Winthrop (20-6, 12-3 BSC) vs. Liberty (18-10, 13-2 BSC)
Game Time: 2 p.m. EST / Site: Rock Hill, SC (Winthrop Coliseum)
Live Video: none Television: ASN (Mike Hogewood-PxP/Jeff Jackson-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—Winthrop men's basketball hosts Liberty Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in a key matchup in the Big South Conference.
The Eagles enter the game at 20-6 overall and 12-3 in the league while the Flames are 18-10 overall and 13-2 in the Big South. The game be air on the American Sports Network and fans can also tune into 104.1 The Bridge as Dave Friedman and Mike Pacheco will call the action.
Winthrop trails Liberty and UNC Asheville by one game in the standings and a win would keep the Eagles in the hunt for a possible regular season or co-regular season title. The number one seed for the regular season will host the Big South Conference quarters and semis and the highest remaining seed will host the championship game.
There are only three games remaining in the regular season including the matchup with Liberty as the Eagles will close out their home schedule on Feb. 23 at home against Charleston Southern and end the regular season at Presbyterian College on Feb. 25.
Winthrop has won two straight with wins against Gardner-Webb at home and Longwood on the road. The Eagles won this past Wednesday at Longwood, 83-63, behind 20-point games from
Xavier Cooks and
Keon Johnson.
Cooks finished with 21 points and a career-high 20 rebounds to become the first 20/20 player at Winthrop since December of 2003 when Tyrone Walker had 24 points and 20 rebounds against Western Michigan on a neutral site. Cooks ranks 7
th in the Big South in points per game at 15.8 and second in rebounding at 8.8 per game. He's also fourth in field goal percentage and tied for first in blocks per game. His 7.3 defensive rebounds per game rank first in the Big South and 18
th nationally.
Johnson posted 20 points in the win over Longwood and in the process surpassed 1,900 career points as he becomes the 13
th player in Big South history to reach that plateau. He is currently second in the league in scoring at 21.9 ppg, third in free throw percentage (.867) and second in three-point field goal percentage (.402).
The bench for the Eagles continues to play well and be productive as it outscored opponents benches 624-497 on the year. The most help from the bench comes on the road where Winthrop is averaging 30.7 points per game. The bench at home is scoring 24.5 ppg.
Winthrop and Liberty will meet for the 56
th time and the second time this season. The Eagles lead the all-time series 391-6 and have won the last 12 meetings at the Winthrop Coliseum. Defense played a key role in the Eagles win at Liberty on Jan. 21 as they held the Flames to 33 percent shooting (19 percent in the first half). It will be a matchup of the league's top scoring offense (Winthrop) against the league's top scoring defense (Liberty).
Since Winthrop's win in the Vines Center a few weeks back, Liberty has won seven straight (11-of-12) and is tied with UNC Asheville atop the Big South standings. The Flames are 18-10 overall and 13-2 in the league. Winthrop and Liberty were the only undefeated teams on the road during league play before the Eagles fell at Asheville last week. Liberty enters the game having won all seven of its league contests on the road. Of the seven road wins, four have been by double-figures and two of them by more than 30 points.
The top scorer for the Flames is Ryan Kemrite at 14.0 ppg and is coming off 21 points in the home win over High Point. Kemrite has averaged 14.4 ppg during league play and is one of two players averaging double-figures as Lovell Cabbil is scoring 11.1.
Liberty leads the conference in three-point field goals made at 9.3 while the Eagles are second at 8.9. Liberty has made 52 more threes than its opponents in league games and is scoring 69.2 ppg while allowing 61.0.
