Hampton, Va.— Winthrop overcame a 12-point first half deficit as
D.J. Burns Jr. posted a career-high 21 points and
Josh Ferguson had 20 in a 116-95 win at Hampton, Thursday evening.
WINTHROP (11-7, 5-0 BIG SOUTH)
SCORING LEADERS
HAMPTON (7-10, 2-2 BIG SOUTH)
SCORING LEADERS
- Jermaine Marrow (30 points, 7 assists, 2 steals)
- Ben Stanley (27 points, 5 rebounds)
- Greg Heckstall (12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals)
FIRST HALF
- Eagles led 5-2 in the early going as Hunter Hale scored the team's first points with a three-point play followed by a D.J. Burns Jr. jumper
- Burns Jr. hit another jumper as the Eagles trailed 14-12 just shy of four minutes into the game
- Hampton responded with a 7-2 spurt for a seven point advantage five minutes in
- Hampton extended its lead to 10 points when Jermaine Marrow drained a deep straight away three with 12:55 left in the half
- Eagles answered with a Chandler Vaudrin basket at the rim and Marrow quickly put the Pirates up 10 with a jumper and up to a 32-20 lead after a dunk by Ben Stanley off a feed from Marrow
- With 11:10 left the Eagles trailed 33-22 as Josh Ferguson drained a corner three after some good ball movement and then Charles Falden scored inside after an offensive board to cut the deficit to six
- A three by Saheem Anthony put the Pirates ahead 43-34 with eight minutes left in the half
- The Eagles chipped away at the deficit and made it a four-point game with 6:55 left after Vaudrin made two free throws
- Winthrop took the lead as Ferguson's dunk made it a one-point game and then he gave Winthrop the lead on a three from the top of the key, 48-46
- The team's traded leads over the next few minutes and then the game was tied 52-52 with 2:13 left
- Winthrop took a 58-53 lead into the half as Vaudrin scored two more baskets and Burns Jr. hit a jumper in the final seconds for the five-point edge
- Winthrop outscored the Pirates 24-10 over the final eight minutes of the half
- Hampton made 14 of its first 21 shots and finished the half shooting 56 percent while the Eagles connected on 54 percent
- While the Pirates won the battle on the glass in the early going, Winthrop finished with a 22-15 advantage on the boards in the first half
SECOND HALF
- Burns Jr. got things going for the Eagles to start the second half with a jumper at the elbow and then knocked down another jumper for a 62-53 lead
- Following a two free throws from Marrow, Russell Jones Jr. drained a three from the left wing and a 10-point advantage
- Winthrop used an 11-2 run to open up a 76-59 lead as Hale took a pass from Micheal Anumba down the middle of a wide open lane for a layup
- The Eagles pushed their lead to 20 points at 86-66 after another jumper from Burns Jr.
- The Winthrop offense was in cruise control from that point while also turning up its defense
- Offensively the Eagles shot 60 percent from the floor in the second half while holding Hampton to just 33 percent
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Eagles shot 57 percent in the game, the second-highest percentage on the season
- After scorching the nets in the early going and shot 56 percent in the first half as it finished at 45 percent in the game
- Winthrop dominated the glass 48-28 (18 offensive rebounds) as it finished with 13 second-chance points
- Ferguson led the Eagles off the bench with 20 points as the bench totaled 58 points while Hampton received just seven points off the pine
- Burns Jr. led the Eagles with his career-high 21 points but five other players joined him and Ferguson in double-figures
- Vaudrin finished with 15 points, Jones Jr. added 13 points, Jones Jr. scored 12, Hale added 13 and Falden had 11
- Ferguson also pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to record 11th career double-double
- Marrow's 30 led the Pirates and was joined in double-figures by Stanley with 27 points, Greg Heckstall had 12 and Davion Warren added 10
- From the eight minute mark of the first half when the Eagles trailed 43-34, Winthrop outscored the Pirates 82-52
- Winthrop entered the game shooting 60 percent from the foul line on the season, but as a team were 27-of-33 (82%) in the win
NOTABLES
- Winthrop has now won seven straight, its longest streak since 2016-17
- Eagles are 5-0 in the Big South and 3-0 in league road games
- It is the first time since the 2006-07 season the Eagles opened league play 5-0
- Pat Kelsey becomes the second fastest coach in Big South history to reach 150 wins
- Kelsey and Charleston Southern coach Barclay Radebaugh each move into a tie for 5th all-time in league history with 150 wins
- The 116 points are the most in program history for a league game (previous record 109 at VMI on Jan. 31, 2007)
- It is also the most points any team has scored on the road in program history for all games (record was the 109 scored in the VMI game 1-31-07)
- The 116 points are tied for the 5th most points in a single-game for a Winthrop team
- The 58 points in the first half were the most by the Eagles in a league contest since Jan. 4, 2007 when they scored 58 in the first half against VMI
- Hampton's starters scored all 53 points in the first half led by Marrow's 19 points while the Eagles received 26 bench points
- This was the third time in the last five meetings the Eagles hit the 100-point mark
UP NEXT
Winthrop will remain on the road for its next contest when it travels to Radford, VA on Monday, Jan. 20 to take on the Highlanders, who enter their game on Saturday at 4-0 in the league. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on ESPN+.
