Box Score Box Score

LYNCHBURG, VA--Despite a combined 44 points from Andre Jones and Robbie Dreher, Winthrop fell to Liberty on the road, 75-72 in a Big South Conference  battle in the Vines Center.

The loss evens Winthrop's overall record at 4-4 while the Eagles are now 1-1 in Big South play.  Liberty improves to 6-4 overall and 2-0 in BSC action.

Jones finished the game with a season-high 23 points while Dreher scored 21, but the duo's performance was not enough to offset a second-half comeback by Liberty who overcame a 50-43 Eagle lead with 14:54 left in the game.  The Flames' went on a 13-4 run over a four-minute period to take a 56-54 lead.  Evan Gordon scored seven of his game-high 26 points during that run.

Over the final 11:24 of the game there were two lead changes and two ties.  Liberty took its largest lead of the of the second at 69-64 after Gordon connected on one of his five treys of the game with 3:36 left to play.  Winthrop had gone ahead briefly at 64-63 on a jumper by Jones before Jesse Sanders drove the baseline and scored and was fouled.  He finished off the three-point play with a free throw.  But just when it looked like the Flames were ready to put the game away, Winthrop fought back to retake the lead at 70-69 with 56 seconds left when Reggie Middleton connected on a 3-pointer.

Liberty's David Minaya then put the Flames ahead for good at 71-70 with a 15-foot baseline jumper.  Gordon then followed with the play of the game as he made a steal at mid-court and drove the lane for a layup to give Liberty a three-point cushion with 27 seconds left in the game.  Following two free throws by Middleton the draw the Eagles to within a point with six seconds on the clock, the Eagles had to foul and Gordon went to the line where he calmly sank both free throws for the final 75-72 margin.  Winthrop had one last shot, but a desperation 40-footer by Middleton was off target as the horn sounded.

One of the big factors in the game other than Gordon's performance, was Liberty's domination on the boards.  The Flames pulled down 43 compared to Winthrop's 33.  The Eagles' rebounding efforts, however, were hampered after George Valentine, the team's leading rebounder, committed two quick fouls in the first half and and his third to start the first half.  He did not score and grabbed just two boards in the game.

Winthrop finished the game shooting 43.6 percent (24-55) and were 7 of 18 from behind the arc (38.9).  Liberty finished with 41.7 percent (25-60) and was 7 of 17 from long distance (41.2).  

Winthrop will travel up I-77 on Tuesday to face the Charlotte 49ers.  Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Halton Arena.