Knox Leads Eagles To 67-53 Win Over Birmingham-Southern

    ROCK HILL, SC--Derrick Knox came off the bench to score 20 points and Greg Lewis had his second consecutive double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Winthrop Eagles to a 67-53 non-conference victory Tuesday night over Birmingham-Southern.

With the game tied at halftime 31-31, Winthrop (2-2) put its highly regarded defense in gear for the first time this season as the Eagles held Birmingham-Southern (1-3) to 33 percent shooting in the second period (9-27) after the Panthers had hit on 48 percent in the first half (12-25). Another key for the Eagles in the victory was their performance at the free throw line where Winthrop went 19 for 22, including 15 of 18 in the second half.

Knox, a senior who had lost his starting job in the first three games, came off the bench to ignite Winthrop in the first half. He scored 11 of his game-high 20 in the opening period and hit the first three treys he took. He also came up with a couple of key three-point baskets the old fashion way in the second half.

With Winthrop clinging to a 45-43 lead with 7:42 left in the game, Knox drove to the basket for a goal and was fouled. He converted the free throw to give Winthrop’s its biggest lead to that point. Knox followed that play with another drive, hoop and free throw less than a minute later to give the Eagles a six-point advantage at 51-45.

Birmingham-Southern, which was led in scoring by T.R. Reed’s 20 points, could get no closer than four at 52-48 with 5:22 left in the game. Winthrop put the game out of reach in the final four minutes by converting nine of 12 free throws and getting a three-pointer from Knox.

Winthrop will now travel to Hartford, Connecticut on Wednesday where they will face Niagara on Thursday night in the opening game of the Phoenix Classic. Hartford and Central Connecticut meet in the other game. The consolation and championship games will be played Friday night in the Hartford Civic Center.