ROCK HILL, SC—Powered by a school-record 19 three-pointers, the Winthrop men's basketball enjoyed a 106-65 victory over Central Penn, Saturday afternoon at the Winthrop Coliseum as part of "Homecoming" weekend.
WINTHROP LEADERS
CENTRAL PENN LEADERS
- Joe Zola (20 points, 2 rebounds, 3 blocks)
- Juwan Gooding (18 points, 5 rebounds, two steals)
- Randy Dupont (12 points, 4 rebounds 1 steal)
FIRST HALF
- Winthrop opened the game on a 13-0 run as it hit the first six shots with Kyle Zunic opening the scoring with back-to-back triples
- Four of the Eagles first five baskets were from behind the arc as they finished the half 10-for-16
- Midway through the first half the Eagles led by 19 (29-10) when it went on a 10-0 run with Xavier Cooks supplying half of the points
- Zunic led the way in the first half with 14 points while Cooks had already posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards
- Winthrop shot 64 percent from the floor while holding Central Penn to 24 percent (1-for-10 behind the arc)
SECOND HALF
- The Eagles continued to knock down threes as Anders Broman drilled one to open the scoring for the Eagles that extended its lead to 39
- Kyle Zunic scored on a drive and then Anders Broman hit another three to bookend an 8-0 spurt
- The Eagles pushed their lead to as big as 53 after a Nych Smith jumper (92-39)
- Central Penn outscored the Eagles 26-14 over the final 8 minutes
- Winthrop emptied the bench as several walk-ons came into the game over the final seven minutes and were able to finish off the record-breaking 19 threes
- Freddy Poole knocked down the 16th triple of the game from the corner and then Mitch Hill tied the record with a straight-on three
- Kellen Blake buried the record-breaking three and then Hill drained another for the 19th of the game
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Eagles assisted on five of their first six baskets and 8-of-12 before finishing the first half with 11 assists on 21 made field goals (just two turnovers)
- Winthrop shot 64 percent from the floor in the first half and 49 percent in the second (56% for the game)
- Winthrop held Central Penn to 29 percent shooting (2-for-21 behind the arc)
- Central Penn was 27-for-35 at the free throw line while the Eagles were 13-for-20
- The Eagles had 20 assists and 10 steals
- Winthrop had 16-11 advantage in points off turnovers and 14-9 edge in second-chance points
- The Eagle bench outscored Central Penn's bench 52-23
- Kyle Zunic had a career-high 17 points
- Xavier Cooks recorded his 23rd double-double
- Falden's 13 points were a career-high
NOTABLES
- This was the program's 400th all-time home victory and 354th at the Winthrop Coliseum
- This was the second straight game the Eagles made at least seven threes in the first half
- The 59 points first half points were the second most under Pat Kelsey in a first half (60 vs. Hampton on Nov. 14, 2015)
- Winthrop broke the school record for threes with 19 as it beat the previous record of 17 held by the 2016-17, 2006-07 and 1999-00 teams)
- The victory gave the Eagles their 47th straight win over Non-D1 opponents (90-8 all-time)
- The Eagles had an opponent attempt 30 or more free throws in a home game for the first time since Dec. 31, 2015 (28 games)
- There were nine Eagles that finished the game with a steal as the team finished with 10
- There were also 14 different players that scored
- Mitch Hill (5 points, 3 rebounds), Kellen Blake (5 points), Freddy Poole (3 points), Matt Erps (3 assists, 2 rebounds)
ON TAP FOR WINTHROP
The Eagles remain at home as they will host Mars Hill on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 11 a.m.
