ROCK HILL, S.C. – A quarterback pass and hold from Eugene Brown III to Dontae Horne with one second left and a two-point lead pushed Georgia Southern men's basketball (4-1) to a nail-biting win over Winthrop (3-2) on Saturday night.

"We wanted to come out and get a great win against a great team in Winthrop, and we're fortunate to have done that," head coach Charlie Henry said. "We withstood a lot of things down the stretch; some of it out of our control and some of it self-inflicted. I'd rather learn on a night like this where we win than feeling miserable if we didn't hold on."

The Eagles found the going rough early on, going the opening 5:08 without a field goal before Avantae Parker cashed in an offensive rebound.

Finding their footing following the first field goal, Adante' Holiman knocked down a three and Nakavieon White scored a lay-in off a fastbreak for the first lead of the day at 13-10.

Winthrop took the lead back, stretching it to five, however, the Eagles kept it within arm's length. Officially taking the lead back, Holiman sunk both free throws after a technical foul by Winthrop. Horne pushed it to three with a nice finish, leading 25-22.

Tied at 34 with a minute left, the Eagles got a pair of clutch buckets - Micah Smith flew for a layup and Eren Banks nailed a three with a hand in his face, pushing the lead to 39-34 heading into the break.

Coming out of the half, the Eagles extended their lead to eight. Tyson Brown and White both had quick layups, and Bradley Douglas ran down the floor to make it a 48-38 lead.

The Eagles extended the advantage in the coming minutes. White and Banks both scored, making it a 13-point lead, which was the largest for either side. GS led 80-67 with a little over six minutes remaining.

Winthrop mounted a late charge in crunch time as the Eagles got into foul trouble. After a turnover at center court, the home team surged to within one but never overtook the Eagles. Brown III's heave to Horne sealed the deal as the Eagles earned a gutsy 89-87 win.

Holiman exploded for a career-high 23 points including 10-11 from the line, the first Eagle to make ten free throws in a game this season.

"It's not going to be my night every night, and it'll probably be someone else's tomorrow," Holiman said. "My teammates have been finding me and coach has been drawing up a lot of great plays."

White (15), Horne (11) and Banks (10) all crossed the double-digit threshold in the victory. Brown III led the team with eight boards, while Douglas filled the stat sheet with eight points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The Eagles are 4-1 for the first time since the 2021-22 season and have a chance to finish off a perfect MTE on Sunday against William & Mary.