb this season – a program that has won the Big South's postseason event 10 times to advance to the NCAA Tournament, including last season.

Winthrop (18-11, 12-6 Big South) lost its final two games of the regular season to finish in a tie with Radford in second – but lost the final tiebreaker (RPI) with the Highlanders to take the third seed. The Eagles had little trouble with Gardner-Webb during two regular season meetings, taking a comfortable 90-67 win in Rock Hill (Jan. 15) and coming alive in the second half for a decisive 90-71 win on February 15.

Big South Player of the Year Xavier Cooks (17.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg) has been a major thorn in the side of the Runnin' Bulldogs, and many other teams, this season. In Winthrop's two wins over GWU, Cooks averaged 26.5 points, 15.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 4.0 blocked shots per game. He was sensational in the win in Boiling Springs, going for 36 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks – with 23 points, 12 boards and all six blocks in the closing 20 minutes.

The Australian senior is far from Winthrop's only threat, as brothers Anders and Bjorn Broman combined to average 23.1 points per game during the regular season. Josh Ferguson, a 6-foot-8 forward, averages 10.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, and forms a formidable tandem with Cooks inside.

That quartet, along with Adam Pickett (9.0 ppg) powered Winthrop to an average of 80.7 points per game offensively during the regular season.

Gardner-Webb picked up its pace offensively over its final two games, averaging 75.0 ppg in wins over Presbyterian and regular season champion UNC Asheville. Prior to those games, the Runnin' Bulldogs hadn't scored more than 70 points in a win since January 3 at Campbell.

The Runnin' Bulldogs have relied on the one-two punch of guards David Efianayi (17.5 ppg) and Liam O'Reilly (14.7 ppg) all season, particularly in Big South Conference play. Forward DJ Laster (13.9 ppg) emerged early in the season as a valuable scorer down low and wrapped up the regular season with his fifth double-double.

Efianayi (second-team) and O'Reilly (honorable mention) each earned All-Big South honors on Monday, and were joined by All-Freshman Team honoree Jaheam Cornwall. The Brooklyn, N.Y., rookie has been a welcome addition to the roster this season, and has started the last three games at point guard.

Efianayi has been good against Winthrop this season, averaging 20.5 points and 3.0 assists in the two games. O'Reilly (18.0 ppg) and Laster (13.5 ppg) have also been near or above their season scoring numbers vs. Winthrop and currently injured wing Jamaal Robateau had 10 points in Rock Hill earlier this season.

Gardner-Webb hasn't gotten much production outside of its big three, however, with the rest of the roster combining for just 12.0 ppg in the two losses to Winthrop.

Last season was a different story, as the two squads engaged in three very hotly contested games – including an epic Big South Conference semifinal that saw top-seed Winthrop survive for an 80-77 overtime victory.

Thursday game is set for a 3:00 pm tip, or soon after the end of the first semifinal between No. 2 Radford and No. 10 Longwood – which begins at 1:00 pm. The GWU-Winthrop game will stream live on ESPN3 (WatchESPN), with Mike Hogewood and Ralph Patterson calling the game.

The game will also air live on wgwg.org, with Brendan Boylan and Tyler Helms providing an audio call from Kimmel Arena.