Box Score Box Score
WINSTON-SALEM, NC--Winthrop dropped its second straight game in the NIT Season Tip-Off as it fell to Hampton 45-44 on Tuesday night in the consolation game of the Wake Forest regional despite
Reggie Middleton's first career double-double of 13 points and a career-best 11 rebounds.
The Eagles will now face two opponents next Monday and Tuesday nights at a site to be determined later this week. Winthrop is now 1-2 on the season while Hampton improves to 1-1.
The loss proved disappointing for Winthrop as it battled back from a 28-20 deficit with just under 16 minutes left in the contest to outscore the Pirates 13-0 to take a 33-28 lead with 9:04 left in the game. Junior guard
Reggie Middleton led the surge as he scored eight of his game-high 13 points during that stretch.
Winthrop had a chance to pull away from Hampton as it held a 39-34 lead following an
Andre Jones jumper with 5:34 remaining to play, but a key turnover led to a 3-pointer by HU's Kwame Morgan to cut the lead to 39-37. Following two free throws by Valentine that gave Winthrop a 41-37 lead with 3:59 left, Hampton scored eight unanswered points on another 3-pointer by Morgan, a jumper by Charles Funches and a 3-pointer from Brandon Tunnell to give the Pirates a 45-41 lead with 1:33 remaining.
Jones knocked down a 3-pointer from the right corner to draw Winthrop to within a point at the 1:16 mark. Brown then missed a 3-point attempt and Middleton grabbed the rebound to set up the final 42 seconds. Hampton, which had committed just two fouls in the second half used its fouls wisely to prevent Winthrop from getting into its offensive set. Following three Eagle timeouts, Winthrop got off a deep three from
Gideon Gamble with seven seconds left with the ball hitting off a Pirate player and going out of bounds with 3.2 seconds remaining. Following a final timeout to set up an inbounds play,
Matt Morgan's shot attempt from the left baseline was swatted away as the clock expired.
The game was nearly even in the statistical categories as each team connected on 17 field goals. Winthrop hit on 33 percent (17-51) while Hampton was good on 34 percent (17-50). The difference maker was from behind the arc as the Pirates made 6 of 23 compared to 3 of 11 for Winthrop.
With Middleton leading the way with his 11 rebounds, the Eagles won the rebounding battle 36-31.
