BOILING SPRINGS, NC— Jerome Hill's three-point play with 15.8 seconds to play handed the Winthrop men's basketball team a 65-64 loss at Gardner-Webb, Saturday evening in Big South Conference action in Paul Porter Arena.

Winthrop falls to 7-8 overall and 2-2 in the league as it dropped its fourth straight to the Runnin' Bulldogs. The win pushes Gardner-Webb to 11-6 overall and 3-1 in the conference. Winthrop will be back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. to complete its three-game road swing when it heads to Asheville, NC to take on UNC Asheville.

"Everything we did successfully in the first half to build our lead we didn't do in the second half overall," said Winthrop head men's basketball coach. "Not saying on every single possession. I told our guys at halftime you're up 17 at half, don't look at the scoreboard. It has nothing to do with what the scoreboard says."

The Runnin' Bulldogs erased a 16-point halftime deficit and tied the game at 62-62 thanks to a Tyler Strange three-pointer, but the Eagles responded as Keon Johnson made two free throws with 48 seconds left for a 64-62 lead. Strange missed a three with just over 30 seconds left but the Runnin' Bulldogs got the offensive rebound and made the most of it as Hill came through with a bucket and foul as he converted the free throw for the three-point play.

Winthrop looked for the win as it inbounded the ball at midcourt and into the hands of Keon Moore who then drove down the right side of the lane and put up a shot but it didn't fall. Moore and Johnson each finished with 15 points to lead the Eagles in scoring.

Gardner-Webb shot 50 percent from the field in the second half and used seven three-pointers as the Eagles tried to hold off the comeback. A 9-0 run early in the second half cut the Eagles lead to single-digits with 15:24 to play in the game. Johnson answered the run with a three-pointer for an 11-point lead but Gardner-Webb kept clawing away at the Winthrop lead and made it a three-point game at 44-41 with 13:19 left.

The next 13 minutes the Eagles continued to hold off the Runnin' Bulldogs until Hill's play in the final seconds. A big part of the Gardner-Webb comeback was Strange, who scored all of his 17 points in the second half that included five threes.

Andre Smith was the third Winthrop player in double-figures as he finished with 11 points. The Eagles shot 46 percent for the game (39 percent in the second half) and were 9-for-20 from three. Gardner-Webb shot 36 percent for the game, 11-for-34 from three and 12-for-14 at the foul line. Winthrop failed to attempt 10 free throws for the second straight game after doing so in previous 58 games prior.

Winthrop used a couple of runs and solid defense in the first half to build a 37-21 lead at the break. The Eagles shot 52 percent from the floor and were 5-for-10 behind the arc but also had 16 points in the paint. The Eagles held Gardner-Webb scoreless for six minutes in the final 10 minutes of the half and to just two points in the final 8:28 to hold the Runnin' Bulldogs to 24 percent shooting.

Tyrell Nelson opened up the scoring in the game with a three-point play for an early advantage for the Runnin' Bulldogs. Winthrop responded with an 8-0 run with four different players scoring. Jarad Scott's three capped off a 6-0 run for a 16-7 lead, Gardner-Webb answered with a Dylan Poston triple to make it 16-10 with 11:38 to play in the half. That sparked a three-point barrage as the next three baskets by both teams were behind the arc as Andre Smith drilled one for a 19-10 point advantage before Poston hit another three, only to see Moore drop one in for a 22-13 lead with 9:49 remaining.

From that point the Eagles outscored the Runnin' Bulldogs 15-8 as Moore hit two more three-pointers and finished the first 20 minutes with 13 points. Nelson cut the Gardner-Webb deficit to single-digits as he tipped in his own miss with 8:28 to play and the Runnin' Bulldogs managed just two more points the rest of the half.

While Strange led all scorers with 17 points, Nelson added a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Hill finished with 12 points while Jarvis Davis added 10.