ROCK HILL, SC— Nych Smith and
Josh Ferguson each scored 20 points and Winthrop connected on 17 threes in a 101-91 victory over Hampton, Saturday afternoon in the Winthrop Coliseum.
WINTHROP (16-8, 8-3 BIG SOUTH)
STAT LEADERS
HAMPTON (10-13, 5-5 BIG SOUTH)
STAT LEADERS
- Jermaine Marrow (32 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal)
- Kalin Fisher (29 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 3 steals)
- Trevond Barnes (11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block)
FIRST HALF
- Hampton's Trevond Barnes opened up the scoring 14 seconds in when Kalin Fisher found him open for three
- Bjorn Broman answered right back as he drove the lane and finished off glass
- Adam Pickett scored on a short jumper in the paint for a 4-3 lead only to have Hampton grab the lead back on a three by Akim Mitchell
- With the scored tied at 6-6 the Pirates scored on back-to-back possessions for a 10-6 lead just over three minutes into the game
- Micheal Anumba drained a three to get an 8-0 run going for the Eagles as Nych Smith followed with a three of his own and Pickett scored at the rim again for a 14-10 lead
- Leading 17-15 with 12:06 left in the half, Josh Ferguson drilled a three off a nice feed from Smith and that started a 10-2 run over a minute and a half for a 27-17 lead
- Broman followed the Ferguson three with another basket at the rim as he dribbled right down the middle of the lane for the lay-in
- Ferguson capped the run with a three-point play as he cut to the basket, took a short pass from Smith and knocked down a jumper while getting fouled
- Eagles led by as much as 13 points in the first half as Charles Falden hit a three with 6:33 left for a 39-26 lead
- Hampton outscored the Eagles 17-8 the last six and a half minutes to make it a four point game at the break, 47-43
- Winthrop connected on nine threes in the first half and shot 52 percent from the floor (9-of-15 behind the arc)
- Hampton shot 52 percent as well as it was 5-of-12 from three and had 10 points off turnovers
SECOND HALF
- Barnes opened the scoring in the second half with a monster dunk as Jermaine Marrow hit him cutting to the basket on the baseline
- Anumba hit his second three of the game for a 50-45 lead but Barnes came right back with a short jumper off glass to make it a one possession game again
- Broman knocked down a contested three off a nice kick from Pickett to lead by six but Hampton was within four points after Marrow boarded a miss and went coast-to-coast
- Ferguson hit another three for a seven point lead and following a free throw by Marrow it was Ferguson again for a 59-50 lead with 14:41 to play
- A jumper in the lane by Mitchell with 13:43 left made it a single-digit lead for the Eagles at 61-52
- Smith scored off a drive for a 63-52 advantage with 12:56 left and the Eagles held on to the double-figure lead the remainder of the game
- Dondre Grifin hit a three to make it an 11-point game but six quick points by the Eagles put them on top 72-55
- Pickett scored off a drive and was fouled as he completed a three-point play for Winthrop's largest lead of the game at 18 with 8:35 remaining
- Hampton continued to come at the Eagles in an effort to cut into the deficit but Winthrop was up to the task offensively
- Hampton connected on 11 of its final 20 shots, but Winthrop nearly matched at 10-for-20
- The Eagles made eight second half threes and shot 45 percent in the half as well as hitting 18-of-19 at the free throw line
- Hampton finished at 44 percent in the second half and just 29 percent from three
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Marrow and Fisher combined for 62 of Hampton's 91 points
- Winthrop finished the game 24-of-30 at the foul line while Hampton was 11-for-17
- Winthrop did commit 17 turnovers that led to 18 points for Hampton, who had six turnovers in the game
- The glass was dominated by the Eagles at 48-29 as Winthrop had 15 offensive boards that led to 16 second chance points
- Winthrop had five players in double-figures as Ferguson and Smith had 20 each, Broman had 18, Falden scored 16 and Anumba chipped in with a career-best of 14 points in a league contest
- Winthrop leads the country in three-pointers made and per game as it hit 17 in the game and was 17-for-33 (52 percent)
NOTABLES
- Winthrop has now scored 100 or more points in two straight meetings with Hampton at the Winthrop Coliseum as it won 102-95 on Nov. 14, 2015 in the season/home opener
- The 101 points are the 4th most points scored by a Winthrop team against a league opponent at home and just the second most in regulation
- This was the third straight win over Hampton in the series
- Eagles improve to 9-3 at home on the year and are now 82-19 all-time at home under Pat Kelsey
- In the last 21 wins at home, 20 of them have been by double-figures
- The 17 threes are the most by Winthrop in a conference game since it hit 17 at High Point on Jan. 4, 2017
UP NEXT
The Eagles remain at home for their next contest as they'll host Presbyterian College on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.
