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ROCK HILL, SC—The men's basketball team looks for its second straight win for the first time since back-to-back wins over Auburn and Hampton as it will host Liberty, Saturday night at the Winthrop Coliseum. Tip is set for 7 p.m.

Winthrop is coming off an impressive 61-48 victory over Coastal Carolina behind another strong defensive performance.

After an 0-3 start in league play, Winthrop is 3-2 over the last five games and the biggest turn-around is defense. The Eagles allowed 73.7 points per game over the first three conference games and were scoring just 59.3. Opponents shot 45 percent from the field and connected on 29 threes.

Since then, Winthrop is holding league opponents to just 55 points per game and out rebounding opponents with a +3.2 rebounding margin. The Eagles held the Chanticleers to just 48 points, which is the third Division I opponent they've held under 50 points this season (at Ohio, vs. Hampton).

It was an all-around defensive effort by the team as it held the league's leading scorer (Anthony Raffa) to just two points over the final 22 minutes of the game. The Eagles also held Kierre Greenwood to just 4-for-16 shooting as the two combined for 10-for-30.

One of the biggest individual turnarounds has been sophomore point guard Andre Smith. Smith was 5-for-23 in the first three league games and over the last five games he's leading the team with a 12.6 scoring average and shooting 54 percent from the field. He's knocking down 3.0 three-point field goals a game in that stretch and shooting an impressive 58 percent behind the arc. Through eight league games, Smith ranks 4th in three-point field goal percentage (50%) and is tied for 7th in three-point field goals made per game (2.5).

Sophomore Derrick Henry scored 15 points in the win over Coastal and it was the first time since Dec. 18/22 that he scored double-figures in back-to-back games as he's gaining confidence and getting his shot back. He's averaging 11.7 points per game on the year, which is tops on the Eagle roster. He's shooting 35 percent on the year, but is shooting 45 percent from the field in the last two games. He's also 5-for-9 behind the arc and 6-for-8 at the foul line.

Shola Diop and Gideon Gamble each scored seven points off the bench and gave the Eagles the lift they needed. Diop had a big offensive stick back with 6:40 left to put Winthrop up six points and Gamble hit a three and jumper in the second half to help Winthrop to a nine-point advantage.

Two of the last three games in which the Eagles defeated Coastal Carolina, the Eagles have dropped the next game. The last time they defeated Coastal and won the next game was 2010 in which they defeated Liberty, tonight's opponent. That year Winthrop won 67-64 at home over the Chanticleers and then went to Liberty and pulled off a 67-43 victory.
Liberty enters the game with an overall record of 7-15, but has won two of its last three (both by at least 17 points).

The Flames are coming off their second highest offensive output of the season in which they defeated Campbell 89-72. They connected on nine threes and shot an impressive 57 percent from the field (67 percent in the 2nd half).

Liberty had a rare three players score 20 or more points in the win over Campbell. Senior guard Tavares Speaks and junior guard Davon Marshall each led Liberty with 22 points while junior Caleb John Sanders had 21 points.

All three players average double-figures on the season as Marshall leads the team with a 12.6 average while Sanders is averaging 11.7 points and Speaks is at 11.5.

Marshall is a three-point threat that has drained 62 triples on the year and is shooting 43 percent behind the arc. Sanders has 27 threes on the year but can score from anywhere on the floor.

So far this season the Flames are 1-8 on the road with the lone victory coming Dec. 31 at Western Carolina, 63-62.

In three road games in conference play, Liberty is averaging 67 points per game. In those games the Flames are shooting .396 from the field, .354 behind the arc and .704 at the foul line.
Winthrop leads the all-time series 32-15 and is 29-14 in regular season meetings. Winthrop has won three straight over Liberty.