Box Score
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BUIES CREEK, NC— Joab Jerome tied his career-high of 16 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome a hot shooting Campbell team as the Winthrop men's basketball team fell 63-59, Saturday afternoon at the Gilbert Craig Gore Arena.

With the loss the Eagles are now 7-10 overall and 1-4 in the league while Campbell improves to 9-10 overall and 4-1 in the Big South.

Jerome finished the game 7-for-10 from the field and in addition to tying his career-best for points (16) he also dished out four assists and had four rebounds. Sophomore James Bourne finished in double-figures with 10 points as he was 3-for-5 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the foul line.

Winthrop, which trailed by as much as 12 points in the second half, cut the lead to one at 60-59 with 1:24 to play after Jerome drove to the basket and hit a one-handed shot in the lane. Winthrop forced a turnover on the ensuing possession and had an opportunity to take the lead with under a minute to play, but a Derrick Henry three-point attempt with 25 seconds left didn't fall and Winthrop was forced to foul. Trey Freeman knocked down both free throws for a three-point lead for Campbell with 18.8 seconds remaining. Winthrop's Andre Smith tried to tie the game on a deep three from the wing, but the shot came up short off the rim. Campbell's Marvelle Harris made one-of-two free throws with six seconds left to seal the win.

The Eagles trailed by 12 points early in the second half, but were able to fight their way back to a 55-52 lead with 4:49 to play in the game after back-to-back baskets by Henry. The first basket was a three-pointer for the lead at the 5:25 mark and then scored on a jumper after Smith came up with a steal and found Henry for the bucket. Henry was fouled on the play and had a chance for a three-point play but couldn't get the foul shot to fall. Those two baskets capped off a 7-0 run that began with a Jerome jumper with six minutes to go.

Winthrop head coach Pat Kelsey thought his team did a better job at taking care of the ball and not giving up easy baskets to get back into the game. “Give them credit, first of all. They won the game and credit coach Laing and his staff and players I think they did a great job. We spent so much time and effort and energy in clawing back into the game on two different occasions I left like we could never really get over the hump. We started off with that 10-point deficit, early in the game and started the half with a 10-point deficit as well. We exerted so much energy getting back in the game but we didn't sustain it.”

Early in the game the Eagles didn't take care of the basketball and Campbell made them pay as they scored off steals on three straight possessions to build an 10-2 at the 15:30 mark. The lead increased to nine points but Joab Jerome answered with a basket inside and a three to make it an 11-7 Campbell lead with 14:25 left in the first half. The Camels answered with a Andrew Ryan jumper for a 13-7 lead, which at that point the score didn't change for the next three minutes until Christian Farmer broke the scoreless drought by both teams with a three-pointer.

Winthrop worked its way back to tie the game after Smith drilled a three to make it 15-15 with 7:30 on the clock. Winthrop took its first lead with 5:34 to play in the first half after Jerome scored in the lane and then Winthrop led by three points after another Farmer three, 22-19. However, Campbell finished the half on a 15-2 run for a 34-24 lead at the break. The Camels were 7-for-8 from the field during the run to finish shooting 58 percent from the floor in the first half. Winthrop finished the half shooting 35 percent and committing seven turnovers that Campbell turned into 10 points.

Smith and Henry each finished with nine points while Farmer added eight points. Winthrop finished the game shooting 40 percent and was 8-for-21 behind the arc.

“I think our kids fought on two different occasions they had double-digit deficits and they fight back to take the lead,” added Kelsey. “We were right there in the game down the stretch, in a hostile environment and an opportunity to win the game. They made plays down the stretch and they executed.”

Campbell was led by Freeman's game-high 24 points as he also had five assists and two steals. Ryan chipped in with 12 points and Darius Leonard added 10. Campbell finished the game shooting 51 percent from the floor and 77 percent from the foul line (13-for-17).

Winthrop returns home for its next contest as it welcomes Gardner-Webb to the Winthrop Coliseum on Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m.