ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop is looking to extend its first seven-game winning streak since the 2009-10 season as it hosts Radford Saturday afternoon in a Big South Conference matchup.

GAME SNAPSHOT 
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016
Winthrop (15-6, 7-3 BSC) vs. Radford (13-9, 6-4 BSC)
Game Time: 4 p.m. EST / Site: Rock Hill, SC
Live Video:  none Television: ESPN3 (Mike Hogewood-PxP/Jeff Jackson-Color)  Audio: 104.1 The Bridge (pregame 3:30 p.m. with Dave Friedman-PxP/Karl Lyles-Color)
Live Stats / Live Video / Live Audio





Winthrop Probable Starters
G    1      Bjorn Broman (6.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg)
G    5      Keon Johnson (20.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
F    12     Xavier Cooks (13.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg)
F    44     Jimmy Gavin (16.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg)
C    25     Zach Price (6.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg)


BACK THE PACK (GAME PROMOTION)
Winthrop and the Rock Hill School District team up for the 6^th year for the "Back The Pack" promotion, which fans will be admitted free to the game by donating non-perishable items (preferably individually snacked crackers or juice boxes) or by donating $3 per person at the door. The program is setup to help feed hungry students in the Rock Hill School District.
SERIES HISTORY
Winthrop and Radford meet for the first time this season and the 69^th time in the series history. Radford holds a 35-32 advantage in the all-time series and have won three of the last four meetings. Winthrop won the last meeting, 67-66 in the quarterfinals of the Big South Conference Tournament on Mar. 6, 2015. Five of the last six meetings between the two schools have been decided by eight points or fewer and three of them by two points or less.

THE LAST TIME THESE TWO MET
Winthrop overcame a 24-21 halftime deficit to hold on for a 67-66 victory over Radford to advance to the Big South Conference Tournament semifinals. Winthrop was able to hold off the Highlanders by going 11-for-12 from the free throw line in the final minute of play as Radford fought back by going 5-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-5 from three in the final minute. Keon Moore led the Eagles with 21 points while Andre Smith added 18 and Keon Johnson had 12.

THE MATCHUP
Winthrop is looking for a seventh straight win and a chance to tie the longest winning streak since the 2009-10 team won seven in a row. The Eagles have won five straight league games and are tied for first in the Big South with UNC Asheville and High Point. The five straight wins in league play are the most by an Eagle team under the direction of Pat Kelsey and the most in a row since 2009-10. Maybe the most impressive part of the Eagles winning streak is they've won all six games by double-figures, two of them on the road at Gardner-Webb and Longwood. In those two road games, Winthrop rallied from double-figure deficits to win by double-figures. The Eagles continue to lead the conference in scoring at 83.0 ppg and are coming off a 97-point performance in the win over Charleston Southern. The 97 points were the most against a league opponent in regulation since Jan. 31, 2007 when the Eagles posted 109 points against VMI. Winthrop has protected its home court well this season going 10-1 and has won 10-of-11 at the Winthrop Coliseum against league foes. Radford has won three straight, including a road contest at Longwood this past Wednesday in which it also reached the 90-point mark (90-81). It was the second time the Highlanders scored 90 or more in a league game and the fourth time this season. On the season Radford ranks 6^th in the league in scoring at 74.5 ppg and also boast the league's fourth best three-point field goal defensive unit. There could be a high number of blocks as Winthrop enters the game first in the league at 5.48 per game and Radford is second at 4.59 per game. The Highlanders are the top offensive rebounding team in the league. Radford is 4-6 in away games with the four wins coming at Georgetown, Penn State, Howard and Longwood.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Keon Johnson turned in an impressive performance Wednesday against Charleston Southern as it was one of the best in the history of the program. Johnson's 36 points were a career-high and the second most points scored in a home game against a Big South opponent. He's back to averaging 20 ppg, which ranks second in the league and he's also second in the league in free throw percentage and third in three-point field goals per game at 2.76. In 2014-15, Johnson averaged 13.0 ppg in three games against Radford while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 42 percent from three. Xavier Cooks is averaging 16 ppg and 7.4 rpg in the last five games while shooting 53 percent from the floor and an impressive 10-for-17 (59%) from three. Last season in three games Cooks scored 6.7 ppg and had 6.0 rpg in three starts against Radford while shooting 48 percent from the field. Sophomore Duby Okeke is averaging 6.0 points and 5.2 rebounds while recording 16 blocks in the last five games. He's coming off a five-block performance against the Bucs. Radford is led by senior guards Cameron Jones and Rashun Davis. Jones leads the team with 13.9 ppg while shooting 40 percent from three and Davis is averaging 13.5 ppg and has 40 steals on the year. Jones had 20 in the win at Longwood and has double-figures in five straight games including 35 in the win over Campbell. He averaged 9.7 ppg and shot 50 percent from the field and 56 percent from three against Winthrop last season (all three games he came off the bench). Davis only faced the Eagles twice last season and averaged 9.5 ppg while shooting 35 percent from the floor.

JOHNSON WAS ON FIRE VS. CSU
Keon Johnson turned in one of the program's best performances in a Big South Conference game with 36 points on 11-for-16 shooting. Johnson was 10-for-13 behind the arc as the 10 threes were the most since Michael Jenkins tied the school record with 12 vs. North Greenville on Nov. 10, 2006. His 36 points were not only the second most points scored against a league opponent at home, but the third highest against a league foe and the fourth most points scored in a game at home against any opponent.  Johnson scored 22 points alone in the second half and was 7-for-10 from the field and 6-for-7 from three in the final 20 minutes of the game.

LAST TIME OUT
Winthrop captured its sixth straight win by defeated Charleston Southern 97-82 behind 36 points from Keon Johnson as he was joined in double-figures by Xavier Cooks (13), Jimmy Gavin (13) and Duby Okeke (10). The Eagles shot 50 percent from the floor in the game but were an impressive 65 percent from the floor in the second half and 75 percent from three (12-for-16). The Eagles connected on 17 threes, which tied the school record for threes in a single-game.  

THE COACHES
Pat Kelsey is in his fourth season at the helm of the Winthrop men's basketball program. He holds a record of 68-49 in four seasons with appearances in the Big South championship game the past two seasons. The Eagles are 35-25 in Big South games under Kelsey. He's currently ranked among the top 15 nationally for career wins for head coaches 40 years of age and under. During his tenure the team has a couple of the program's notable victories with wins at Clemson and Auburn. Radford is coached by Mike Jones, who is in his 5^th season. He has an overall record of 76-79 at Radford and 37-41 in league games but the last two seasons the team has won 22 games overall and 10 or more league games each season.

MILESTONES
Junior Keon Johnson continues to climb the all-time scoring list as he surpassed 1,100 career points last week and now has 1,181 (15^th all-time). In his career he's averaging 13.9 ppg and if he were to maintain that average for the remainder of his career (estimation of at least 39 games to play) he would finish with over 1,600 points, which only two players in school history have achieved.  He is the third player to reach 1,000 career points in Pat Kelsey's four years (Keon Moore/A. Smith). Johnson moved into the Top 10 for free throws made and three-pointers made. He's currently made 284 (7th) in his and is among the top free throw shooters in the history of the program as he's currently shooting .838 in his career, which ranks fourth all-time. He's currently 8th all-time in made threes with 173. Duby Okeke is averaging 2.94 blocks per game, which leads the Big South and ranks in the Top 10 in the nation. In 18 games he's blocked 53 shots and the program record for blocks in a season is 66 by Josh Grant in 2002-03. Okeke moved into 8^th all-time with 99 career blocks and Xavier Cooks has 77. Billy Houston is the all-time leader in career blocks with 139.  Okeke has a career-high 53 blocks this year, which ranks 2nd best for a single-season.