SPARTANBURG, SC— Winthrop overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to improve to 4-1 in the Big South with an 82-72 win at USC Upstate, Saturday afternoon.
 
WINTHROP (12-6, 4-1 BIG SOUTH)
SCORING LEADERS

• Nych Smith (23 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal)
• Adam Pickett (16 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks)
• Kyle Zunic (14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal) 

USC UPSTATE (5-15, 0-5 BIG SOUTH)
SCORING LEADERS

• Deion Holmes (32 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal)
• Malik Moore (9 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 blocks, 1 steal)
• Dalvin White (8 points, 5 assists, 3 steals)

FIRST HALF

• Adam Pickett opened the scoring for both teams as he knocked down a jumper
• After Upstate's Malik Moore made 1-of-2 free throws to cut the lead in half at 2-1, Bjorn Broman drained a three for a 5-1 lead
• The Spartans responded with six straight points that started with a dunk from Moore as he drove past a couple of Eagles down the right side of the lane
• Deion Holmes scored the next four points for a 7-5 lead
• Austin Awad buried a corner three to regain the lead for the Eagles, which they held for the next six minutes
• With 8:11 to play in the half Holmes drilled a pull-up three to put Upstate on top 21-20
• Nych Smith had a quick answer for the Eagles as he scored his left hand at the rim, only to have the Spartans get the lead back at 23-22 after another Holmes bucket
• The lead exchanged hands over the next few possessions before the Eagles regained a multi-possession lead as Pickett scored at the rim and Smith drained a three for a 32-27 lead with just over four and a half minutes left
• Upstate turned it up offensively over the final four and a half minutes, outscoring the Eagles 20-7 for a 47-39 lead at the break
• Winthrop finished the half shooting 42 percent from the floor and 35 percent from three (6-of-17)
• The Spartans shot 49 percent from the floor, which included 7-of-16 from three (44%)
• Holmes had 20 points in the first half alone as he was 8-of-12 from the field (4-for-5 from three)

SECOND HALF

• Trailing by nine points a minute and 40 seconds into the half, the Eagles went on a run started by a Kyle Zunic three from the right wing
• Zunic's three was the first of eight straight as Smith scored in transition with a floater in the lane followed by a three from Awad from the left wing to make it a one point game at 50-49
• Upstate went on top by four as Pat Welch drilled a three, but the Eagles weren't done
• Smith hit another floater and then Zunic's fourth three of the game put the Eagles ahead 54-53 with 14:17 to play
• The Spartans worked their way back to a 61-56 lead with just over 12 minutes remaining on a Holmes triple
• After both teams were scoreless over the following two minutes, two free throws from Pickett ignited a 9-0 run capped off by a Josh Ferguson three for a 65-61 lead with 7:33 left
• Leading 68-65, Pickett was left wide open on the wing after an inbound play and he drained a three for a 71-68 advantage with 5:20 to play
• Leading 73-67, Everette Hammond missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and the Eagles took advantage as Smith found Ferguson down low as he flushed it for an eight point lead
• After a miss on the ensuing possession for Upstate, it was Ferguson as he drove baseline and dunked while getting fouled
• Ferguson missed the free throw, but the dunk put the Eagles on top 77-67 with 2:24 remaining and the Eagles held on for the win
• The Eagles turned a strong defensive effort in the second half holding the Spartans to 25 percent shooting and also had five blocks with three of the coming in the final 5:20

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Winthrop finished the game shooting 44 percent from the field, 38 percent behind the arc and was 15-of-21 at the foul line (71%)
• Upstate finished the game shooting 38 percent from the floor and behind the arc
• Holmes finished with a game-high 32 points as he was 11-for-19 from the field and 6-of-9 from three
• Holmes was the only Upstate player in double-figures as the rest of the team was 13-for-44 from the field (30%)
• Smith led the Eagles with 23 points off the bench as he was 9-for-16 from the field
• Ferguson spent the first half and much of the game in foul trouble but had all eight of his points in the second half
• There were a total of 14 lead changes in the game and the score was tied four times
• 11 of the lead changes occurred in the first half  

NOTABLES

• This was the third straight road conference game that the Eagles trailed at the half and came back to earn the victory
• Eagles have now won six of their last seven conference games on the road
• Nine of the last 11 wins on the road have been by double-figures
• Winthrop trailed by nine points in the second half and it was the fourth time this season the Eagles overcame a deficit of seven or more in a road game

UP NEXT
The Eagles will return home to take on UNC Asheville less than 48 hours after the conclusion of the USC Upstate game when the two teams tip-off at 2 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 21.