ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop men's basketball jumps back into Big South action as it puts a 12-game home winning streak on the line against Campbell Thursday afternoon.

GAME SNAPSHOT 
Winthrop (9-3, 2-0 BSC) vs. Campbell (7-5, 1-1 BSC)
Game Time: 1 p.m. EST / Site: Rock Hill, SC (Winthrop Coliseum)
Live Video: Big South Network (Mike Pacheco/Bobby Stevens) Television: none / Audio: 104.1 The Bridge (pregame 12:30 p.m. with Dave Friedman/Karl Lyles)
Live Stats / Live Video / Live Audio

SERIES HISTORY
This will mark the 33^rd meeting all-time between the two programs. The Eagles have won two of the last three and three of the last five meetings, but Campbell won the last time the two teams met. Winthrop dropped its final regular season road game of the 2014-15 season when it fell 65-50 at Campbell on Feb. 26, 2015. Winthrop has won the last two times Campbell has come to the Winthrop Coliseum and is 8-6 all-time against the Camels at home. The all-time series belongs to Campbell with a 19-13 advantage and the Camels also lead the series in regular season conference meetings 15-9.

JOIN THE CLUB
Junior Keon Johnson joined an elite club as he became the 23^rd player in the program's history to reach 1,000 points in his career. The 5-7 guard from Mansfield, OH drilled a three for his 18^th point of the game which gave him 1,000 in his career. He finished the game with a team-high 25 points and now has 1,007 in 76 career games. In his career to this point he's averaging 13.3 ppg and if he were to maintain that average for the remainder of his career (estimation of at least 48 possible games to play) he would finish with over 1,600 points, which only two players in school history have achieved. He is the third player to reach 1,000 career points in Pat Kelsey's four years (Keon Moore/Andre Smith).

HOME SWEET HOME
After playing six of seven games on the road, the Eagles returned to the confines of the Winthrop Coliseum for three straight and started the home stand off right back-to-back victories. Winthrop is 6-0 at home this season and has won 12 straight home games dating back to last season. In that streak the Eagles have defeated eight straight non-conference opponents. The eight straight wins over non-conference foes are most since winning 10 in a row over the span of the 2005-06 season to 2007-08. During Kelsey's tenure the Eagles are 40-10 (.800) at home.

THE MATCHUP
Winthrop enters the game as the league's top scoring team at 85.2 while Campbell comes into the game averaging 74.6 ppg (6^th in the league). Winthrop has won three straight games and the Camels are coming off two straight losses, most recently on the road at UNC Wilmington (106-83). The Eagles have been scoring different ways as they rank 3^rd in the league in three-pointers made per game (8.5) and lead the league in free throw shooting at 76 percent. The Eagles have made a league-best 243 free throws. Campbell is 6^th in the league in free throw shooting and third in total made free throws at 204 and second in attempts at 307 (Winthrop is first at 319). This game also features the second (Campbell) and third ranked (Winthrop) team's in the league for turnover margin.
 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
There have been several players stepping up for the Eagles offensively, but senior Jimmy Gavin has scored 20 or more points in three straight games. In the first two games of league play this season, Gavin has only averaged 10 points and is shooting 30 percent from the field and just 2-for-12 from three. Over the last five games (which includes a two-point game at Alabama) he's averaging 15.4 points while shooting 47 percent from the field, 36 percent behind the arc and is 18-for-19 at the foul line. Junior Keon Johnson is coming off a 25 point game and he's scored 20 or more in four of the last five games. In the last five games he's shooting 57 percent from the floor and 43 percent from three while averaging 23.0 ppg. Sophomore Xavier Cooks is coming off a career-high 24 points and has averaged 14.5 in league play this season. Campbell  is led by Chris Clemons, who is averaging 17.1 points while shooting 43 percent from the field and 41 percent from three (team-high 37 made threes). He's also 34-for-37 from the foul line. The freshman guard has been in double-figures in all 12 games he's played (only game he didn't start was season-opener and finished with 19 points). He's averaged 18 points per game on the road (5 games) with games of 26 points at Charlotte and at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Troy Harper is second on the team in scoring at 12.9 ppg and has scored in double-figures in five straight games. He had 25 in the loss to College of Charleston and 21 in the loss at UNC Asheville.  

THE COACHES
Pat Kelsey is in his fourth season at the helm of the Winthrop men's basketball program. He holds a record of 61-45 in four seasons with appearances in the Big South championship game the past two seasons. The Eagles are 30-22 in Big South games under Kelsey. During his tenure the team has a couple of the program's notable victories with wins at Clemson and Auburn. Kevin McGeehan is in his third season with Campbell in his first gig as a collegiate head coach. In his first 76 games he's coached the Camels are 29-47.

MILESTONES
Johnson reached 1,000 points in his career so his next milestone he'll be chasing is the Top 10 for free throws made. He's currently made 252 in his and is among the top free throw shooters in the history of the program as he's currently shooting .846 in his career, which ranks third all-time. He is five made free throws away from cracking the all-time Top 10. Duby Okeke returned to the lineup after missing three games and is now averaging 3.11 blocks per game, which leads the Big South and ranks 7^th in the nation. In nine games he blocked 28 shots (3.11 bpg) and the program record for blocks in a season is 66 by Josh Grant in 2002-03. Okeke has 74 career blocks and Xavier Cooks has 61. They are both on pace to crack the program's career Top 10 list as Eddie Gay and Heson Groves sit at 10^th with 76. Billy Houston is the all-time leader in career blocks with 139.