Box Score
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ROCK HILL, SC— The Winthrop men's basketball team suffered its first conference loss of the season as it fell 56-51 to Gardner-Webb, Wednesday evening at the Winthrop Coliseum.

With the loss the Eagles are now 8-7 overall and 2-1 in the Big South while Gardner-Webb picks up its first league win and is now 8-10 overall and 1-2 in the league. Winthrop will be back in action on Saturday as it travels to Conway, SC to take on Coastal Carolina at 7 p.m. Gardner-Webb remains on the road as it travels to Clinton, SC on Saturday to take on Presbyterian College at 2 p.m.

With 53 seconds to play in the game, Winthrop's James Bourne missed the front end of a one-and-one with a chance to make it a one-point game. Gardner-Webb made the Eagles pay for the missed opportunity as Tyrell Nelson banked in a shot near the baseline for a five-point advantage with 25 seconds to play. Keon Moore scored on the other end as he got a floater to fall after a couple of bounces on the rim but Josh Castellanos made both his free throws for another five point lead as the Runnin' Bulldogs held on for the win.

"Credit Gardner-Webb as they were down on their luck a little bit as they had two home losses to start conference play," said Winthrop head coach Pat Kelsey. "Their staff, their players came in with a sense of desperation and you can tell. That's a big win for them so give them credit. I don't think it was a case where our kids weren't ready to play. I thought we had two very, very intense days of practice. I told our guys I thought our lack of making shots affected our disposition as a team."

Winthrop outscored the Runnin' Bulldogs 8-3 over the first four and half minutes of the second half and eventually pushed that run to 13-3 for a 34-29 advantage with 14:19 to play in the game. The Eagles managed just two points over the next six minutes and even though Gardner-Webb didn't shoot well during that stretch either it worked its way to a 39-36 lead.

Over the final 8:09, Gardner-Webb seemed to answer the Eagles every time they made it a one possession game and looking to get another stop on the defensive end. Freshman Jarad Scott made two free throws to cut the deficit to three points with just under seven to play and Tyler Strange answered with a three in the corner. After Donta Harper put Gardner-Webb up by six points, Moore came back with a three only to see Gardner-Webb score on the other end on a jumper in the lane by Naji Hibbert. Moore came right back with a jumper to make it 50-47 but Harper converted two free throws to push the lead back to five points with 3:33 to play.

Defensively the Eagles held Gardner-Webb to 39 percent shooting from the floor and 21 percent from three while forcing 15 turnovers. The Runnin' Bulldogs nearly made all their freebies as they ended the game 13-for-16 at the foul line.   

Winthrop shot just 28 percent in the game as it couldn't get several close shots to fall. The Eagles shot just 20 percent behind the arc as they made a season-low four threes in the game. The Eagles were 9-for-11 from the foul line in the second half but finished the game 17-for-27 (63 percent).

"Today was one of those conference grind out, ugly smash mouth games and they made a few more plays than us down the stretch and got a few more stops down the stretch to pull out the win," added Kelsey.   

Both teams struggled scoring early as the two teams but Winthrop found itself in front 5-1 after an Andre Smith three and a basket inside by Bourne set up by Smith. Gardner-Webb went five and a half minutes without making a field goal, but scored on back-to-back possessions and led 6-5 with 13:57 left.
After the Eagles took a 7-6 lead, the Runnin' Bulldogs scored seven straight points by Hibbert that turned into a 9-2 run. Winthrop answered right back with six straight points to tie the game at 15-15 with just over eight minutes to play. Gardner-Webb scored the final seven points of the half for a five-point advantage at the break as the Eagles failed to score after Moore made a jumper for a 21-19 lead with 4:48 left.  

Winthrop shot just 24 percent from the floor in the first half and trailed 26-21 at the break. The Eagles were just 6-for-25 from the field and 1-for-8 behind the arc. Gardner-Webb shot 42 percent in the first half as the Eagles kept the game close from free throw line going 8-for-16.

Moore led all scorers with 20 points as he also set career-highs with seven rebounds, five steals and two blocks. Bourne was the only other Eagle in double-figures as he just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine boards.

Hibbert led Gardner-Webb with 11 points while Nelson chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds. Harper nearly posted a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds.