Box Score
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HIGH POINT, NC— Winthrop suffered its second straight loss as it fell 65-64 in the final seconds at High Point, Saturday evening at the Millis Center in Big South Conference men's basketball action.

The Panthers Adam Weary's pull-up jumper at the foul line gave High Point its only lead of the game and the victory as Winthrop is now 10-10 overall and 4-4 in the Big South. The Panthers improve to 9-12 overall and 5-3 in the league. The Eagles didn't trail in the game for the first 39 minutes and 51.1 seconds until the Weary jumper.

After two free throws from Derrell Edwards tied the game at 63-63 with 55 seconds left, the Eagles had a chance to take the lead and Keon Johnson went to the foul line with the opportunity. Johnson's first free throw bounced in and out but he made the second for a one-point advantage. Johnson did have a good look at the end of the game as he penetrated and pulled up from about 12 feet but his shot off the glass was short and Larry Brown wasn't able to control the rebound to attempt a stick back.

"Weary was able to get a little bit of an edge and turn the corner and get into the lane," said Winthrop head coach Pat Kelsey. "He made a big shot. He made a nice little floater right there near the logo. I thought all of our kids played with great resolve and great resiliency and just came up a little bit short."

Over the first six minutes of the second half Winthrop grabbed the lead but the teams went back-and-forth until two free throws from Joab Jerome jump started an 11-2 run over the next three minutes that put the Eagles up by 10 points, 49-39. Jerome had a big three-point play during the run that pushed the lead to six points and then baskets by Tevin Prescott and Andre Smith capped off the run.
High Point quickly responded with a 10-2 run that was capped off by back-to-back threes from Weary and Devante Wallace to cut the Winthrop lead to 51-49 with 8:26 to play.

After John Brown scored inside to tie the game at 55-55 with 5:26 to play, High Point's Derrell Edwards was whistled for a technical foul as Keon Moore stepped up and made both for a two-point lead. The lead extended to four points when Johnson drove the lane and scored off glass. Johnson had another score while driving the lane with 2:22 left for another four-point advantage but a quick basket by Brown made it a one possession game.

Johnson led the Eagles with 16 points while Moore and Jerome each had 15. Jerome also had six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Winthrop shot 44 percent in the game and 75 percent from the foul line. Prescott added 12 points and three rebounds as he provided all of the points from the bench.

Brown led all scorers with 26 points while Weary added 15 points as they were the only two Panthers in double-figures. The Panthers finished the game shooting 53 percent despite shooting 29 percent from three.

Winthrop only committed seven turnovers in the game, but the Panthers took full advantage with 12 points off turnovers.

The last three games have seen the Eagles get off to slow starts offensively but Winthrop raced out to an early 7-0 lead and led 18-6 with 12:16 to play in the half. Jerome started off the scoring with a basket inside followed by a Johnson three-pointer and then Jerome scored inside again to provide the quick start.

Winthrop pushed its lead to 18-6 after Prescott converted two free throws but then the Eagles went cold offensively. Over the next five minutes the Eagles failed to score but High Point was only able cut the lead in half as Jerome ended the shooting slump with a long jumper.
A layup by Prescott gave Winthrop an eight-point advantage with 5:38 but High Point's Lorenzo Cugini answered with a three to cut the Eagles lead down to five. Winthrop had an answer of its own as Moore and Johnson hit threes on back-to-back possession for a 30-19 lead with 4:21 to play.

The remaining four minutes of the half favored the Panthers as ended the half on a 10-2 run and tied the game at 32-32 at the buzzer on a three-pointer from the wing by Edwards.

Winthrop will look to bounce back on Tuesday, Feb. 4 as it heads to Lynchburg, VA to take on Liberty at 7 p.m.