BOILING SPRINGS, NC— Duby Okeke blocked the game-tying shot attempt by Tyrell Nelson with just a second to play as Winthrop held on for a 72-70 win at Gardner-Webb, Thursday night in Paul Porter Arena.

The win is the seventh straight for the Eagles, who improve to 16-4 on the year and 8-1 in the Big South. The loss drops Gardner-Webb to 11-11 overall and 4-5 in the league. Winthrop will go for an eighth straight win Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. when it hosts High Point on ESPN3.

Leading 72-70 following two free throws by Xavier Cooks with 14 seconds to play, Winthrop needed a stop as Gardner-Webb looked to tie or snag a win with 10.7 seconds to play. The Runnin' Bulldogs inbounded the ball to LaQuincy Rideau to make a play but he was stripped of the ball near the foul line by Keon Johnson. Rideau bounced on the ball to earn a jump ball and maintain possession. Gardner-Webb after a timeout had 3.2 seconds and lobbed the ball into the post as Nelson caught the ball, turned and attempted a short jumper but Okeke blocked the shot and time expired.

Cooks, who made the clutch free throws that put the Eagles ahead 72-70, finished with 19 points and nine rebounds. Keon Johnson finished with 15 points and four rebounds. There were nine different players for Winthrop that scored (all finished with at least three). Okeke finished the game with eight points, two rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. The Ealges shot 46 percent in the game and finished with 16 assists.

The Eagles stood tall and never allowed Gardner-Webb to take the lead, just a couple of ties over the final 7:19, which was the first tie at 62-62. Winthrop had an answer with a Roderick Perkins three from the corner. The next and last tie came at 70-70 after Rideau hit 1-of-2 free throws before Cooks hit the game-winning free throws.
Gardner-Webb was led by David Efianayi's 22 points and a career-high from D.J. Laster's 20 points. Rideau joined them in double-figures with 11 points and three assists.

Winthrop jumped out to a 14-2 lead in the first five and a half minutes and did not slow down. Five different players scored to help the Eagles jump out to the early 12-point lead as Josh Ferguson capped it off with four straight points.

It was an eight-point game with 12:52 left in the half after Christian Turner scored inside to make it a 15-7 lead for the Eagles. Then the Eagles pushed their lead back to double-figures for the remainder of the half after Xavier Cooks hit a floater. Winthrop led by as much as 17 after an Anders Broman free throw with 1:53 to play in the half.

The Eagles shot 50 percent from the floor but it was the defense that helped build the 37-21 lead at the break. Winthrop held Gardner-Webb without a field goal over the final seven minutes of the half and to just 21 percent shooting from the floor (0-for-7 behind the arc).
 
EXTRA DRIBBLE
-Xavier Cooks now has 1,024 career points to move into 20^th all-time at Winthrop  
-Cooks is now 16 rebounds from becoming the 8^th player in program history with 600 rebounds
-Winthrop held the lead for 38:12 while Gardner-Webb did not hold a lead
-Eagles have won seven straight road games and are now 5-0 on the road in league play (own six straight away games in league play dating back to last game of 2015-16)
- Winthrop is 19-3 in its last 22 games vs. Big South opponents
-Eagles are now 66-12 during coach Kelsey's tenure when leading at the half and 26-2 when leading by double-figures
-Winthrop is tied with UNC Wilmington for the most road wins this season with nine (UNCW won at James Madison Thursday Night)
-The nine wins on the road are tied for 2^nd most in a single-season with the 2002-03 and 2004-05 teams (School record is 12 by the 2006-07 team)
-Winthrop received 30 or more points from its bench for the 11^th time this season