ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop men's basketball looks to become the first team to knockoff Gardner-Webb at home this season as it travels to Paul Porter Arena Saturday evening in a key Big South matchup for both teams.
 

Game 26: Winthrop (17-8, 9-3 Big South) at Gardner-Webb (16-10, 6-5 Big South)
Date	Saturday, Feb. 16, 5 p.m. (EST)
Location	Boiling Springs, NC (Paul Porter Arena / 3,500)
Live Stats	Statbroadcast (click here)
Television/Stream	ESPN+ (click here) Fabian Fuentes (PxP) – Bobby Stevens (Analyst)
Radio	94.3 FM/104.1 The Bridge / ESPN 730 | WGNC AM1450/101.1 FM (click here) / Dave Friedman (PxP) – Hunter Sadlon (Analyst) – Pregame 1:30 p.m.
Game Notes	Winthrop | Gardner-Webb
Social Media	@Winthrop_MBB | @WUEagles | #ROCKtheHILL | #WinthropMBB #WinthropEverStand
Tickets	Click Here

 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Winthrop
G         3            Micheal Anumba (6-5, Fr., 6.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.7 apg)
G         11         Charles Falden (6-3, So., 7.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.7 apg)
G         13          Bjorn Broman (6-0, Sr., 11.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.3 apg)
G         14         Adam Pickett (6-1, Sr., 12.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.8 apg)
F          25        Josh Ferguson (6-8, Jr., 10.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.2 apg)

Gardner-Webb
G          1          Jaheam Cornwall (6-0, So., 6.2 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.8 apg)
G         5          Jose Perez (6-5, Fr., 16.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.8 apg)
G         10        Nate Johnson (6-4, R-So., 10.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.7 spg)
G         11        David Efianayi (6-2, R-Sr., 19.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.1 apg)
F          25        D.J. Laster (6-6, Sr., 12.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.6 bpg)
 
THE SERIES
Series Record vs. Gardner-Webb: 22-9
Series Streak: W10
Record at Paul Porter Arena: 9-5
Streak at Paul Porter Arena: W3
Kelsey vs. Gardner-Webb: 11-4
 
SERIES HISTORY

• Winthrop and Gardner-Webb meet for the 32^nd time and the second time this season
• Eagles won the first meeting 97-88 in Rock Hill on Jan. 24
• Eagles lead all-time series 22-9 overall and have won 10 straight in the series
• In 31 meetings all-time the Eagles have averaged 70.7 ppg while Gardner-Webb has averaged 67.5 ppg

THE GAME

• Eagles enter the game on a three-game winning streak and Gardner-Webb is looking to earn back-to-back wins
• Winthrop looks to be the first team to go into Paul Porter Arena this season and earn a victory as the Runnin' Bulldogs sport a perfect mark of 10-0
• A victory is key to both teams as Winthrop looks to keep pace with league-leading Radford (2 games back) and Gardner-Webb is looking to grab one of the top four spots to earn a first round bye in the Big South Tournament
• This year Winthrop is 4-1 on the road in league play and has won five of the last seven away from home
• Game features two of the league's top scoring teams as Winthrop leads at 85.6 ppg and Gardner-Webb is third at 80.0
• Runnin' Bulldogs lead the Big South in scoring margin, field goal percentage, and three-point field goal percentage
• In addition to leading the league in scoring the Eagles lead in three-point field goals per game as well at 12.6, which leads the nation

WINTHROP       

• Head coach Pat Kelsey is in his seventh season with the Eagles (138-79)
• Kelsey is now two wins behind former VMI head coach Duggar Baucom for 8^th on the all-time in Big South wins
• The Eagles have hit a program record 314 threes on the year, passing the mark of 313 set by the 2016-17 squad
• The 314 threes rank 8th all-time in Big South history for a single-season (On pace for 3rd most)
• Looking to tie a season-best four-game winning streak and earn an eighth road win on the season
• Nearly had three players reach the 20 point mark in the win over PC on Wednesday as Adam Pickett came off the bench for 23 points, Nych Smith had 22 and Bjorn Broman just missed with 19
• Smith is averaging 17.6 ppg on the year and 19.3 ppg in conference play
• Smith now has 20 or more points in four of the last six games
• Rank first nationally in three-point field goals made (313) and three-point field goals per game (12.6)
• The offense is scoring 85.6 ppg, which moves up to 6^th nationally
• Have scored 90 or more points in back-to-back games and a total of nine times this season

GARDNER-WEBB

• Led by 6^th-year head coach Tim Craft (104-88), who earned his 100^th career victory on Jan. 19 vs. Hampton
• Is one of 16 teams in the country that remains unbeaten at home and 1-of-12 with at least 10 home wins
• David Efianayi leads the team in scoring at 19.0 ppg and is 1-of-3 players in the league averaging 20 or more in conference play
• Efianayi has been in double figures every game this season and had 26 against the Eagles in the first meeting
• Since that game Efianayi has five 20-point games with 20 or more in the last four as he had a career-high 33 in the team's win Wednesday
• The last five games have been decided by three points or less (4-1 record and three overtime games)
• The other three players averaging double figures are Jose Perez (16.4), D.J. Laster (12.6) and Nate Johnson (10.3)

RECORD BOOK WATCH

• Bjorn Broman became the 8^th player in program history to hit 200 or more threes in a career as he reached 200 when he knocked down four in the win over Asheville on Jan. 21 and now has 212 in his career
• The Eagles are now through 25 games on the season and are currently averaging 12.6 threes per game, which no other team in program history have averaged 10 or more for a full season
• There have been five seasons in Big South Conference history that a team averaged 10 or more per game, which was accomplished by VMI all five times (Single-season record is 13.69 in 2008-09)
• As a team the Eagles averaged 89.4 ppg in non-conference action, which is the most by any team in program history (second best is 86.2 set by the 2017-18 team) 

WHERE DO THE EAGLES RANK IN THE BIG SOUTH?
Winthrop currently leads the Big South Conference in scoring (85.6 ppg) and three-point field goals per game (12.6). Winthrop has led the Big South in scoring, scoring margin and three-point field goals per game the last two seasons. Nych Smith's 17.6 ppg ranks 6^th in the league while Josh Ferguson ranks third in rebounds per game (7.3). Smith is also 5^th in field goal percentage, 5^th in assists per game and 9^th in free throw percentage. Bjorn Broman ranks 3^rd in the league in free throw percentage (.839) and 11^th in three-point field goals per game (2.2).

20 YEARS AGO
This season marks the 20^th anniversary of the first ever NCAA Tournament team in Winthrop history. The Eagles posted a 21-8 record on the year and 9-1 mark in league play on their way to the team's 2^nd Big South title and first ever birth to the NCAA Tournament. That year the team was 12 straight contests and defeated Radford in the championship game (86-74) at the Asheville Civic Center. The Eagles were a 16 seed and faced number one seed Auburn in Indianapolis, IN as the Eagles fell 80-41 to the 4^th-ranked Tigers. The Eagles were paced by a balanced offense with four players scoring in double-figures with Heson Groves leading the way with 11.9 ppg while Tyson Waterman averaged 11.5 ppg, Robbie Waldrop scored 11.4 per game and Roger Toxey averaged 11.0.