Box Score Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, FL--Andre Jones stole the show in the first half with 18 of his game-high 26 points and Reggie Middleton took over in the second half as Winthrop defeated Jacksonville 59-45 Thursday night for its fourth win in the last five games.

The win was the second straight over the Dolphins and improves the Eagles' record to 4-6.  Jacksonville, a member of the Atlantic Sun drops to 2-7.  The game was the first of four straight road games for Winthrop during the holiday break.  The Eagles will travel to Clemson for a 4:37 game on Saturday which will be televised live on Fox Sports South.

Despite the offensive performance of Jones and the point guard play of Middleton, Winthrop head coach Randy Peele credited the defense for the win.  "We played outstanding defense tonight.  To hold them to 15 first half points and a season low for the season is just outstanding.  To go on the road and hold a team to 45 points and your defensive field goal percentage is 32 percent, I'll take those odds anyday."

Winthrop led 27-15 at halftime thanks to Jones who connected on 7 of 10 field goals, including three of four from behind the 3-point line.  The Eagle defense limited JU to 24 percent shooting (6-25) in the first half.  Winthrop trailed 4-0 just over a minute into the game, but a trey by Jones followed by a 15 foot jumper by Middleton gave their team a 5-4 lead with 16:43 remaining and the Eagles never trailed again.  JU did manage to tie the score at 10-10 on a layup by Glenn Powell, but Jones answered on a run-out layup to put Winthrop up 12-10 at the 9:51 mark.  The Eagle defense held JU to just two points for over 12 minutes as they built the 12-point halftime lead.

Jacksonville came out in the second half with more energy on both ends of the floor and also made a determined effort not to let Jones have any open looks from the floor.  With Powell scoring three quick baskets in the paint, JU cut the deficit to six points at 27-21 in the first 1:31 of the final period that forced Peele to signal for a timeout to right the ship.  On a set play following the timeout, Middleton found George Valentine wide open for an easy bucket to break the Dolphins' momentum.  With Powell scoring two more inside buckets, JU trailed 29-25 with 16:39 left in the game, but Middleton answered with a 3-pointer from the deep left corner to put Winthrop back up by seven at 32-25.  Jacksonville refused to fold at that point, however, and when Tevin Galvin connected on the only 3-pointer of the game for JU, the score stood 40-36 with 12:03 remaining.

Winthrop answered with a 6-0 run on another Valentine field goals followed by two free throws and a layup by James Bourne to put Winthrop up again by double digits at 46-36 with 7:45 to go.  That run seemed to take the steam out of JU's hopes as the Winthrop lead eventually got to 14 at 57-43 inside the final minute on two free throws by Jones.

The free throw performance, problems for the Eagles up until the last home game against Virginia-Wise, proved to be a key factor in the outcome as the Eagles connected on 76 percent on 19 of 25 while JU was good on only 10 of 20.  Winthrop has now shot better than 72 percent from the line in back-to-back contests.  Middleton, who finished with 14 points, went 7 of 10 from the charity stripe while Jones was 7 for 9.  

Peele said Jones stole the show in the first half while Middleton came up strong in the second half, but he praised the effort of Valentine whom the Winthrop coach called the "sleeper" in the mix.  Valentine finished the night with 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a career-high four steals.

Jacksonville had just one player reach double figures as Powell finished with 16, including 12 in the second half.  He also had 13 rebounds to take game-high honors.