DENVER, Colo. -- Winthrop seniors Chris Gaynor and Taj McCullough combined for 32 points, but the Eagles were unable to weather a second half drought and were defeated 71-40 by No.4-seed Washington State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Winthrop connected on just 16 percent of its shots in the second half and finished the game at just 30.8 percent (16-52) while WSU shot 59 percent for the game after connecting on 17 of 26 second half shots and 29 of 49 for the game.

It was a game of two different halves for the Eagles who finish the season with a 22-12 overall record after capturing a fourth straight Big South Conference Championship and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.  With the score knotted at 29-29 at the half, the Cougars (25-8) opened with a 9-0 run and the Eagles missed their first four shots.  WSU went on to ourscore Winthrop 25-4 to end any hopes of  a Winthrop upset.

McCullough had the crowd oohing and aahing in the first half as he scored 15 of his points on an assortment of inside and outside shots.  His only field goal in the second half came on a length of the court drive that was capped by one of his patented highlight dunks.  Winthrop was in good shape at the half considering its leading scorer Michael Jenkins was saddled with two early fouls and did not score a point in eight minutes of action.

With Jenkins struggling to find his shot in the second half, the Eagles' offense seemed to get frustrated.  That combined with 65 percent second half shooting performance by the Cougars proved too much to overcome.  At one time in the final period, WSU outscored Winthrop 35-4.

In addition to McCullough's strong farewell performance, Gaynor scored 15 points to reach the 1,000 point club and became just the third player in Big South Conference history to score 1,000 points, have more than 500 assists and make more than 200 steals in a career.

"We got frustrated," said Winthrop head coach Randy Peele about the second half shooting woes.  "When you struggle to score, it shows up in your ability to defend, and it showed up for us tonight, especially in the second half."

"But even though they didn't go out the way they wanted, I am very proud of our seniors and I am proud of what they have done at Winthrop University.  It's been a pleasure to have coached them," he said.  Gaynor, McCullough and Michael Jenkins helped lead the Eagles to four straight conference titles and NCAA Appearances while the fourth senior, Antwon Harris, a junior college transfer, was a part of two championships.

Washington State was led by 6-10 Aron Baynes with 19 while 6-10 Robbie Cowgill and Kyle Weaver scored 14 each and Derrick Low added 11, all in the second half. 

After being nearly even in the rebounding performance through the first 20 minutes, WSU took advantage of the Eagles' poor second half shooting performance to win the battle of the boards 40-21.  McCullough tied Baynes for game rebounding honors with eight.

With the loss, Winthrop now drops to 1-8 all-time in NCAA championship play.