BUIES CREEK, N.C. — Trey Freeman scored 24 points, grabbed five points and dished out five assists to lift Campbell over Winthrop 63-59 Saturday in Big South Conference play.

Andrew Ryan had 12 points, Darius Leonard 10 and Marvelle Harris nine for the Camels, who won despite getting zero points from their bench.

Joab Jerome led Winthrop (7-10, 1-4) with 16 points, but the Eagles shot just 34.6 percent (9 of 26) in the first half as Campbell (9-10, 4-1) took a 34-24 lead into intermission.

Winthrop cut the deficit to two points three times before taking its first lead of the second half, 53-52, with 5:25 remaining behind a Derrick Henry 3-pointer. Henry made a jumper to put the Eagles up 55-52, but Campbell scored six straight to retake the lead, 58-55.

Jerome sandwiched two baskets around a Freeman jumper make the score 60-59, but Winthrop missed its final two shot attempts.

Jerome tied his career high of 16 points, finishing 7-for-10 from the field with four assists and four rebounds. Sophomore James Bourne finished in double figures with 10 points as he was 3-for-5 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the foul line.

Winthrop, which trailed by as much as 12 points in the second half, cut the lead to one at 60-59 with 1:24 to play after Jerome drove to the basket and hit a one-handed shot in the lane. Winthrop forced a turnover on the ensuing possession and had an opportunity to take the lead with under a minute to play, but a Derrick Henry three-point attempt with 25 seconds left didn’t fall and Winthrop was forced to foul. Trey Freeman knocked down both free throws for a three-point lead for Campbell with 18.8 seconds remaining. Winthrop’s Andre Smith tried to tie the game on a deep three from the wing, but the shot came up short off the rim. Campbell’s Marvelle Harris made one-of-two free throws with six seconds left to seal the win.

Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey thought his team did a better job at taking care of the ball and not giving up easy baskets to get back into the game.

"Give them credit, first of all. They won the game and credit Coach Laing and his staff and players I think they did a great job. We spent so much time and effort and energy in clawing back into the game on two different occasions I felt like we could never really get over the hump. We started off with that 10-point deficit, early in the game and started the half with a 10-point deficit as well. We exerted so much energy getting back in the game but we didn’t sustain it."

Early in the game the Eagles didn’t take care of the basketball, and Campbell made them pay as they scored off steals on three straight possessions to build a 10-2 at the 15:30 mark. The lead increased to nine points but Jerome answered with a basket inside and a three to make it an 11-7 Campbell lead. The Camels answered with a Ryan jumper for a 13-7 lead.

Winthrop worked its way back to tie the game after Smith drilled a three to make it 15-15 with 7:30 on the clock. Winthrop took its first lead with 5:34 to play in the first half after Jerome scored in the lane and then Winthrop led by three points after another Christian Farmer three, 22-19. However, Campbell finished the half on a 15-2 run for a 34-24 lead at the break. The Camels were 7-for-8 from the field during the run to finish shooting 58 percent from the floor in the first half. Winthrop finished the half shooting 35 percent and committing seven turnovers that Campbell turned into 10 points.

Smith and Henry each finished with nine points while Farmer added eight points. Winthrop shot 40 percent for the game and was 8-for-21 behind the arc.

"I think our kids fought on two different occasions they had double-digit deficits and they fight back to take the lead," added Kelsey. "We were right there in the game down the stretch, in a hostile environment and an opportunity to win the game. They made plays down the stretch and they executed."

Campbell finished the game shooting 51 percent from the floor and 77 percent from the foul line (13-for-17).

Winthrop hosts Gardner-Webb on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Percentages: FG .396, FT .692. 3-Point Goals: 8-21, .381 (Smith 3-5, Farmer 2-6, Jerome 1-2, Gamble 1-3, Henry 1-3, Johnson 0-1, King 0-1). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 0. Turnovers: 12 (Jerome 5, Johnson 2, Farmer, Smith, King, Gamble, Henry). Steals: 6 (Smith 3, Johnson, Brown, King). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .511, FT .765. 3-Point Goals: 2-7, .286 (Ryan 1-1, Freeman 1-1, Hooker 0-2, McCarter 0-3). Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 3 (Harris 2, Kalpic). Turnovers: 14 (Freeman 5, McCarter 3, Hooker 2, Leek, Leonard, Ryan). Steals: 8 (Hooker 3, Freeman 2, Leonard, McCarter, Harris). Technical Fouls: None.

Att.–2,518. Officials–Dave Davis, Mike Terry, Matt Lynch.