Box Score Box Score
ROCK HILL, SC—Andre Jones scored a game-high 17 points to lead Winthrop past visiting Gardner-Webb 63-48 on Saturday night in a Big South Conference matchup at the Winthrop Coliseum.
Winthrop bounced back after a rare home loss on Thursday night to improve its overall record to 7-8 while the Eagles are now 3-2 in league play. GWU, which came into the game shorthanded because of an injury to its leading scorer and two player suspensions, dropped its seventh straight game and now stands at 6-12 overall and 1-5 in the Big South.
Gardner-Webb took a quick 7-2 lead in the opening two minutes of the contest, but Winthrop head coach Randy Peele inserted five new players with 17:51 showing on the clock and the Eagles responded by outscoring the Bulldogs 11-0 to take a 13-7 lead on a jumper by
Joab Jerome with 14:29 left in the first half.
The Eagles led by as many as 11 in the first period when
Matt Morgan connected on two free throws to give Winthrop a 22-11 lead with just over 10 minutes on the clock. GWU refused to fold and fought back to trail 28-20 at intermission, and then made it a one possession game early in the second half when Stefon Johnson closed the gap to 30-27 on a layup with 17:04 left in the game. Winthrop responded by going on a 11-2 run to take a 41-29 lead after
Gideon Gamble connected on the first 3-pointer of the game for the Eagles.
GWU never got within 10 after that point as Winthrop built a 22-point lead on a Jones jumper that gave his team a 59-37 lead with 4:39 left.
Winthrop held Gardner-Webb to 35 percent field goal shooting (16-45) and limited the Bulldogs to 17 percent from behind the arc (3-18). The Eagles connected on 43 percent (23-54). GWU did win the rebounding battle 35-32 as Mike Byron led all rebounders in the game with 9.
Jones was the only double digit scorer for Winthrop while GWU got 11 points from Laron Buggs and 10 from Johnson.
Winthrop will hit the road next Thursday as it travels to Coastal Carolina to face the first-place Chanticleers for a 7 p.m. tip. Gardner-Webb's next game will be on Saturday, Jan. 15, when it faces UNC Asheville on the road at 2 p.m.
