ROCK HILL, SC—Having won two straight games, the Winthrop men's basketball team will try and make it three wins in a five-day span when it hosts Campbell on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 4 p.m. on ESPN3.
Winthrop enters the game with an overall record of 12-10 and is 5-4 in the Big South while Campbell is 11-13 overall and 5-4 in the league. Winthrop will be playing its third game in five days and fourth out of eight.
It is also 'Back the Pack' day at the Winthrop Coliseum as the Eagles are the second game of a doubleheader with the women's basketball team, which plays UNC Asheville at 1 p.m., also on ESPN3. Winthrop Athletics and the Rock Hill School District elementary schools have partnered to support the local 'Back The Pack' program. All elementary school students, staff, friends and family will be able to attend the Winthrop basketball games for free on Feb. 8 by donating a non-perishable food item to the 'Back The Pack' program which was established to provide food for hundreds of Rock Hill school children who leave schools each Friday with little or nothing to eat until Monday.
The Eagles picked up a big road win on Tuesday at Liberty and now has more road wins in the Big South than they do at the Winthrop Coliseum. Last season the Eagles were 0-8 in the Big South on the road but are 3-2 so far. This season the Eagles are 2-2 at home in league play and 8-3 overall while sporting a 27-12 home record in league games the past five seasons.
The contest is important for both teams as they look to remain near the top of their respective divisions, each team currently just one game back of the division lead.
After the game versus Campbell the Eagles will play 3-of-4 games on the road so getting the win at home is key.
Despite scoring 92 points against Barber-Scotia, no player for Winthrop had more than 13 points as junior
Brandon Vega and freshman
Keon Johnson led the way with 13 points. All 13 players that entered the game for Winthrop scored at least one point.
Junior
Keon Moore, who added 12 points off the bench against the Mighty Sabers, continues to lead the team in scoring at 12.6 points per game. Coming into the Barber-Scotia game, Moore had started 13 straight games. He has double-figures in the last five games and nine of the last 10.
Johnson is right behind Moore at 12.4 points per game and has been shooting the ball well behind the arc in the last five games going 13-for-25.
Winthrop has been shooting the ball well behind the arc over the last five games at 42 percent, averaging 7.8 per game while opponents have made just 3.8 and shooting 27 percent. In addition to Johnson shooting well from three, Moore is 12-for-26 in that stretch and senior
Joab Jerome is 5-for-9.
Jerome is averaging 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists over the last five games. He's shooting 51 percent from the field and 79 percent at the line (19-for-24) as the senior seems to be stepping up his game as his final season nears the end.
Winthrop has struggled with Campbell traditionally as the Fighting Camels lead the all-time series 18-11. Winthrop has lost three of the last four meetings and 10 of the last 13 dating back to 1993.
This matchup features the #3 (Campbell) and #4 (Winthrop) in three-point field goals made per game among the Big South schools. Campbell is averaging 8.54 per game while Winthrop is averaging 8.27 and coming off 11 threes in the win over Barber-Scotia. It was the ninth time this season that Winthrop hit 10 or more threes in a game. Campbell has hit 10 or more threes in seven games this year
The Eagles have stepped up defensively in league games and through nine conference games have a league-best 67.1 defensive scoring average. They are fifth in the league in defensive field goal percentage and second in defending the three. The team that is first in defending the three in league play? Campbell.
The Fighting Camels are led by junior Reco McCarter at 12.4 points and 5.0 rebounds. The 6-6 forward is averaging 17.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the last 11 games. He is shooting 47 percent in league games and averaging 17 points and 7.2 rebounds.
McCarter is one of three Campbell players averaging in double-figures as junior's Darius Leonard and Andrew Ryan are averaging 11.6 and 10.4 respectively.
Leonard is second on the team in made threes with 29 as she shoots 40 percent from three and 52 percent from the field. Ryan is the top scorer from three with 50 makes on the year and shooting 40 percent as he is also third on the team in assists with 57 and leads the team with 35 steals.
The Fighting Camels have lost two straight games and three of the last four and are 3-8 on the road this season, 1-3 in the Big South. They have averaged 66 points per game on the road while allowing 72.5. In Campbell's last six wins, all have been by single-digits.
