ROCK HILL, SC-- Jalen Riley's three-pointer with 50 seconds left in the game helped lift East Tennessee State to a 69-64 win over Winthrop, Monday evening at the Winthrop Coliseum.

Riley faked as if to dribble to the basket and pulled back to fire a three from deep as Josh Davenport contested the shot but it dropped through the net to break a tie and give the Buccaneers a 64-61 lead.

The loss is the second straight for Winthrop, which falls to 2-2 on the year while ETSU improves to 3-1. Winthrop will be back in action on Monday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. when it hosts Savannah State.

Following an Andre Smith three-point attempt to tie the game, the Eagles fouled off the miss but only one of the free throws was made by A.J. Merriweather as the Eagles looked to scored quickly. Keon Johnson fired up a three that was off the mark but Keon Moore crashed the boards as he grabbed the miss and scored as he was fouled in the process. Moore completed the three-point play to make it a one-point game with 15.7 seconds to play.

Riley then converted two free throws to make it a three-point game again but Johnson was unable to get his three-point attempt to fall from the wing with seven seconds left as Riley made two more free throws to give ETSU the five point win.

"Obviously it's a tough loss," said Winthrop head coach Pat Kelsey. "In the last crucial minutes we're in the game. In fact, in the lead so it's obviously disappointing especially at home and not find a way to pull it out. East Tennessee State is a very good team. I think they're NCAA caliber team. I don't know but I think they're pretty good.  They scared the heck out of me on tape offensively with their ability to spread you out and obviously shoot the three-point shot. It's a long season. We've got to shut the book on this one tomorrow when we get up and move on. Credit East Tennessee State as they found a way to get a tough road win in a tough environment."

Winthrop opened the second half outscoring the Buccaneers 9-1 as the run was highlighted by two baskets inside by Joseph Lopez off an Andre Smith feed and capped off by a Moore straight away three to lead 37-33 with 16:03 to play. That run ended with two Petey McClain free throws.

Defensively the Eagles were getting after it as they held ETSU without a field goal for a nine minute and 54 second span that stretched from the end of the first half through the first seven minutes of the second. Despite the struggles from the field, ETSU worked its way from an eight-point deficit with 13:49 to play as it grabbed a 46-45 lead with 10:03 remaining after back-to-back Rashawn Rembert threes.

The lead expanded to four points with 7:33 left but nine straight points by the Eagles capped off by a Moore three put them in front by five with 4:36 left. Lester Wilson scored in the lane for ETSU to cut it to three, but Josh Davenport knocked down two free throws for another five-point advantage but a Lester three followed by two free throws by Rembert tied the game with 2:31 left.

Moore led all scorers with 24 points on 7-for-18 shooting as he recorded his first career double-double pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds. It is the third 20-point game of the season for Moore. Smith finished with 12 points and tied his career-high of eight assists and had three steals. Winthrop shot 39 percent from the floor, 29 percent from three and 73 percent from the foul line (11-for-15)

ETSU finished the night 19-for-26 at the foul line (73 percent) while it was 12-for-32 behind the arc (38 percent). Wilson finished with a team-high 20 points while Rembert added 16.

Neither team could get much going offensively in first 10 minutes of the game and it was tied 10-10 with 13:25 to play when ETSU scored a quick six points with back-to-back threes from Wilson with 11:22 left. The two teams traded baskets before Smith cut the deficit in half to 18-15 with a deep three with 10:17 on the clock.

The Buccaneer lead went back to six points after Devin Harris completed a three-point play as he scored driving to the basket. Xavier Cooks scored inside on back-to-back possessions for the Eagles to make it a 21-19 game with 8:42 to remaining. Winthrop regained the lead on a deep three from Moore with just under eight to play that was answered quickly by a Wilson triple to put ETSU back on top 24-22 on the ensuing possession.

For the next four minutes it remained a one possession game until ETSU built a seven-point advantage with 2:16 left behind Wilson's fourth three of the half and two free throws from Harris. A Moore three with 1:16 cut the deficit to four points where it remained that way for the half with ETSU leading 32-28.

Winthrop finished the final 7:41 of the first half 1-for-7 from the field with five turnovers and 3-for-4 at the foul line. ETSU was 3-for-11 during that time frame with two baskets threes from Wilson. The Eagles shot 39 percent from the floor in the first half and just 33 percent behind the arc while the Buccaneers shot 32 percent from the floor and 36 percent from three.