Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop men's basketball is off to its best start in 38 years after it earned an 87-71 victory over Furman, Saturday evening inside the Winthrop Coliseum.
WINTHROP (5-0)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
FURMAN (5-3)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- Mike Bothwell (16 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal)
- Noah Gurley (14 points, 7 rebounds)
- Alex Hunter (12 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals)
FIRST HALF
- Furman opened the scoring in the game when Alex Hunter found Noah Gurley for a triple
- Eagles scored five straight to take the lead as Chandler Vaudrin scored after D.J. Burns Jr. hit him cutting to the basket
- Charles Falen put the Eagles in front as he knocked down a short jumper while being fouled and completed the three-point play for a 5-3 lead
- Garrett Hien scored inside to tie the game at 5-5 at the 17:44 mark, the only time the game was tied
- Adonis Arms responded by drilling a three from the wing for an 8-5 advantage, which was a lead the Eagles never gave up
- The three from Arms sparked a 9-2 run as Arms scored five points and the run was capped off by a Jamal King baseline drive and score for a 14-7 lead
- Over the next few minutes the Eagles lead hovered around 4-6 points until Vaudrin stole the ball and finished with a dunk on the other end followed by a Micheal Anumba score off the drive made it a double-figure lead, 24-14 with 10:50 left in the half
- Leading 30-20 with 9:44 remaining the Eagles went on a 7-1 run as Chase Claxton started it off with two free throws and then stole the ball and finished on the other end for a 17-point lead
- Winthrop eventually pushed its lead to 20 points with 6:57 left in the half after Russell Jones Jr. scored off the drive
- Mike Bothwell pushed the deficit back below 20 points on the next possession but Jones Jr. quickly drained a three and the Eagles were ahead 46-25
- Eagles were able to hold off any run by Furman the remainder of the half and led 56-36 at the break
- Winthrop finished the half shooting 66 percent, making 15-of-19 in one stretch during the half that included nine straight makes
- Furman was held to 35 percent shooting in the first half and 2-for-14 behind the arc
SECOND HALF
- Falden opened the scoring in the second half with a three to put the Eagles on top by 23 (59-36)
- After a King three put the Eagles on top by 22 points with 14:44 to play, Furman went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 15 points with just over 13 remaining
- Eagles responded with a 5-0 spurt to get the lead as Arms and Falden scored at the rim to lead 71-51
- After King drove and found Vaudrin for the dunk and a 73-54 lead, Furman chipped away at the lead and found itself within 13 points with 6:18 to play after six straight points
- The Paladins even got it to 12 points with 5:07 to play with a chance to even make it a single-digit deficit
- But the defense for the Eagles stood tall as D.J. Burns Jr. had a big block as the Eagles pushed the ball in transition and Falden finished on the break for a 14-point lead
- Winthrop continued to hold a 12-15 point lead and even pushed its lead back to 20 points with 1:49 remaining after another Jones Jr. triple
- Eagles shot 41 percent for the half while Furman shot 42 percent
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Eagles finished shooting 54 percent in the game while holding Furman to 38 percent
- Both teams got to the foul line as Winthrop finished 19-of-29 (66%) and Furman was 23-for-34 (68%)
- Rebounding was pretty even, but Furman finished with a 36-33 edge and 7-2 in second chance points
- Eagles forced 23 turnovers leading to 18 points while Furman also had 18 points off of 18 turnovers by Winthrop
- Charles Falden finished with a game-high 18 points as he was 7-of-12 shooting
- Joining Falden in double-figures was Jones Jr. with 12 points while King and Arms added 11 points
- Jones Jr. led a Winthrop bench that contributed with 46 points
- Furman had four players in double-figures led by Mike Bothwell's 16 points and Noah Gurley added 14
NOTABLES
- Winthrop is 5-0 for just the second time in program history and the first time since the 1983-84 team won its first five games
- Furman was ranked 3rd in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll and this was the Eagles third win over a team ranked in that poll (Little Rock 8th, UNCG 12th)
- Eagles have now won 10 straight games dating back to the 2019-20 season, its second winning streak of 10 or more games in this calendar year
- Winthrop bench has now scored 46 or more points in three straight contests
- Eagles have now led at the half in all five contests this season
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).
