ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop held on for an 81-80 victory over UNC Asheville to take sole possession of first place in the Big South Conference, Saturday afternoon at the Winthrop Coliseum.

Winthrop earns its 20^th win on the year as it is now 20-7 overall and 12-4 in the Big South. It is the second 20-win seasons in the past three years. Asheville falls to 18-10 on the year and 11-5 in the league. The Eagles will look for a fifth straight win on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 9 p.m. on the road at High Point as the game will air on ESPNU.

Following a made three by Kevin Vannatta to make it a one-point game with six seconds to play, the Eagles turned the ball over as Dwayne Sutton intercepted the inbound pass. Sutton then turned toward the basket near the free throw line Jimmy Gavin stepped in the way and came up with a steal of his own and dribbled out the clock.

Winthrop led 79-77 after Sutton drilled a deep three from the wing and the Bulldogs called timeout. Following the timeout Keon Johnson waited until the shot clock dropped just over 10 seconds and drove down the middle of the lane making a layup in the process of getting fouled. Johnson stepped to the line for a five-point advantage with 10.8 left but the shot bounced on the rim a couple of times and fell out. Asheville boarded the missed and pushed the ball up quickly which led to the Vannatta three to make it 81-80.

Gavin finished with a game-high 26 points as he was 8-for-19 from the floor, 4-for-9 behind the arc and a perfect 6-for-6 on free throws. He paced three Eagles in double-figures as Xavier Cooks added 15 points and Johnson finished with 14. Cooks nearly posted a double-double as he also had nine rebounds and two blocks. Johnson moved into 10^th on Winthrop's all-time scoring list with 1,292 career points, passing Andre Jones (1,291).

A six-point halftime advantage turned into a 13-point lead with 10:15 left went on a 13-4 run that started with a Gavin three and then the final eight points coming at the free throw line. As a team the Eagles struggled from the line in the first half but were 16-for-18 in the second to finish 19-for-26 in the game.

Winthrop finished the game shooting 49 percent from the floor and 42 percent behind the arc (10-for-24).

Vannatta led the Bulldogs with 21 points as he was 7-for-9 from the field, 2-for-2 behind the arc and 5-for-5 at the line. He also tied for a team-best four assists. Dylan Smith and Sam Hughes each had 13 points while Ahmad Thomas chipped in with 11 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals. The Bulldogs finished with a 22-9 advantage in points off turnovers and finished the game shooting 46 percent.

The start of the game favored Asheville as it jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but the Eagles battled back and were able to hold a 42-36 lead at the break. Winthrop shot 57 percent from the floor in the first half and was 7-for-14 behind the arc. The lead ended up changing hands nine times over the first 20 minutes as the Eagles finished the final 4:50 of the half outscoring the Bulldogs 12-6. Winthrop held Asheville down to 44 percent shooting in the first half despite the Bulldogs hitting 10 of their first 15 shots.  

The game was tied at 30-30 when Gavin hit two free throws followed by a triple from Johnson. After Trae Bryant knocked down a jumper, Johnson drove the lane and set up Duby Okeke for a dunk. Johnson put the Eagles up five with 1:19 left and had a chance to increase the lead but Sutton came away with a steal and Vannatta finished on the other end with 44 seconds left. The Eagles response came from Gavin behind the arc as he hit his third three of the half for the six-point advantage.

Winthrop finishes the 2015-16 regular season with a 14-1 mark at the Winthrop Coliseum, which is the best winning percentage and most home wins since the 2006-07 team was undefeated at 15-0.