Liberty wins 5th straight, beats Winthrop 88-77

Feb 2, 2016, 09:40 pm

LYNCHBURG, Va. -- A.C. Reid scored all of his 17 points in the first half as Liberty built a big lead early and cruised to an 88-77 victory over Winthrop on Tuesday night for its fifth straight win.

John Dawson had 20 points, five assists and a team-high seven rebounds for Liberty (10-15, 7-5 Big South). Evan Maxwell added 20 points.

Xavier Cooks was 10 of 17 from the floor and finished with 26 points to lead Winthrop (16-7, 8-4), which had its seven-game win streak snapped. Keon Johnson chipped in 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

The Flames started on a 26-14 run and led 44-26 at halftime. Reid was 6 of 6 from the floor and Maxwell scored eight points during the half.

Winthrop pulled to 74-68 with four minutes remaining. An 8-0 spurt, capped by Dawson's 3-pointer stretched the Flames lead to 82-68 with two minutes left.