ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop men's basketball returns home after back-to-back losses on the road and will host Mars Hill on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. at the Winthrop Coliseum as it looks to end a two-game skid.
Winthrop enters the game at 3-4 on the year after falling 82-62 at 21
st-ranked Maryland on Saturday as the Eagles lost consecutive competitive games last week on the road. This game comes in the middle of four out of five games on the road for the Eagles.
So far this season the Eagles are 2-1 at home and won their last home contest on Dec. 1 against Savannah State. Winthrop is averaging 71.3 points per game at the Winthrop Coliseum this season and allowing just 58.3 points per game.
Offensively the Eagles are led by senior
Keon Moore's 17.3 ppg while shooting 47 percent from the floor and an impressive 51 percent behind the arc. Moore scored 20 points in the loss at Maryland, which was his fourth 20-point game of the season. His 4.9 rebounds per game ranks second on the team. In three home games this year he's averaging 18.3 points, 7.3 rebounds while shooting 45 percent from the field and 54 percent from three.
Sophomore
Keon Johnson has regained his scoring form of 2013-14 with three consecutive games in double-figures, including a 22-point performance off the bench at Jacksonville State. He followed that up with 18 points in his first start of the season against the Terps and is now second on the team in scoring at 10.9 ppg. He is third among Big South players in free throw percentage at 89 percent (23-for-26).
Winthrop continues to get solid point guard play as senior
Andre Smith is averaging 9.9 ppg and is second in the Big South at 5.6 assists per game. Smith, who played in his 100
th game on Saturday at Maryland, also leads the team with 11 steals.
In the loss to Maryland, the Eagles had just 11 points from their bench as they entered the contest averaging 24.5 per game. In three home games, the bench has provided 25.7 points per game.
Mars Hill, who is a member of the South Atlantic Conference, enters the contest with a 5-3 mark overall and 1-1 record on the road as it is coming off a 74-60 loss at home to Wingate.
Patrick Monroe leads three-players in double-figures at 15.3 ppg while also pulling down 4.1 boards per game. Monroe is a 37 percent shooter from the field and 38 percent behind the arc as he has a team-high 27 made threes. Monroe had 10 points in the loss to Wingate as he's been in double-figures in all eight games.
Second the team in scoring is Justin Yeargin at 14.8 per game, but he has missed the last three games. Isaiah Cuthbertson is third on the team in scoring and averages a double-double with 11.8 points and 10.1 rebounds. He shoots 57 percent from the floor and has a team-high 49 free throw attempts (6.1 attempts per game).
The Lions are averaging 78.9 points per game on the year while averaging 77.5 points in four games away from home and 75.5 points in two true road games. Like the Eagles, the Lions like to shoot the three and are averaging 8.5 per game with 24 attempts per game.
Probably the biggest strength of Mars Hill is its ability to rebound as it ranks 23
rd nationally at the NCAA Division II level in rebounding margin at +9.1 and seventh in offensive rebounds at 16.38 per game. So far this year the Eagles are allowing 14.1 offensive boards a game.
