ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop is riding a three-game win streak as it heads to Radford, VA Saturday afternoon to take on Radford in a clash between two teams that are part of a five-way tie for second in the Big South standings. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
The Eagles will look to capture wins at Coastal Carolina, UNC Asheville and Radford in the same season for just the third time in the program's history as they enter the game 11-9 overall, 6-3 in the league and 4-1 on the road in the Big South. Radford is on a six-game winning streak and are 15-7 overall while posting a 6-3 league mark. Winthrop is one of the six victims during the Highlanders winning streak as it fell 85-77 on Jan. 17 at the Winthrop Coliseum.
The game will be available on the Big South Network or fans can listen to Dave Friedman call the action on 104.1 The Bridge.
This will be the 67
th meeting all-time as Radford has won the last two meetings and three of the last four. The Highlanders have a 34-31 advantage in the all-time series and 31-25 during regular season meetings. Winthrop hasn't been swept by Radford since the 2009-10.
In the first meeting the Highlanders scored 46 second half points on their way to 85 total points in the game. Since that game the Eagles have stepped up their defense in a big way by allowing just 62 points per game and holding opponents to 41 percent shooting. That has been a key to the Eagles three-game win streak, which two of the wins have come on the road. Winthrop has averaged 72.3 ppg and shot 42 percent during the win streak and is 58-for-74 at the foul line having taken 13 more free throws than its opponents. Winthrop has also stepped up its three-point defense after Radford was 11-for-18 as the last three opponents are a combined 11-for-42.
Offensively the scoring has been balanced as the Eagles have had a 20-point scorer in the last five games with senior
Keon Moore and sophomore
Keon Johnson posting two of them each and senior
Andre Smith turning one in as well.
Moore is coming off 22 points in the win at Coastal Carolina and is averaging 20.7 ppg and 7.7 rpg during the win streak. Smith has averaged 13 ppg during the streak while Johnson has averaged 11.3. Moore is averaging a team-best 18 ppg and ranked 5
th in the Big South.
Not only are the Eagles searching for a fourth straight win overall, they have a chance to win their fourth straight road game in the Big South which hasn't been accomplished by a Winthrop team since 2006-07.
It will be a tough task as the Highlanders have been putting up big numbers offensively during their six-game win streak with four games scoring 84 or above. They're averaging 82.1 ppg during that stretch while allowing 72.2 ppg. They are shooting an impressive 51 percent in those six games with only one game in which the Highlanders were below 50 percent shooting in a game. From behind the arc the Highlanders have averaged nine makes per game and shot 47 percent during the win streak. Radford has been solid at the foul line at 71 percent during that stretch and averaging 15.8 makes and 22 attempts.
Senior Javonte Green has posted four 20-point games during the win streak and averaged 19.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 steals while shooting 62 percent from the floor and 84 percent at the foul line. His lowest scoring output during the streak came against the Eagles as he scored 13. Senior R.J. Price has averaged 15.3 points, 3.3 assists and 2.0 steals during the win streak while shooting 43 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three. He's averaged 3.7 threes per game and scored 20 points in the win over Charleston Southern on Wednesday. Junior YaYa Anderson has averaged 14 points during the streak while shooting 49 percent from the floor and 47 percent from three (3.3 per game).
This win streak has pushed the Highlanders to second in the Big South in scoring and first in league games only. Radford's averaging 79.7 points in nine league games while the next best in Charleston Southern at 75.8 followed by Winthrop at 74.2.
