Radio Highlights As Heard On 104.1 The Bridge (Dave Friedman)
ROCK HILL, SC—The Winthrop Eagles are dancing again as Keon Johnson led three players in double-figures with 26 points in a 76-59 victory over Campbell, Sunday afternoon at the Winthrop Coliseum.
The Eagles won their eighth game in a row to capture their 11th Big South Conference Championship and earn the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Winthrop will find out its opponent, seeding and destination on Sunday, Mar. 12 as the NCAA Selection show beginning at 5:30.
Johnson, named the Big South Conference Tournament MVP, scored 20 of his 26 in the second half as the Eagles opened up the second half on an 11-2 run that Johnson scored the first nine points of. Johnson opened the scoring in the second half and hit a three on the ensuing possession as the Eagles raced out to a 16-point lead with 16:30 to play. Johnson is the first Big South Player of the Year to be on a championship team since Matt Dickey of UNC Asheville in 2012.
Campbell’s Chris Clemons answered the run with a three to cut I t back to 13 points, but that was as close as the Camels got. Winthrop extended its lead to 20 points after Xavier Cooks scored down low with 7:40 to play.
Cooks recorded his third straight double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds as he also led the team with five assists and three steals. Roderick Perkins scored 15 points and had three assists. The Eagles shot 45 percent for the game and connected on 10 threes. Cooks joined Johnson on the All-Tournament Team.
Chris Clemons, also named to the All-Tournament Team, scored a game-high 29 points to lead the Camels in scoring. Marcus Burk was also in double-figures with 11 points. The Eagles held the Camels to 35 percent shooting in the game and 32 percent in the second half.
Winthrop led 41-34 at the half thanks to a 50 percent shooting effort from the floor. Perkins got the Eagles offense going early as he buried two threes from the corner during a 12-2 start to the game. Campbell did tie the game at 21-21 with 9:46 to play in the half but the Eagles answered with a 9-0 run as Perkins scored five of the points. The Eagles held the steady 7-9 point lead until the break.
EXTRA DRIBBLE
-Johnson is the first player to win Big South Player of the Year and the Big South Conference MVP same season since Radford’s Art Parakhouski did in 2009
-Winthrop’s 11 Big South Titles are the most of any team in the league and making first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010
-Johnson came up four points short of Mark Hailey’s record for combined points in a conference tournament (Hailey scored 92 points in four games in the 1993 tournament)
-Cooks had a double-double in all three tournament games as he averaged 19.7 points and 13.0 rebounds
-Eagles are 18-1 all-time as the top seed in the Big South Tournament
-Winthrop is now 11-4 all-time in conference championship games
2017 Big South All-Tournament Team
Keon Johnson, Winthrop (MVP)
Xavier Cooks, Winthrop
Chris Clemons, Campbell
LaQuincy Rideau, Gardner-Webb
Christian Keeling, Charleston Southern