Senior guard Keon Johnson scored 26 points and Winthrop earned its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2010 by registering a 76-59 victory over Campbell on Sunday in the Big South tournament title game at Rock Hill, S.C.

The top-seeded Eagles (26-6) never trailed in the contest that was played on its home floor. Winthrop is 1-9 all-time in NCAA play with its lone victory coming against Notre Dame in 2007.

Junior forward Xavier Cooks contributed 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Eagles, who won their eighth consecutive contest. Senior forward Rod Perkins added 15 points.

"I'm so proud of these guys," Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey said in a postgame television interview. "They've have a lot of pressure on them. They've been to the finals (and lost) three straight years and to cross that finish line today means so much."

Sophomore guard Chris Clemons scored 29 points for seventh-seeded Campbell (17-17) to finish off a fantastic tournament showing. Clemons averaged 37.7 points in three games and established school and conference records by scoring 51 in Thursday's quarterfinal upset of second-seeded UNC Asheville.

Clemons scored 16 consecutive points for his team in the second half on Sunday but the Fighting Camels were unable to mount a comeback attempt as their four-game winning streak came to a halt.

Johnson averaged 29.3 points in three games for Winthrop and won tournament MVP honors.

"He's special," Kelsey said of Johnson. "He's as fearless of a competitor that I've ever been around. In big moments he's always at his best."

Winthrop lost to UNC Asheville (2016) and Coastal Carolina (2014 and 2015) in the previous three Big South tourney finals.