Rock Hill, S.C.— With the game tied early in the second half Winthrop used a 13-0 run to open the game as it defeated USC Upstate 79-53 for a ninth straight victory, Thursday night at the Winthrop Coliseum.
 
WINTHROP (13-7, 7-0 BIG SOUTH)
SCORING LEADERS

• Hunter Hale (17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal)
• D.J. Burns Jr. (14 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals)
• Kyle Zunic (7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal)

 
USC UPSTATE (7-13, 2-5 BIG SOUTH)
SCORING LEADERS

• Bryson Mozone (14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals)
• Everette Hammond (9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal)
• Dalvin White (8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal)

 
FIRST HALF

• Eagles forced a turnover on the first possession of the game and Hunter Hale came down and buried a three to open up the scoring
• The teams traded baskets in the early going as Upstate came out on fire from the floor hitting five of its first seven and eight of its first 13
• Winthrop led 11-10 with 13:23 left in the half as it used a 6-0 spurt for a seven point advantage
• The Spartans continued to shoot well and chipped away at the deficit until Nevin Zink scored on a second chance opportunity to tie the game at 21-21 with 8:24 left
• Upstate grabbed the lead 28-27 after Bryson Mozone completed a three-point play with four and a half remaining
• Winthrop took the lead back with 3:31 left but a three from Mozone put the Spartans back on top
• The Upstate lead extended to four points when Mozone hit another three with 2:08 left in the half
• Free throws by Russell Jones Jr. and Chandler Vaudrin tied the game at 34-34 which is where the game stood at the break
• Winthrop shot just 38 percent from the floor in the first half while Upstate shot 50 percent (4-of-7 from three)

 
SECOND HALF

• The two teams traded buckets in the first two minutes of the half as the game was still tied, 38-38
• At this point the Eagles got tough on defense and used a 13-0 run to open the game up
• Kyle Zunic got things started as he scored on a drive to the hoop and then a steal by Jones Jr. led to a three from Zunic
• Jones Jr. made it a seven point lead with 14:43 left and then a D.J. Burns Jr. jumper in the lane gave the Eagles their largest lead
• After Burns Jr. scored to make it an 11-point advantage, Hale turned the ball over, but then stole it right back as he hit Zunic cutting to the basket for the layup and a 51-38 lead with 10:48 left
• Zink hit 1-of-2 free throws with 9:44 remaining to end the run and a scoring drought of 7:49 for the Spartans
• Winthrop continued to generate offense as Micheal Anumba drained a three for a 15-point lead
• Hale scored at the rim for a 60-43 lead and then after back-to-back blocks on the defensive end the Eagles scored on the break as Hale dished to Josh Ferguson for the slam
• Two free throws by Hammond made it a 14-point game, but six straight points by the Eagles with back-to-back threes from Hale and Ferguson made it a 20-point lead with 3:39 to play
• Winthrop shot 55 percent in the second half while holding Upstate to 25 percent

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• For the game the Eagles shot 47 percent and held the Spartans to 39 percent
• Winthrop was 14-of-18 at the foul line (78%) while Upstate was 14-of-24 (58%)
• Eagles had a large advantage in points off turnovers, scoring 23 off 18 turnovers while Upstate had nine points off 12 Winthrop miscues
• Winthrop was +15 on the glass (42-27) and had 14 second chance points
• Hale and Ferguson were the only Eagles in double-figures as once again the offensive balance stood out as the bench contributed with 31 points
• There were 10 Winthrop players with at least four points in the game and six with at least seven points
• Defensively the Eagles held the Spartans to 5-of-23 shooting over the final 21:30 of the game

 
NOTABLES

• Eagles have now won nine straight games, their longest winning streak since the 2006-07 season
• Winthrop is now 7-0 in conference play for the first time since 2006-07
• This marks the sixth straight win over the Spartans
• Winthrop has now held its opponent to under 60 points in the last two games and for the 5^th time this season
• Ferguson finished with five rebounds as he is now tied with Tim Raxter for 7^th all-time with 652 career rebounds
• After his eight points, Ferguson is now 28 points from reaching 1,000 in his career

 
UP NEXT
It's a quick turnaround for the Eagles as they'll host Presbyterian College on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m.