WINTHROP 55, LIBERTY 48
Winthrop dominated the inside Tuesday by outscoring Liberty 34-14 in the paint on the way to a 55-48 Big South Conference victory at the Winthrop Coliseum.  Winthrop, the defending Big South champion, improved its record to 10-7 overall and 1-1, while Liberty fell to 8-9, 0-2.  The Eagles also held a 37-29 rebounding advantage on the boards.  Mantoris Robinson led the way with seven rebounds, five on the offensive end.  Michael Jenkins led Winthrop with 12 points, while Taj McCullough, who picked up two early fouls and played just two minutes in the first half, added 10, including two back-breaking dunks in the final 18 seconds.  Winthrop took a 42-37 lead when Charles Corbin scored on a reverse lay up with 8:54 left in the second half.  Anthony Smith, who led Liberty with 17 points, hit a 3-pointer to make it 42-40 with 8:43 remaining.  That would be as close as the Flames would get.

Winthrop would stretch the lead to 51-43 on Jenkins’ third 3-pointer of the game with 1:23 left.  But Liberty made one last surge as TeeJay Bannister hit a 3-pointer then two free throws to cut the lead to three, but consecutive dunks by McCullough sealed the deal for Winthrop.  Winthrop will be on the road Saturday as they face Radford in a regionally televised game on Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN).  Tipoff is set for 2:00pm.  Liberty opens home Conference play Saturday night against Charleston Southern at the Vines Center at 7:00pm.