MONTGOMERY, AL—Winthrop men's basketball erased an 10-point first half deficit as it rallied for an 88-80 victory at Alabama State, Saturday afternoon. The Eagles improve to 6-4 on the year while the Hornets fall to 0-10.
WINTHROP LEADERS
ALABAMA STATE LEADERS
- Jacoby Ross (30 points, 3 assists)
- Reginald Gee (17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists)
- Tobi Ewuosho (12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals)
FIRST HALF
- Both teams started slow but Alabama State started to get shots to fall first and led 5-0 early
- The Hornets pushed the lead to 10-2 behind a three-pointer from Reginald Gee and a jumper by Ed Jones
- Trailing by nine (18-9) with 10:20 to play, the Eagles went on a 7-0 run started by a Josh Ferguson dunk and then five straight points from Anders Broman
- Alabama State did extend its lead to double-figures for the first time with 5:59 to play (29-19
- The Eagles ended the half on a 10-3 run to cut the deficit to two possessions at 35-31 at the break
- Winthrop shot just 33 percent in the first half while Alabama State shot 46 percent
- The Eagles got to the line, but were just 8-for-16 at the stripe
- Winthrop averaged 12.7 turnovers a game heading into the contest and committed eight in the first 20 minutes that led eight points for the Hornets
SECOND HALF
- Eagles opened the half by outscoring the Hornets 22-6 for a 53-41 lead (9-of-10 from the field)
- Alabama State scored the first two points of the half but the Eagles went on a 14-0 run
- The run started on a three from Bjorn Broman off an offensive rebound and then Xavier Cooks knocked down a jumper to make it a one-point game
- Anders Broman drilled a three off a steal from Bjorn Broman for the Eagles first lead of the game at 41-39, forcing a timeout by Alabama State
- After Bjorn Broman hit another three, the Eagles took their first double-figure lead of the game at the 15:27 mark when Josh Ferguson scored inside and completed a three-point play for a 53-41 lead
- The Hornets responded with five quick points, but Bjorn Broman hit another triple for a 10-point advantage
- Midway through the half the Eagles nearly went three minutes without a point, but Bjorn Broman broke the drought with his fifth triple of the day
- Alabama State fought back over the final 2:08 of the game by outscoring the Eagles 13-5
- Winthrop was an impressive 66 percent from the floor and 64 percent from three in the second half
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop had five players in double-figures led by Anders Broman with 19, Bjorn Broman (18), Josh Ferguson (14), Nych Smith (12) and Jermaine Ukaegbu (10)
- Smith came off the bench for 12 points as he also snatched a career-best four steals
- The Eagles were 9-for-10 from the floor to help them build at 53-41 lead (22-6 run) in the 2nd half
- Winthrop ended up making 13 of its first 16 shots in the second half
- The Eagles finished the game 10-for-23 behind the arc while the Hornets were 9-for-23
- Winthrop had a 27-point turnaround offensively from the first half (31) to the second half (57)
- Trailing 32-21 in the first half, the Eagles outscored Alabama State 67-48 the rest of the way
- Winthrop finished the game shooting 50 percent, which was the fourth straight game shooting 50 percent or better
NOTABLES
- Cooks grabbed six boards and now has 800 rebounds in his career (106 career games) and is now 113 from the becoming the all-time leader
- Anders Broman was 7-for-8 from the free throw line and now has 100 made free throws in his career
- Anders Broman has now scored in double-figures in four straight games while Xavier Cooks ends his double-figure streak at 19
- Winthrop connected on 10 threes for the game, which was the 6th game with 10 or more on the year
- The Eagles are now 36-13 when hitting 10 or more threes in a game under head coach Pat Kelsey
- The road win was the 15th in the last 21 for the Eagles
- The 88 points against the Hornets extends the program record of 80 or more points to eight games
ON TAP FOR WINTHROP
The Eagles wrap-up their three-game road trip and non-conference action on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. when they travel north to Richmond, VA to face Virginia Commonwealth.
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