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ROCK HILL, SC-- The men's basketball team is coming off a 10-day break between games in which the players went through final exams as they begin a three-game stretch on the road at Ohio, Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m..

The Eagles travel to Athens, OH for the first time in school history to take on a 7-2 Ohio team that has been solid this season as it seeks a return to the NCAA Tournament, where the Bobcats made a run to the Sweet 16 in 2012.

Winthrop is 3-4 on the year and coming off a 77-54 victory at home against Brevard College.

The Eagles had been struggling from the field in the previous five games after opening the season with 80 points. Against the Tornados the Eagles placed four players in double-figures as a balanced scoring attack gave them their second highest scoring output of the season.

Senior center Shola Diop recorded career-highs with 13 points and eight rebounds as he and redshirt senior Gideon Gamble led the team with 13 points. Both Diop and Gamble came off the bench to highlight a 39-point effort by the Eagle substitutes.

Sophomore Derrick Henry, the team's leading scorer at 15.9 per game, struggled from the field (3-for-11) but managed 12 points as he now has double-figures in six of the seven games this year. His 15.9 ppg average ranks 7th in the Big South.

Two positives that stand out from the game against Brevard were the play of junior Joab Jerome and the first appearance of the season by senior guard Reggie King.
Jerome has been battling an injury all season, but put in 33 minutes against Brevard and had 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting, six rebounds and four assists. King has been sidelined without basketball activity for months, but returned to the lineup to see 10 minutes of action and scored on his only shot. His minutes will stay around the 8-10 range as he gets into basketball shape but his return adds veteran leadership to the point guard position.

Winthrop is 0-3 on the road this season where the team is averaging 57 points offensively and allowing 69 points per game. Aside from sophomore Andre Smith (7-for-15), the Eagles as a team have struggled shooting the ball behind the arc in road games. Take away Smith's numbers and the Eagles are a combined 12-for-53 (23 percent). Winthrop has been within six points in two of its three road games, but in those two contests the Eagles' opponents shot 57 percent in the second half to the Eagles 37 percent. Opponents (Wofford/James Madison) also got to the foul line a combined 35 times compared to Winthrop's 18 trips.

This will be just the second meeting between the Eagles and Ohio as the two teams met in 2011 at the Winthrop Coliseum in an ESPN BracketBuster game. Winthrop rallied a few times from double-figure deficits, but eventually lost in overtime, 77-74.

The Bobcats are led by senior D.J. Cooper, who highlights a squad that returns all five starters from a year ago and a team that has four players averaging double-figures this season. Ohio's roster is the opposite of the Eagles in which it is dominated by upperclassmen, with just three underclassmen on the roster.

Cooper leads the team in scoring (14.7), assists (7.6) and steals (2.0). Senior Walter Offutt is averaging 12.1 points and is third on the team with 14 made threes. Senior Ivo Baltic is averaging 10.4 points while junior Nick Kellogg is averaging 10.0 points.

The Bobcats are one of the best shooting team's in the country, ranked 19th at 48 percent from the field.

Ohio has one common opponent with the Eagles so far this season. Ohio defeated Wofford College 73-50 on Nov. 18.

The Bobcats are coming off a 78-61 victory over Oakland after dropping two straight as first-year head coach Jim Christian captured career win #200.

Offutt scored a team-high 14 points as the Bobcats dominated in the paint and shot 51 percent from the floor to remain perfect at home (7-0).

Following the game at Ohio, Winthrop will head to Columbus, OH for a Tuesday, Dec. 18 matchup with fourth-ranked Ohio State at 7 p.m. and then face Auburn on the road on Saturday, Dec. 22. That game will tip at 8 p.m.