Rock Hill, S.C. – Nick Johnson scored a team-high 20 points to help lead Winthrop to its third straight win as it earned an 86-78 win at Queens, Tuesday evening.
WINTHROP (7-3, 0-0 Big South)
- Nick Johnson (20 points, 3 rebounds, assist, 3 steals)
- Kasen Harrison (15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, block)
- K.J. Doucet (13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, block, steal)
QUEENS (3-5, 0-0 ASUN)
- Chris Ashby (20 points, steal)
- Leo Colimerio (14 points, 4 rebounds)
- Bryce Cash (13 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals)
FIRST HALF
- Winthrop was on the board first as Kasen Harrison drove into the paint and dished to Paul Jones III in the corner as he drilled a three
- It was a 3-1 lead when Queens got the ball in the paint and Malcolm Wilson passed the ball to the corner for Leo Colimerio who knocked down the triple for a 4-3 advantage
- It ended up being a 7-0 run as Chris Ashby buried a right wing three
- K.J. Doucet ended the run as he powered his way to the basket and got a shot to fall as the Eagles trailed 7-5
- A Hamilton block on the defensive end led to a triple on the other end as Doucet found Jones III for a left wing three and a 10-9 lead with 13:52 left in the half
- That three sparked an 8-0 run as Nick Johnson followed with a three in transition and then off a steal by Kelton Talford, Ryan Jolly finished a fast break layup to lead 15-9
- Queens ended the run on the ensuing possession as Nasir Mann knocked down a three
- Harrison pushed the lead back to six points with 11:21 on the clock as he drove the lane and scored while getting fouled as he made the free throw to complete the three-point play
- The lead grew to nine points with 9:30 left after a Jones III free throw and again at the 9:03 mark after a strong drive and score by Doucet but the Royals quickly made it a one possession game with just over eight minutes remaining
- Johnson scored off the drive to push it back to a two possession game and that sparked a 7-0 run highlighted by a three from Jolly and then another bucket at the rim by Johnson to lead by double-digits, 30-20 with 5:30 left
- The lead was as high as 11 with 5:01 left but Queens was able to get the Winthrop lead down to a single possession at the 1:24 mark and again with 31 seconds left but a short jumper by Doucet put the Eagles up five, 40-35 at the half
- Both teams shot 41 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes
SECOND HALF
- Eagles pushed their lead to eight points a minute and 25 seconds into the second half as Talford hit 1-of-2 free throws and Johnson hit a short jumper in the lane
- It was a three-point game at the 15:25 mark after free throws by Asjon Anderson but the Eagles put together another 7-0 run to push the lead back to double-digits
- The run started with Hamilton making 1-of-2 free throws and then dropping in a contested hook shot
- Harrison drove and scored to lead by eight and Bryce Baker boarded a miss and then scored to lead 54-44 with 13:18 remaining
- Winthrop led by 10 at the 12:53 mark but a three by Mann and Queens began to chip away
- The Royals made it a three point game at 61-58 as Jaxon Pollard hit 1-of-2 at the foul line with 10:16 left
- Eagles responded with a tough bucket inside by Talford and then leading by six, Johnson drilled a three following an offensive rebound as Doucet found him open on the right wing
- The Eagles led by three looking to take a two possession lead, but Johnson couldn't get his right wing three to fall with 1:06 left as Queens boarded the miss and pushed the ball in transition
- Pollard took a long pass and tried to lay it up but Yoro Diallo came from behind with a big block as the Eagles boarded the loose ball and after crossing midcourt, called timeout
- Out of the timeout Harrison drove and found Talford at the rim as he placed a layup off the glass for a five point advantage with 40.7 seconds left
- Johnson made it a six point game with 24.8 seconds to play with a free throw
- On the ensuing Queens possession Ashby tried to cut the deficit in half with a three, but missed as the Eagles rebounded the miss
- Doucet was fouled after boarding the miss and made both free throws with 14.7 seconds left for an eight point advantage as the Eagles held on for the road win
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop shot 59 percent from the floor in the second half and finished the game at 49 percent
- Queens shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half and finished at 46 percent
- Eagles were 21-for-34 at the free throw line while the Royals were 13-for-24
- Each team had 13 turnovers as the Eagles held a 17-15 edge in points off turnovers
- Winthrop won the rebounding battle 43-36, including 14 offensive boards that led to 14 second chance points
- Eagles scored 50 points in the paint while Queens finished with 36
- Johnson fell one shy of a career-high as he led the way with 20 points as the Eagles had four players in double-figures
- Harrison finished with 15 points and four assists
NOTABLES
- The win puts the Eagles on a season-best three-game winning streak
- Eagles have now won five straight meetings in the series with Queens
- Talford finished the game with nine rebounds, moving him into 3rd all-time as he passes Josh Ferguson and now has 745 in his career
- Doucet has been in double-figures all 10 games this season after posting 13 vs. Queens
- Johnson and Harrison also hit milestones as Johnson reached 1,000 career points and Harrison surpassed 1,300
UP NEXT
Eagles are back home on Saturday, Dec. 7 as they take on Coastal Carolina at 7 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED
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