CHARLESTON, S.C. – Winthrop's Keon Johnson hit two free throws with 1.6 seconds remaining to lift the Eagles to an 83-82 win over Charleston Southern in Wednesday's Big South Conference opener at the Buc Dome.

CSU (2-5, 0-1 Big South) trailed for much of the game but took an 82-81 lead on Armel Potter's three-point play with 5.8 seconds left. Potter drove right and banked in a shot while being fouled, giving him an opportunity for his second three-point play of the final minute. The freshman calmly nailed the free throw to polish off his third straight 18-point game and put the Bucs on the precipice of their second one-point victory in eight days.

Winthrop (5-1, 1-0 Big South) came out on the winning end instead, though, as Johnson drove the length of the floor and went to the line when Aaron Wheeler was called for a foul. Johnson made both free throws to complete a game-high 27-point performance, and stole CSU's last-ditch inbounds pass to allow Winthrop to escape.

"I'm really proud of our team," said CSU head coach Barclay Radebaugh afterward. "We really competed in the second half and gave ourselves a chance against one of the top teams in our league. We competed and found ourselves a little bit in the second half. We gotta keep growing and once we get our whole team competing on the level we need to, we can be right where we want to be."

Patrick Wallace made the most of his first career start, knocking down seven three-pointers en route to tallying a team-high 25 points. Rae Robinson sparked the Bucs off the bench with his fourth double figure scoring effort of the young year, recording 16 points while hitting four of six tries from beyond the arc. Aaron Wheeler chipped in eight of his ten markers following intermission.

The Eagles were led by Johnson's 27 points on just 11 shot attempts. Xavier Cooks added 19, and Duby Okeke chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots. Okeke and 6-10 center Zach Price (seven rebounds) helped Winthrop to a 43-36 rebounding advantage.

CSU went 14-of-40 from downtown, and made three treys in the opening 2:32 of the second half to quickly rally from a 41-36 halftime deficit. Wallace buried two from the left wing, and Potter tacked on another to tie the score at 47 apiece.

It was back-and-forth from there, as neither side enjoyed more than a five-point advantage in the second half. Wallace sparked an 8-0 CSU run with five straight points, and Robinson punctuated the spurt with a triple to stake CSU to a 55-52 edge. Wheeler drove for a tough layup to keep the Bucs ahead by three moments later, but the Eagles scored the next seven points and led the rest of the way until the final seconds.

Winthrop entered 12^th nationally in scoring offense, and hit five of its first six shots to build a 12-5 lead. Okeke finished off that opening run with a jump hook in the paint. The Eagles led by seven several times in the opening stanza, and by as much as eight, 34-26, at the 4:49 mark. Wallace and Robinson brought the Bucs within two with back-to-back threes. The duo combined for 21 points and five triples in the first half to keep CSU in the game despite shooting just 29 percent as a team.

CSU hits the road to square off against Liberty on Saturday. Tipoff at the Vines Center is scheduled for 2 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.