Winthrop thumps Campbell, wins share of Big South title
Jimmy Gavin scored 31 points and Winthrop clinched at least a share of the Big South Conference title with an 87-71 victory over Campbell on Saturday.
Gavin made seven 3-pointers and was 10-of-16 from the field. Keon Johnson added 18 points for his 32nd straight game with double digit points and Xavier Cooks chipped in 10 and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Eagles (21-8, 13-5 Big South), who have won five of six regular season games.
Chris Clemons had 25 points to lead Campbell (12-17, 5-13 Big South), which has lost two straight after having won four in a row.
The Fighting Camels handed Winthrop its first home loss of the season on Dec. 31, a result that snapped a 12-game winning streak at the Winthrop Coliseum.
The Eagles rebounded well from Thursday night’s loss at High Point, during which they struggled turning the ball over and keeping the Panthers off the backboards.
But Winthrop never trailed in the game Saturday, jumping out to a 21-12 lead midway through the first half. The Eagles built a 51-33 halftime lead and led by double digits the rest of the way. They beat Campbell in the rebounding department (40-35) and only turned the ball over 11 times.
Pat Kelsey’s team hit 14-of-28 shots from beyond the 3-point arc on the court where the Big South tournament will be held next week. Winthrop had already clinched a first round bye and will open tourney play on Friday.
WINTHROP 87, CAMPBELL 71
WIN | Min | FG-A | FT-A | O-R | A | PF | PT |
Cooks | 33 | 4-7 | 1-1 | 1-13 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
Price | 20 | 2-7 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Johnson | 33 | 7-15 | 1-2 | 0-3 | 5 | 3 | 18 |
Broman | 32 | 3-5 | 3-5 | 0-3 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
Gavin | 34 | 10-16 | 4-4 | 0-3 | 5 | 2 | 31 |
Okeke | 15 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 1-5 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
Hill | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pickett | 11 | 1-1 | 3-3 | 2-5 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
Poole | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sadlon | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scott | 3 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Davenport | 16 | 0-1 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Totals | 200 | 28-54 | 17-23 | 6-40 | 18 | 16 | 87 |
Percentages: FG .519, FT .739. 3-Point Goals: 14-28, .500 (Gavin 7-12, Broman 3-5, Johnson 3-7, Cooks 1-3, Scott 0-1). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 7 (Cooks 3, Price 2, Davenport 2). Turnovers: 11 (Cooks 4, Price 2, Johnson 2, Davenport, Gavin, Pickett). Steals: 2 (Johnson, Gavin). Technical Fouls: None.
CAMP | Min | FG-A | FT-A | O-R | A | PF | PT |
Days | 30 | 5-9 | 0-0 | 0-8 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
Mason | 15 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
Clemons | 33 | 9-20 | 3-6 | 1-4 | 2 | 2 | 25 |
Perrin | 10 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Harper | 36 | 3-14 | 6-6 | 1-6 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
Lane | 21 | 1-6 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Ray | 23 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Eudy | 4 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Whitfield | 28 | 4-8 | 4-6 | 3-4 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
Totals | 200 | 25-68 | 13-18 | 11-35 | 16 | 18 | 71 |
Percentages: FG .368, FT .722. 3-Point Goals: 8-24, .333 (Clemons 4-11, Days 2-3, Perrin 1-3, Harper 1-4, Lane 0-3). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 5 (Lane 3, Days, Clemons). Turnovers: 5 (Days, Clemons, Whitfield, Mason). Steals: 5 (Ray 2, Clemons, Whitfield, Days). Technical Fouls: None.
Winthrop | 51 | 36 | — | 87 |
Campbell | 33 | 38 | — | 71 |
A—1,365. Officials—Andy O’Brien, Ken Pike, Brandon Heirs.
Big South Men’s Basketball Championship
Pope Center / Gore Arena, Buies Creek, N.C.
Thursday, March 3 First Round
#8 Longwood vs. #9 Charleston So. (2) (BSN)
#7 Radford vs. #10 Presbyterian (4:30) (BSN)
#6 Gardner-Webb vs. #11 Campbell (7) (BSN)
Friday, March 4 quarterfinals
#1 High Point vs. #8/9 (noon) (ESPN3)
#4 UNC Asheville vs. #5 Liberty (2) (ESPN3)
#2 Winthrop vs. #7/10 (6) (ESPN3)
#3 Coastal Carolina vs. #6/11 (8) (ESPN3)
Saturday, March 5 semifinals
Semifinal (1) (ESPN3) Semifinal (3) (ESPN3)
Sunday, March 6
Championship (2:30) (ESPN2)
This story was originally published February 27, 2016 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Winthrop thumps Campbell, wins share of Big South title."