BOILING SPRINGS – No. 4 seed Gardner-Webb saw a 19-point second half lead slowly fall away, but made enough clutch plays in the final three minutes to take a 75-69 win over No. 5 seed High Point in the last Big South Conference quarterfinal of the day.
 
David Efianayi finished with a game-high 25 points, DJ Laster had 16 points and Jaheam Cornwall scored 12 to pace the Runnin' Bulldogs (21-11). Gardner-Webb knocked High Point (16-16) out of the tournament for the third time in three tries under Coach Tim Craft – and advanced to the league's semifinals for the fourth time in the last five seasons under Craft.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs were the aggressor early and often, running as needed to take a 36-24 lead into the locker room at halftime. After High Point took a quick 3-0 lead, Gardner-Webb responded with an 11-0 run to seize control of the game. 
 
Gardner-Webb scored 15 points over the first five minutes of the second half, taking a 51-32 lead on DJ Laster's three with 14:15 to play. The Panthers responded with a 7-2 run over the next two minutes, beginning to slowly shift momentum – as a second-half full court press started to pay off.
 
High Point got the lead back to single digits on three Dexter Gooding free throws with 7:41 to play, but Gardner-Webb used an Efianayi three-pointer and four free throws from the Orlando, Fla., senior to go up 65-55 with 4:28 left.
 
Rob Peterson's third free throw of the game cut the lead to one possession, 65-62, with 2:49 left – but Gardner-Webb's New York City contingent made a series of clutch plays to get the game's momentum back.
 
Cornwall sank a pair of free throws with 2:21 left for a 67-62 lead and Jose Perez connected on a tough turnaround with 1:31 to go for a 69-62 edge.
 
Gooding got loose for another three-pointer with 1:20 to play to get the margin back to four points and picked up a steal to feed Tim Cameron for a layup and a 69-67 score with 59 seconds left.
 
Cornwall then made the play of the game, driving left and finishing a hard drive with a layup with 41 seconds left. His free throw was off the mark, but the four-point cushion was in place. 
 
Jahaad Proctor cut the lead back to two with a pair of free throws, but Nate Johnson made two of his own with 16.5 seconds left for a 73-69 lead. 
 
Efianayi blocked a Cameron tip in on the other end of the court with less than 10 seconds left and Cornwall iced the game with two more free throws after collecting the defensive rebound in traffic.
 
Gardner-Webb finished at an even 50 percent shooting for the game (25-of-50) and made 19-of-26 at the free throw line (73.1 percent). GWU also held a 32-31 edge on the glass – the first time in three meetings with the taller Panthers this season that the 'Dogs won the rebounding battle.
 
The Runnin' Bulldogs scored 38 points in the paint (+), aided by 17 made layups or dunks.
 
Efianayi reached another milestone, crossing the 1,700 point mark for his career. With 1,714 points under his belt, the veteran guard passed Gardner-Webb Hall of Famer Dave Bormann for sixth on the all-time scoring list at the school. Efianayi had already moved into first in the program's Division I era in scoring.
 
High Point heated up slightly in the second half (48.3 percent) and used the press to make the game interesting, but shot just 42.1 percent for the game overall (24-of-57). Proctor (25 points) and Madison (22 points) led the way and were the only Panthers in double figures. 
 
Gardner-Webb will face a tough task on Friday night, taking on top seed and host Campbell – along with the nation's leading scorer Chris Clemons – in the second semifinal at Gore Arena. Tip is slated for 8:30 pm on ESPN3.