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Middleton Scores Over Drake

Middleton Ties Career-High With 26 Points, But Eagles Fall To Drake 66-62 In Paradise Jam

Middleton Scored 26 Points Against Drake To Equal His Career High
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ST. THOMAS, USVI--Winthrop had its chances against Drake in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam match up on Saturday night, but the Eagles couldn't make that crucial defensive stop or knock down the big shot as they lost 66-62 to the Bulldogs out of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Winthrop remains winless at 0-4 while Drake improves to 3-1.  The Eagles will get one more chance to notch a win in the tournament when they face Drexel at 1 p.m. EST on Monday.  Drexel lost earlier in the evening to Virginia, 49-35.

Senior guard Reggie Middleton did his best to push Winthrop past Drake as he finished the game with 26 points, including 17 in the second half.  The 26 points equaled his career high that he set on March 2, 2010 against Liberty.  Andre Jones, who scored a career-high 29 points in Friday night's loss to Marquette, was the only other Eagle to reach double figures as he finished with 11. 

Winthrop led just twice early in the game at 3-0 on a banked 3-pointer by Joab Jerome and again at 6-5 following a dunk by George Valentine with 16 minutes left in the first half, but a layup by Jeremy Jeffers followed by a 3-pointer by Ben Simons gave the Bulldogs the lead at 10-6 and they never trailed again in the game although Winthrop managed to come back from a 22-13 deficit to score nine unanswered points to tie the game at 22-22 with 6:41 in the opening period.  But Simon responded for Drake with another 3-pointer to regain the lead at 25-22 and ignite a 7-0 run.  A back-breaker play during that run was a steal and a dunk by Rayvonte Rice that gave his team a 29-22 lead.

The Eagles were able to close out the half with a 7-4 run behind a 3-pointer by Matt Morgan and four points from Middleton and trailed 33-29 at intermission.  Winthrop had to feel good about being down only four points because Drake connected on 64 percent from the field in the first half on 12 of 19 field goal attempts.  Simon, a 6-8 wing player, was perfect from the field in the first half connecting on all five shots, including three from behind the arc.  He scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half. 

Drake quickly jumped to a nine point lead in the second half and led 40-31 on a 3-pointer by Rice, but Winthrop would not wilt as it scored seven straight points to cut the deficit to two points at 40-38 on a Middleton trey with 15:30 left to play.  But the Bulldogs responded again and went up by nine points again as they took a 49-40 lead on another 3-pointer by Simon with 11:50 remaining .  Drake still led by seven with 8:48 on the clock following two free throws by Karl Madison to make the score 55-48, but the Eagles still refused to give in and battled back to cut the Bulldog lead to just two points at 55-53 on a running jumper in the lane by Jones.  The Eagles till had plenty of time with 6:35 left to play, but they would never get that close again and they had chance to tie the game with 14 seconds left, but a 3-point attempt by Jones was off target. 

Drake did most of its damage in the final eight minutes from the free throw line as it scored 12 of its final 15 points in the game from the line.  Rice, who finished with 23 points, got to the charity stripe 12 times in the second half and converted nine.  Middleton got into quick foul trouble and eventually fouled out with 2:41 left in the game and his team trailing 64-59. 

"Andre got a good look on that final shot.  We got seven baskets on that same play last night, but they were ready for it tonight," said Winthrop head coach Randy Peele.  "I thought our guys were playing a bit frustrated tonight and I think it showed.  But the reasons we lost the game was I felt like we got a little tired and we did not do a good job of guarding the ball.  Our inability to defend is not where it needs to be."

The four-point losing margin was a big surprising considering Drake finished the game with a 54.1 shooting percentage (20 of 37) and 19 of 29 from the free throw line.  Winthrop shot  39.2 percent (20-51) and went 16 for 22 from the charity stripe.  Drake also won the rebounding battle 30-27.  Valentine led Winthrop with six rebounds while Jordan Clarke had six to lead Drake.
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