Winthrop (16-4, 8-1 BSC) vs. High Point (11-10, 5-4 BSC)
Game Time: 2 p.m. EST / Site: Rock Hill, SC (Winthrop Coliseum)
Live Video: ESPN3 Television: ESPN3 (Brian Boesch-PxP/Bobby Stevens-Color / Audio: 104.1 The Bridge, pregame 1:30 p.m (Dave Friedman-PxP/Mike Pacheco-Color)
Live Stats / Live Video / Live Audio
ROCK HILL, SC—Fresh off its ninth road win of the season Winthrop quickly turns its focus to Saturday afternoon when it hosts High Point at 2 p.m.
The Eagles held on for a 72-70 win at Gardner-Webb Thursday night for a seventh straight win to improve to 16-4 and 8-1 in the Big South. The game will air on ESPN3 or fans can tune into 104.1 The Bridge as Dave Friedman and Mike Pacheco will call the action.
This game marks the second part of the league season as the Eagles have now played every opponent and will wrap-up the regular season with five home games and four on the road.
During the winning streak, the defense has been one of the keys and Thursday night was no different. The Eagles held Gardner-Webb to 21.4 percent shooting in the first half. In the second half, the Runnin' Bulldogs shot 69 percent as they were dropping contested and not-highly contested shots. However, in the end it was defense that keyed the victory when
Duby Okeke blocked the game-tying jump shot from Tyrell Nelson.
Senior
Keon Johnson continues to lead the team in scoring at 20.0 ppg while
Xavier Cooks is second on the team at 15.3 ppg. Cooks leads the team in rebounding at 8.2 in all games and 9.8 in league play. During the winning streak Cooks is second at 14.0 ppg while leading the team in free throws made, free throws attempted, rebounds, and assists.
Winthrop has been strong at home over the last couple of seasons, having won 18-of-20 versus Big South opponents. Over the last three seasons, the Eagles have just four losses at home to league opponents, with one of those being High Point. Winthrop is 19-3 in its last 22 regular season league games dating back to last season.
This will mark the 41
st meeting between Winthrop and High Point as the Eagles lead the all-time series 27-13 overall and 20-13 in regular season league games. Winthrop won the first meeting this season at High Point, 80-74. It was the first win over the Panthers in the Millis Center since Jan. 25, 2007. The last time these two teams met in the Winthrop Coliseum the Eagles exploded for an 86-66 win. While the Eagles have won two of the last three meetings, the Panthers have won three of the last four in Rock Hill.
In the first meeting on Jan. 4, Winthrop tied a school record for three-pointers in a game with 17. Johnson led all scorers with 27 points while Cooks added 21 as it was the only game of the season where they both scored 20 or more. High Point had four players in double-figures led by Bowman Jr. and Thompson with 15. For most of the season High Point has been one of the most accurate three-point shooting teams in the league but the Eagles are the top team in the league defending the arc as they held the Panthers to 3-for-19.
High Point enters the game having won four straight, including an overtime victory over Charleston Southern Thursday night. Since falling to the Eagles on Jan. 4, the Panthers dropped two more games before reeling off four straight. Two of those wins came at Campbell and at Radford as the Panthers are averaging 73.3 ppg during the streak and allowing 63.3
The Panthers are led by Andre Fox's 13.1 ppg as he is one of three players averaging double-figures. Miles Bowman, Jr. is second on the team with 13.0 ppg while Anthony Lindauer is scoring 10.1 ppg. Boman Jr. leads the team in rebounding and is second in the league at 9.2 per game. He's led the team in scoring during league play at 14.4. There are four players averaging double-figures in Big South games in Fox (11.8), LIndauer (10.6) and Tarique Thompson at 10.4.
