NORTH CHARLESTON, SC-- Winthrop overcame a slow start as it turned in a strong defensive effort in a 64-53 victory at Charleston Southern, Friday evening in the Buc Dome. Winthrop evens its record at 8-8 overall and improves to 2-3 in the Big South while the Bucs fall to 6-10 overall and 1-4 in the league.
 
WINTHROP LEADERS

• Xavier Cooks (15 points, 8 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal)
• Bjorn Broman (12 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal)
• Austin Awad (9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist)

 
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN LEADERS

• Christian Keeling (10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals)
• Travis McConico (11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 1 assist, 1 steal)
• Ty Jones (9 points, 2 assists, 1 block) 

FIRST HALF

• Winthrop led 5-3 in the early going as Xavier Cooks scored the first five points
• Charleston Southern then went on a 12-0 run as it held Winthrop scoreless for six minutes and 23 seconds to build a 10-point advantage (15-5) with 11:06 left
• Charles Falden stopped the run as he knocked down a three that started a big run for the Eagles
• The Eagles went on an 18-0 run to lead 23-15 with 3:38 left
• The Eagles turned up the defense on the Buccaneers as they held them scoreless for seven minutes and 48 seconds to aid the big run
• Winthrop turned its double-figure deficit into a double-figure lead when Austin Awad hit a three for a 29-17 lead with just over a minute to play in the half
• After the Bucs pushed it back to a 10-point lead, Bjorn Broman hit a three for a 12-point advantage and the Eagles ended up leading 32-21 at the break
• Winthrop shot 42 percent in the half while holding the Bucs to 33 percent
• Winthrop started the game 4-for-15 from the floor before finishing 7-for-11 

SECOND HALF

• Eagles opened the second half 1-for-8 from the floor, but remained strong defensively and held on to its multiple-possession lead
• With the Bucs within seven points at 16:11 the Eagles hit back-to-back threes by Kyle Zunic and Bjorn Broman to lead by 13 points with 13:59 left
• After Charleston Southern cut the Eagle lead back to single-digits at 43-34 with 12:44 to play, Winthrop went on a 9-0 run to grab its largest lead of the game to that point at 52-34
• Charleston Southern made it a seven-point game with 1:02 to play, but the Eagles went 4-for-4 at the foul line the rest of the way to hold on for the 11-point win
• Winthrop shot 38 percent in the second half but held the Bucs to 39 percent

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Winthrop shot 40 percent for the game and held the Bucs to 37 percent shooting
• The Eagles finished the game 13-for-15 at the foul line while the Bucs were just 1-for-3
• Winthrop and Charleston Southern combined to go a little over 14 minutes without a point in the first half
• In the first half the Eagles assisted on eight of their 11 field goals
• Charleston Southern started the game 2-for-4 behind the arc and 3-for-7 but finished the remainder of the game 3-for-23 to finish the game 6-for-30
• Eagles assisted on 14-of-20 made field goals
• The Eagles did turn the ball over 17 times that led to 16 points for Charleston Southern
• Battle of the boards heavily favored the Eagles with a 45-28 advantage as they outscored the Bucs 17-2 in second chance points
• Adam Pickett had another solid game as he chipped in with nine points, five rebounds and two steals
• Eagle defense held Charleston Southern's top scorer Christian Keeling to 4-for-14 from the floor
• Josh Ferguson finished with a game-high 13 rebounds, which is a career-best for him in a Big South game (15 is his career-best in all games) 

 
NOTABLES

• The 18-0 run by the Eagles in the first half tied their season-high, which they accomplished against Mars Hill
• Eagles have now won seven straight over Charleston Southern and third straight win at the Buc Dome
• This was the 17^th straight meeting between the two schools in which the team that led at the half won the game
• Xavier Cooks became the 5^th Winthrop player to ever score 1,500 points in a career as he now has 1,502, trailing George Washington by 64 points for 4^th on the list
• Have now won eight of the last 11 road games in league play
• Bjorn Broman has hit 19 of his last 31 attempts behind the arc and is now one three shy of his career-best in a single-season with 44
• Broman also scored in double-figures for the 5^th straight contest 

 
ON TAP FOR WINTHROP
Winthrop returns home for a two-game stand that begins with Gardner-Webb on Monday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. The game will air live on Stadium (Simulcast on the Big South Network).
 

@Winthrop_MBB shines defensively, ends three-game skid #BIgSouthMBB pic.twitter.com/D6Nrxkxfkm

— Winthrop Athletics (@WUEagles) January 13, 2018

 

After trailing by double-figures the Eagles now lead by double-figures thanks to an Awad 3 (29-17)

— WUGameDay (@WUGameDay) January 13, 2018