ROCK HILL, SC—Fresh off their biggest win in Big South Conference action, the Winthrop men's basketball team looks to make it two straight as it hosts Liberty on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m.
The game will finish off a stretch of three games in five days as the Eagles look to improve on their 12-10 overall record and 7-4 league mark. Liberty enters the game at 6-17 overall and 0-10 in the league as it is coming off a 74-62 home loss to Charleston Southern on Saturday. This will mark the 52
nd meeting all-time between Winthrop and Liberty as the Eagles hold a 36-15 lead in the all-time series.
It will be a televised game that will air on ESPN3 and the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network or fans can listen to Dave Friedman with the call on 104.1 The Bridge.
Winthrop won the first meeting with the Flames just a few weeks ago on Jan. 22 in Lynchburg, VA as the Eagles won 71-56 to start their three-game winning streak that came to an end at Radford. Winthrop didn't shoot the ball well in the win (39 percent) but was aggressive offensively and finished the game 21-for-28 at the foul line. The Flames scored the first basket of the game on an Andrew Smith dunk but then the Eagles held them scoreless for nearly eight minutes and opened up a 16-2 lead. Liberty made a run to make it a two possession game with around five minutes left but the Eagles withstood the comeback and responded with a 15-point victory.
With the victory over Charleston Southern Monday night, the Eagles are tied with the Bucs in third place at 7-4 but hold the tie-breaker. Both Winthrop and CSU are a game ahead of the rest of the league but after Friday, Feb. 6 there will be a much clearer picture on the standings as all the teams will have played 12 league games.
Winthrop's 22-point victory over the Bucs is tied for the second-largest margin of victory in a league game during head coach
Pat Kelsey's tenure. It was a response the Eagles were looking for following their tough road loss at Radford on Jan. 31. Winthrop has now won four of its last five games and five of the last seven.
Balanced scoring and a strong defensive effort were the keys to the big win over CSU. There were four Eagles in double-figures and a total of nine players with points as the Eagles received 24 points off the bench. The Eagles shot 53 percent from the floor and held CSU to just 35 percent shooting (4-for-28 behind the arc). Constant half court pressure by the Eagles led to a season-high 13 steals, which they've done three times now on the year.
Moore, who was coming off back-to-back 22-point games, led the Eagles with 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting while senior
Andre Smith added 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting.
Derrick Henry provided a spark off the bench as he scored all 13 of his points in the second half and
Tevin Prescott finished with 11 points.
Moore averages a team-high 18.2 points overall and is at 19.8 per game in conference play. Not only is Moore dropping buckets but he's continuing to lead the team in steals and had three in the win over CSU. He now has 37 on the year and is 4
th in the league at 1.68 per game. Last season Moore finished with 34 steals in 29 games played and he's passed that number through 22 games this season.
Smith has back-to-back double-figure games for the first time since Jan. 8/10 as he is tied for second on the team in scoring at 11.0 ppg with sophomore
Keon Johnson. Smith leads the team with a career-high 99 assists and is closing in on 300 career assists (284).
Winthrop and High Point are the only two schools in league games only to rank in the Top 4 of scoring offense and scoring defense. Through 12 league games the Eagles lead the league in field goal percentage defense.
Liberty has lost two starters to key injuries and is in the midst of a 10-game losing streak. The Flames are last in the league in offense at 62.1 points per game but rank third defensively allowing just 66.3 points per game. They are also one of the better rebounding teams in the league.
The Flames are led by David Andoh's 9.7 ppg and Andrew Smith's 8.4 per game. Andoh tied with Smith for a team-high 11 points in the first meeting with Winthrop. Smith finished with a double-double as he also collected 10 rebounds.
In the first meeting with the Eagles, Liberty shot 65 percent from the floor in the second half as it tried to erase a 14-point halftime deficit but the Eagles forced nine turnovers and knocked down their free throws to hold on for the road win.
