ROCK HILL, S.C. - Missed opportunities, both in the field and at the line, proved to be costly for the CSU men's basketball team as they dropped a 75-68 Big South Conference contest to the Winthrop Eagles on Thursday evening at the Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, S.C.

The loss was a devastating one for the Bucs (13-13 overall), who entered the game tied with the Eagles for third place in the Big South. Their 7-7 record drops them to fifth overall in the conference. Despite the loss, they were able to clinch a playoff berth with Liberty's win over Radford.

The Eagles have sole possession of third place in the Big South at 8-6 in conference play.

CSU was 25-of-49 from the field for the night. However, one the league's top teams from both the charity stripe and beyond the arc, they shot 35.7 percent on 3-pointers and made just 13-of-23 free-throws. They out-rebounded the Eagles 38-32 and came up with nine assists. However, their 18 turnovers gave Winthrop 26 points, and they were only able to grab two steals from the Eagles.

Freshman Sheldon Strickland led all players with 20 points, scoring 12 off of treys alone. Johathan Brooks was also a bright spot for the Bucs with 16 points and 12 rebounds for a double double. Jeremy Sexton added in ten points of his own and dished out four assists.

Winthrop shot 44.8 percent overall and 40.0 percent from beyond the arc. They also had a rather dismal showing at the free-throw line, going 17-of-30 for 56.7 percent. The Eagles, who were lead by 17 points each from Middleton and Jones, had nine steals against the Bucs.

Robbie Dreher had 16 points for the Eagles, while Charles Corbin added in a double double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

It took the Bucs a minute to adjust as they were playing without the services of Kelvin Martin, allowing the Eagles to take a 7-2 lead in the opening minutes. Brooks then took control of the first half for the Buccaneers, putting up eight points in a matter of five and a half minutes to give CSU a 16-13 advantage with just nine minutes to go in the first half.

The Eagles then proceeded to sink a pair of treys as well as a traditional 3-point play on their way to a 17-5 run to close out the half. The Bucs slim advantage turned into a 12-point deficit as they committed 11 first-half turnovers and found themselves on the wrong end of the 38-26 halftime score.

Two free-throws from Charles Corbin put Winthrop up by 17 early in the second half, but Brooks returned the favor at the line to cut the CSU deficit to 15. Strickland was the next Buccaneer to step up, scoring 11 points, including nine off of 3-pointers, in just two and half minutes. Strickland's buckets were part of a 13-2 scoring rally by the Bucs that brought them within six with 13:22 to play in the game.

Winthrop again hit the line to stretch their advantage with Jerome sinking two, but the Bucs were able to match their pace. Back-to-back jumpers from Strickland and Sexton brought the Bucs within four, but the Eagles were once again able to pull away on five quick points from Andre Jones. Middleton was fouled on a layup, with Corbin grabbing the rebound and put up a jumper to make it a 61-49 Winthrop advantage.

Some late free-throws by Warren brought the deficit back down to single digits, but Robbie Dreher hit the line to put the Eagles ahead by ten once again. Sexton put up a layup on the fast break, but Dreher was back at the charity stripe a minute later to keep the Eagles ahead 67-57. Mitchell went 1-of-2 as he Bucs again came within nine with 90 seconds to go in the game.

Mitchell put up a big layup to cut the WU lead to seven with under a minute to go, and the started to foul to earn extra time. The Eagles shot 50 percent at the line, and a traditional 3-point play from Brooks brought the Bucs within five with 37.9 to play.

The Eagles continued to go 1-for-2 at the free-throw line to give the Bucs hope, but a fast break layup by Corbin put WU up 74-65 with 22 seconds to go. Warren hit a 3-pointer with six seconds remaining to cut the deficit to seven, but there simply wasn't enough time to play catch up as the Eagles took the 75-68 win.

The Bucs will head to Clinton, S.C., on Saturday for a 7 p.m. match up with the Blue Hose of Presbyterian.