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D.J. Burns Jr. Short Jumper
Tim Cowie - Tim Cowie Photography
61
Winner Winthrop WINTHROP 12-7 (6-0)
56
Radford RAD 10-8 (5-1)
Winner
Winthrop WINTHROP
12-7 (6-0)
61
Final
56
Radford RAD
10-8 (5-1)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Winthrop WINTHROP 27 34 61
Radford RAD 20 36 56

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

8 STRAIGHT WINS: Tough Defense Leads Eagles To Win At Radford Monday Night

-Listen To Coach Kelsey's Postgame Comments-

Radford, Va.— Freshman D.J. Burns Jr. scored a team-high 19 points and Winthrop turned in a strong defensive effort to earn a 61-56 win at Radford, Monday evening in Big South Conference men's basketball action.
 
WINTHROP (12-7, 6-0 BIG SOUTH)
SCORING LEADERS  
RADFORD (10-8, 5-1 BIG SOUTH)
SCORING LEADERS
  • Carlik Jones (20 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals)
  • Travis Fields Jr. (12 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals)
  • Leroy Butts IV (6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal)
 
FIRST HALF
  • Josh Ferguson made the game's first basket as his right wing three gave the Eagles an early 3-0 lead
  • After Carlik Jones tied the game with a three, the Eagles had back-to-back dunks for a 7-3 advantage
  • Hunter Hale fed the ball to D.J. Burns Jr. inside as he spun his defender and slammed it home
  • Then off a steal by Russell Jones Jr., Ferguson took a pass and then one dribbled before finishing with a two-handed dunk
  • Eagles built a 13-7 lead after Charles Falden drained a right wing three, but then the offense went cold
  • Radford scored six straight points to tie the game at 13-13 and then Jones knocked down a jumper that capped off an 8-0 run and gave Radford its first lead
  • Ferguson came right back and buried a corner three for a 16-15 lead with 4:30 left in the half
  • Winthrop went on to make its next two shots and led 20-17 after a Burns Jr. jumper with just under three remaining
  • After missing 13 straight shots and not scoring for over eight minutes the Eagles made three straight shots to build the 20-17 edge
  • The Burns Jr. jumper ended up sparking a 9-0 run capped off by a corner three from Hale for a 27-17 lead with 1:29 left
  • Donald Hicks ended the run with a corner three to cut the Winthrop lead down to seven points with just over a minute to play, which were the final points of the half
  • Eagles shot just 32 percent from the floor after starting the game 4-of-5 but held Radford to just 27 percent
 
SECOND HALF
  • Radford outscored the Eagles 12-6 to open the second half and make it a one point game at 33-32 after a straight away three from Travis Fields Jr. with 14:35 remaining
  • Winthrop responded with a Kyle Zunic basket inside to go back up three and then Burns Jr. pushed the lead back to five after scoring at the rim
  • Chase Claxton made it six straight points as Vaudrin found him cutting to the basket for the dunk and a 39-32 lead
  • Radford worked its way back to a two point deficit at 40-38 after a dunk by Leroy Butts IV off a dish from Fields Jr. with 11:08 to play
  • Eagles led 42-40 when Hale scored quickly off the inbound, which sparked a 5-0 spurt to lead 47-40 with 9:17 remaining
  • Winthrop led 50-44 after two free throws from Micheal Anumba 6:49 to play
  • Radford then got hot from three as Hicks drained a three off a 3-on-1 break and then Fields Jr. tied the game at 50-50 with a straight away three
  • Vaudrin came right back to answer with basket at the rim, but Fields Jr. hit another three as Radford took the lead 53-52
  • That was the first lead since 4:44 of the first half for the Highlanders
  • Burns Jr. gave the Eagles the lead back with a short jumper with 3:13 left, but Radford took the lead back on two free throws from Jones
  • Winthrop took the lead again as Burns Jr. once again hit a short jumper for a 56-55 lead with 2:27 left
  • On the ensuing possession the Eagles forced a turnover and Burns Jr. put the Eagles up three with a minute and a half remaining at 58-55
  • Eagles held on, holding Radford 0-for-5 from the floor in the final 1:14 of the game
  • Winthrop shot 45 percent from the field in the second half while holding Radford to 39 percent
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Eagles finished the game shooting 39 percent while holding Radford to 33 percent (it's second-lowest field goal percentage in a game this season)
  • Winthrop edged the Highlanders on the boards 47-43 as it grabbed 17 offensive boards and Radford had 16
  • There were six lead changes in the game with four of them occurring in the final 3:45 of the game
  • Burns Jr. scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half, tied his career-high in rebounds with eight and set a new career-high in blocks with three
  • Winthrop had five players with four or more rebounds in the game as Burns Jr. led with eight while Ferguson had seven, Hale and Chase Claxton grabbed six and Vaudrin had four
  • Jones finished with a double-double to lead Radford as he had 20 points and 10 rebounds
 
NOTABLES
  • Winthrop is 6-0 in league play for the first time since the 2006-07 season
  • The win is the eighth straight for the Eagles, their longest streak during the Pat Kelsey Era
  • The last eight-game winning streak was at the end of the 2016-17 season heading into the NCAA Tournament
  • It is tied for the 5th best win streak in the history of the program
  • Kelsey now has 151 career wins, tying him for 5th all-time with Charleston Southern's Barclay Radebaugh for most in league history
  • Winthrop had lost three straight to the Highlanders as it earns its third win in the last five trips to the Dedmon Center
  • Eagles are now tied with Seton Hall and New Mexico State for the 5th longest current winning streak in the nation
  • This was the 26th meeting between Winthrop and Radford that was decided by five or fewer points
  • Radford did not attempt a free throw in the first half while the Eagles were 4-of-6 as the two teams combined for just 11 fouls
  • Eagles held Radford to 27 percent shoot in the first half, which was the best defensive field goal percentage in against a league foe since they held High Point to 25 percent on Feb. 10, 2018 on the road
 
 
UP NEXT
Winthrop returns home for two games this week beginning on Thursday, Jan. 23 against USC Upstate at 7 p.m.
 
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