Spartanburg, S.C. – Sophomore
Josh Corbin's 17 points led five players in double-figures as Winthrop men's basketball opened up Big South Conference action with a 95-77 win at USC Upstate, Saturday afternoon at the G.B. Hodge Center.
WINTHROP (3-0, 1-0 Big South)
SCORING LEADERS
USC UPSTATE (0-5, 0-1 Big South)
SCORING LEADERS
- Everette Hammond (18 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
- Tommy Bruner (14 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, 3 steals)
- Quentin Hodge (8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists)
FIRST HALF
- Eagles ran out to a 7-0 lead in just over two minutes behind two buckets in the paint from D.J. Burns Jr. and a three from Josh Corbin
- Tommy Bruner and Mysta Goodloe scored at the rim on back-to-back possessions to make it a 7-4 lead for the Eagles
- Following a Jatayveous Watson dunk to make it a 12-8 lead for Winthrop, the Eagles went on a 12-0 run over the next four and a half minutes
- The run started with consecutive buckets inside by Chandler Vaudrin and was capped off by a Kyle Zunic
- The Eagles push their lead to 17 points by the midway point of the half after Adonis Arms completed a three-point play
- Tommy Bruner scored down the left side of the lane, but the Eagles responded with six straight points to push the lead to 21 points (35-14) with 8:16 left in the half
- Jamal King scored five straight points including a right wing three for a 42-17 lead with just over six minutes remaining
- Spartans scored on back-to-back possessions, but the Eagles came right back with four straight starting with a stick back dunk by Chase Claxton and then Toneari Lane came up with a steal and finished on the other end
- Three of the final four field goals of the half by the Eagles came behind the arc as they led 57-34 at the break
- Two of the threes came from Charles Falden as he scored eight of the team's final 12 points in the half
- Winthrop lit up the nets at 57 percent from the floor (7-of-13 behind the arc) and received 34 points from the bench
- Eagles held Upstate to 40 percent shooting, 2-for-9 behind the arc
SECOND HALF
- Upstate came out of the half with eight quick points to make it a 15-point game in just two and a half minutes
- The half started with a dunk by Khydarius Smith as the Spartans scored all four baskets at the rim for the 8-0 that led to a Winthrop timeout
- Out of the timeout the Vaudrin whipped a pass to Corbin, who knocked down a three from the right wing
- On the ensuing possession for Upstate Corbin came away with a steal as he pushed the ball ahead to Arms for the easy finish and a 62-42 lead with 16:57 on the clock
- Over the course of the first 10 minutes of the half the Eagles had an answer every time the Spartans got within 15-16 points
- That continued over the remainder of the game as the Eagles eventually pushed their lead to as much as 27 points (90-63) with just under four minutes to play
- Eagles shot 44 percent in the second half (6-of-12 from three) while Upstate shot 50 percent (8-of-14 behind the arc)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop finished the game shooting 51 percent while Upstate shot 45 percent
- The Eagles made a season-high 13 threes (13-for-25) and Upstate hit eight second half threes to finish 10-for-23
- The Eagles were +17 (48-31) on the boards as they finished with 19 offensive rebounds and 17 second chance points
- There were 14 players that saw the court for the Eagles in the game and only two of them played 20 or more minutes
- The bench for the Eagles contributed 60 points led by Josh Corbin's team-high 17 points
- Chandler Vaudrin finished with 12 points and 11 assists for his first double-double of the season and fourth at Winthrop University
- Of the 14 players that played for the Eagles, 11 finished with at least one rebound and seven had three or more
- Everette Hammond scored a game-high 18 points to lead Upstate while Tommy Bruner added 14 points
- Winthrop finished with a 48-34 advantage in the paint and 2020-14 in points off turnovers
NOTABLES
- This is the eighth straight year the Eagles opened Big South Conference action with a win and the eighth straight win dating back to the 2019-20 season
- Chandler Vaudrin surpassed the 500 assist career mark as he finished the game with 11, his fourth game as an Eagle with 10 or more
- The 95 points were the most by the Eagles in a league opener since scoring 108 against VMI on Jan. 31, 2007
- The bench contributed with 60 points, the most by the Winthrop bench since it had 76 in the win last year over Pfeiffer
- The Eagles have now scored 90 or more points in two straight games at the G.B. Hodge Center
- Off to a 3-0 start for the first time since the 2015-16 season
- Eagles have now won nine straight over the Spartans and now lead the all-time series 14-8
To keep up with the latest news on the Winthrop men's basketball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter (@Winthrop_MBB), Instagram (@Winthrop_MBB) and Facebook (/WinthropEagles).
