Pat Kelsey Postgame Interview With Dave Friedman
TALLAHASSEE, FL— Winthrop men's basketball dropped its first game of the season with a 100-86 loss, Friday night in their second contest of the Preseason NIT.

The Eagles are now 2-1 and have a quick turnaround as they head to Champaign, IL to take on Illinois on Monday, Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. Florida State remains unbeaten as it improves to 3-0 on the year.

Four and a half minutes into the second half the Seminoles used a 9-0 run to open up a 13-point advantage at 67-54 after Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored on a stickback. The Eagles made it a four-point game before the run when Patrick Fisher scored on a drive to the basket.

Winthrop wasn't able to cut the deficit back to single-digits as the lead hovered between 10-13 points over the next six and a half minutes as each time the Eagles scored it seemed FSU answered right back.

Xavier Cooks led three Winthrop players in double-figures with 23 points as he was 9-for-16 from the floor and also had five rebounds. Bjorn Broman had 16 points and five assists while Roderick Perkins had 11 points and four rebounds off the bench. The Eagles finished the game shooting 44 percent from the floor and 30 percent behind the arc.

The Eagles were without the services of the Big South Preseason Player of the Year in Keon Johnson, who missed the game due to an injury suffered in practice on Thursday and is day-to-day.

The first 7-8 minutes off the first half saw the two teams go back-and-forth as FSU led 21-19 at the 11:38 mark. The Seminoles proceeded to push the lead to 14 points after a 9-0 run, but the Eagles responded. Perkins hit back-to-back threes to make it an eight-point game and force an FSU timeout. Winthrop got the game within five points at 39-34 after two free throws by Anders Broman, but the Seminoles led by 53-46 at the half. Josh Ferguson's tip-in with seconds remaining cut the deficit to seven.

The Eagles shot 53 percent from the floor in the first half but just 9-for-17 at the foul line while Florida State shot 49 percent and were 13-for-14 at the charity stripe.

Florida State placed five players in double-figures led by Dwayne Bacon's 15 points as Christ Koumadje and Jonathan Isaac each had 14. Michael Ojo finished with a double-double as he had 13 points and 10 boards.
 
EXTRA DRIBBLE
-Was just the fourth loss in the last 20 games dating back to last season
-Freshman Josh Ferguson scored a career-high nine points off the bench in 11 minutes
-Cooks recorded his 2^nd 20-point game of the season as he passes 750 career points (767)
-Anders Broman pulled down a career-high nine rebounds in the game, which led the team
-Eagles have hit a three-pointer in 135 straight games