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Jeff Sochko

Eagles Open League Play Thursday Night At Charleston Southern

Winthrop Looking To Win 4th Straight Big South Opener

Winthrop (8-3) at Charleston Southern (4-7)
Game Time: 7:30 p.m. EST / Site: N. Charleston, SC (The Buc Dome)
Live Video: Big South Network / Television: none / Audio: 104.1 The Bridge, pregame 7 p.m (Dave Friedman-PxP/Mike Pacheco-Color)
Live Stats  / Live Video  / Live Audio

ROCK HILL, SC—After 11 non-conference games to open the season, the Winthrop men's basketball team turns its focus to Big South Conference action starting Thursday evening at Charleston Southern at 7:30 p.m.

Winthrop headed into a brief Christmas break on a four-game winning streak and an 8-3 record after winning at St. Louis on Dec. 22. This is the second straight season the Eagles will have an opportunity to be 9-3. Charleston Southern enters the contest with a 4-7 record and is 3-2 at home this season. The game will air on the Big South Network or fans can tune into 104.1 The Bridge as Dave Friedman and Mike Pacheco will bring you the action.

Since league play began in 1985-86, the Eagles and Buccaneers had never opened the league slate against each other until last season and now they'll do it for a second straight year. Winthrop held on for an 83-82 victory last season in early December in The Buc Dome. Winthrop is 14-17 all-time in Big South openers but has won three straight and five of the last six.

The Eagles have averaged 86 points per game during their win streak while averaging 9.3 three-pointers made per game. The team is shooting 47 percent from the field, 38 percent from three and 73 percent from the free throw line during that stretch. Winthrop has also attempted 38 more free throws than its opponents during the streak and has also averaged 10.3 steals per game.

Senior Keon Johnson continues to lead the team in scoring as he's averaging 18.7 ppg and is coming off 16 points in the win at St. Louis. He's averaging an impressive 24.8 ppg on the road this season while shooting 47 percent from the floor (61 percent inside the arc).

Johnson continues to climb the program's all-time scoring list as he currently has 1,548 points and is 4th on the list. He is now just 18 points away from Greg Washington in third and 302 away from the all-time leader Charles Brunson. He's also climbed into second all-time in free throws made with 399 and needs just 22 to tie James Shuler.

Junior Xavier Cooks is second on the team in scoring at 16.1 ppg and leads the team with 6.9 rpg. In the win at St. Louis he just missed a double-double with nine points and a career-high 14 rebounds. In six road games this season he's averaging 12.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg while shooting 44 percent from the floor. Cooks is also moving up the program's all-time blocked shots list as he currently has 116 in his career, which ranks 4th and is nine away from reaching third.

In 2015-16, Johnson led the Eagles in scoring during conference play at 20.2 ppg. It was the first time an Eagle had ever averaged 20 or more points in Big South action and he did so in 18 games while shooting 46 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 81 percent at the foul line. Cooks was third on the team in scoring during league games at 14.9 and also pulled down 6.7 rpg. Cooks also averaged 1.9 blocks per game during conference play. The Eagles finished tied for first in the league standings in 2015-16 with a 13-5 mark.

This will mark the 66th meeting between the Eagles and Buccaneers as Winthrop leads the all-time series 40-25. Winthrop is 34-24 against CSU in regular season games and has won three straight in the series. In the last 13 meetings, the team that has led at the half as gone on to win the game. In two meetings against each other last season, Winthrop averaged 90.0 ppg while CSU averaged 77.0 ppg. The two teams combined for 43 three-pointers made in two games.

The Bucs have dropped three straight entering the contest with all three losses coming on the road at Virginia Tech, Georgia and VMI. In addition to those losses, the Bucs have also fallen at Florida State and Alabama.

Last season CSU was 5-13 in the Big South as it looks to bounce back with talented players such as sophomore Armel Potter and Christian Keeling. Potter was a 2015-16 All-Freshmen Team selection and is second on the team this season with 13.5 ppg and leads the team with 32 assists (2.9 per game). The Bucs have one of the top freshmen in the league this season in Christian Keeling, who leads the team at 15.2 ppg and 6.5 rpg. Junior Cortez Mitchell is third on the team in scoring at 9.9 ppg.

In recent years the Bucs have been one of the top teams nationally in three-point field goals per game and this season they are averaging 8.5 per game (currently 93rd). Last season they averaged 9.3 and finished 23rd nationally. CSU doesn't have just one or two players drilling threes, but five players with 10 or more and Keeling is 6th on the team with nine made threes.

This game will feature four of the conference's Top 10 scorers as Johnson ranks 2nd, Cooks is 4th, Keeling is 5th and Potter is 10th.
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