Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop overcame a second half double-figure deficit to earn an 88-82 victory over Queens, Tuesday night in men's basketball non-conference action.
WINTHROP (7-3, 0-0 Big South)
QUEENS (5-5, 0-0 ASUN)
- A.J. McKee (23 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, block)
- Deyton Albury (20 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks, 4 steals)
- B.J. McLaurin (16 points, 10 rebounds, assist, block)
FIRST HALF
- Eagles opened the scoring as Nick Johnson found Chase Claxton underneath the basket and he finished with a slam
- Queens scored the next nine points starting with back-to-back threes from the right wing by Chris Ashby and Bryce Cash and capped off with a three-point play from A.J. McKie
- Eagles responded with five straight to pull within a point at the 16:29 mark as Kasen Harrison found K.J. Doucet in the left corner for a three
- The Royals had another response from behind the arc as Ashby hit one from the left wing and then Deyton Albury found McKie in the left corner in transition as he buried the triple for a 15-8 lead
- Out of a media timeout Doucet muscled his way inside and scored on a short jumper while drawing a foul as he completed the three point play to trail 15-11
- Johnson hit two free throws to make it a three point deficit with 13:09 left
- Queens went on a run to open up a double-figure leadat 27-15 capped off by another three from McKee and free throws from Albury
- Eagles pulled within seven points at the 9:35 mark after Alex Timmerman knocked down two free throws, but the Royals answered on the other end with his fourth triple to push the lead back to double-digits
- An fast break finish at the rim by Xavier McKelvy jumped started a 7-0 run to make it a one possession game with just over seven minutes remaining
- McKelvy scored a second basket inside and Doucet buried a corner three to shorten the Queens lead to 32-29
- Eagles were within two points at the 4:42 mark after a free throw from Kasen Harrison, but Queens ended the half on a 9-3 run to lead by 10 at the break (47-37)
- Winthrop shot 38 percent from the floor in the half while Queens, which made 9-of-14 from the floor to start, finished at 42 percent
SECOND HALF
- The second half began with a Johnson converting two free throws and the teams went back and forth over the first four and a half minutes
- Harrison scored a tough basket off the drive down the right side of the lane and then hit two free throws with 15:18 left to make it a six point deficit
- With 13:01 remaining Doucet drove the right side of the lane and scored while being fouled as he converted the three-point play to cut the deficit to 61-56
- After getting a defensive stop, the Eagles came right down as Doucet fed the ball to Timmerman in the post and then turned to his left and scored off glass
- Timmerman was fouled on the play and knocked down the free throw to make it a two point contest
- McKee went to the line for a 1-and-1 with 12:02 left but missed and on the ensuing possession Johnson worked his way into the paint and knocked down a short jumper to tie the game at 61-61 with just under 12 minutes left
- With a chance to regain the lead Albury was whistled for an offensive foul, giving the Eagles a chance to grab their first lead since early in the game
- The Eagles did just that as Doucet knocked down two free throws for a 63-61 advantage, capping off a 10-0 run
- With the game tied at 65-65, Harrison scored at the rim as he dribbled his way through traffic to finish with his right hand for the lead
- The game was tied again at 67-67 when the Eagles pushed the ball in transition as Harrison worked his way into the paint and then found McKelvy for a corner three
- Winthrop grabbed a five point lead with 5:26 remaining as Harrison again scored off a drive down the right side of the lane
- Queens was within a basket with 3:51 to play when McKelvy drove baseline and finished with an emphatic slam followed by a transition three by Sin'Cere McMahon at the 3:00 minute mark for an 80-73 lead
- Leading 80-75 the Eagles turned the ball over which led to a three-point play on the other end as McKee scored and converted the free throw
- Winthrop came up with a defensive play with 1:13 left as Timmerman came away with a steal and pushed the ball up court to Harrison who finished on the other end to lead 82-78 with 1:07 to play
- Eagles made 5-of-6 free throws over the final 32.5 seconds to hold for the win
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Eagles finished the game at 43 percent from the floor and held Queens to 39 percent
- Queens finished 8-for-31 behind the arc as the Eagles held the Royals to 0-for-14 in the second half
- Winthrop was 26-for-36 at the foul line (74%) while the Royals were 18-of-20
- Winthrop and Queens each had 15 turnovers
- Eagles edged the Royals 44-40 in the paint and second chance points 15-9
- Royals won the battle on the glass 45-43, with 16 coming on the offensive end and the Eagles had 13 offensive boards
- K.J. Doucet scored 21 points to lead five Eagles in double-figures
- Harrison had 17 points, Timmerman scored 14, Johnson had 13 and McKelvy finished with 12
- McKelvy finished with a career-high three blocks and tied his career-high in steals with two
NOTABLES
- Eagles have now won three straight games and six of the last seven
- This was the fourth straight win over Queens
- Winthrop is 7-3 for the sixth time in program history
- McMahon's three-pointer was his only field goal of the game, came at the right time and was the 150th of his career
UP NEXT
Winthrop is off to Little Rock, Ark. as it will face Little Rock on Sunday, Dec. 10 at 1 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED
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