ROCK HILL, S.C. - Behind 62.5% shooting from the field, Winthrop opened its Big South Conference title defense Saturday night with a 108-76 win over VMI before 5,117 fans, the third largest crowd in Winthrop Coliseum history.

The Eagles (11-4, 1-0) were paced with 22 points by junior guard Antwon Harris, who hit 10 of 11 shots from the floor, and senior forward Craig Bradshaw, who had 21 points.

VMI (6-10, 0-1), playing without third leading scorer and senior forward Matt Murrer (hamstring), was led by Reggie Williams with 24 points while Chavis Holmes added 21 points.

The 108 points was the most scored by a Winthrop team under head coach Gregg Marshall.

VMI held just one early lead in the contest, but continued to position itself within striking distance for most of the game until a 12-0 spurt by the Eagles late in the second half sealed the victory for the Winthrop, which has won 14 straight on its home floor.

"I was disappointed in that guys have to step up with Matt being hurt, and I really don't think anybody stepped up." said VMI head coach Duggar Baucom. "We cut it to twelve in the second half, then made some mistakes while all the time they were scoring. It went from a 12-point game to a 30-point game."

Trailing, 58-43, at the half, VMI fell behind by 23 points early in the second half when guard Michael Jenkins hit a pair of free throws to put Winthrop ahead, 68-45, with 17:48 left. But the Keydets answered with 11 straight points to pull within 12 points, 68-56, and when a Reggie Williams dunk capped a string six straight points by the junior forward.

The Keydets trailed again by a dozen, 75-63, after Travis Holmes hit a free throw with 12:01 remaining, but that would be as close as the Keydets would get as the Eagles responded with a 12-0 run over the next four minutes and built the lead to as much as 29 points with five minutes left.

"Our effort was good, but we also did some not so good things," added Baucom. "The bad thing about it was throughout the game they were turning it over, and then we couldn't convert. We turned it right back over. We did some crazy things that we can't do to be good. But they (Winthrop) are as good as advertised. We'll learn from this, try to shore up a few things, and go from there.

The Eagles capitalized on Murrer's absence and pounded the Keydets in the paint, outscoring VMI 66-22. VMI forced Winthrop into 23 turnovers, but committed 21 as well including 11 in the second half.

VMI was able to stay within shouting distance by hitting nine of 24 three-pointers in the first half, but connected on just 2 of 13 from the arc in the second half.

Other VMI double figures scorers included sophomore Travis Holmes, who scored 15 points, and senior guard Fred Robinson.

The Eagles also received double-figures scoring outings from junior guard Michael Jenkins (15), and junior forward Taj McCullough and senior forward Philip Williams who each had 12 points.

Freshman guard Adam Lonon had eight assists for the Keydets while junior guard Chris Gaynor dished out seven assists for the Eagles.

VMI returns home to start a four-game homestand Wednesday night against High Point at 7:00 p.m.

NOTES - VMI added 6-4 red-shirt freshman forward Nick Matson to the roster before the Penn State game, and the Roseville, California native who served as a manager last year played five minutes and hit his first college basket, a three-pointer, with 14:48 left in the first half. It was his only score of the game.