HIGH POINT, NC--Antwon Harris scored 21 points and Craig Bradshaw added 14 to lead Winthrop to a 64-63 Big South Conference road win over High Point Thursday night before a sold out Millis Center crowd.
The battle for first place in the conference standings went right down to the final seconds and was not determined until a 10-foot jumper in the lane by HPU's Arizona Reid to win the game bounced off the rim just before the final buzzer.
Winthrop improves to 6-0 in Big South play and 16-4 overall as the Eagles defeated High Point for the 20th time in 21 meetings. High Point drops to 6-1 in the league and 15-6 overall.
Winthrop led 26-25 at halftime after trailing for most of the period, but came out in the second half to slowly build a 11-point lead at 52-41 with 8:50 left following two free throws by Harris. It appeared that Winthrop could put the game away at that point, but High Point outscored the Eagles 12-3 over the next 2:45 to climb to within a bucket at 55-53.
Michael Jenkins, who finished with eight points and a game-high six assists, drilled a jumper to give the Eagles some breathing room at 57-53. Jenkins hit another jumper with 2:31 left to play to give the Eagles a 64-59 lead, but the Panthers refused to quit as Reid converted two free throws with 1:38 on the clock and then nailed a 15-foot jumper outside the right elbow to trim Winthrop's lead to one point at 64-63, setting the stage for the frantic final seconds.
Harris connected on 9 of 13 field goals and 3 of 5 free throws in his best overall performance as an Eagle. He scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as Winthrop went to him down on the low post time after time for inside baskets.
Reid, who came in averaging 20.9 points a game, exceeded his season average with 24 points and tied teammate Jerald Minnis for game-high rebounding honors with nine. The Panthers had a commanding 36-26 rebounding advantage over the Eagles.
As a team, Winthrop finished the night shooting 46.4 percent (26-56) while High Point shot 44.7 percent (21-47). The Eagles' free throw woes continued as they could convert only 9 of 18 compared to HP's 17 for 20.
Winthrop will return home Saturday to face Coastal Carolina for a regionally televised showdown on SportSouth. Tipoff is set for 4:06 before an expected sell-out crowd, the first in Winthrop history.
