Spartanburg, S.C.— Josh Ferguson and
Hunter Hale combined for 41 points to lead Winthrop men's basketball to a 90-82 win at USC Upstate, Thursday evening in Big South action.
WINTHROP (20-10, 14-3 BIG SOUTH)
SCORING LEADERS
- Josh Ferguson (22 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 2 steals)
- Hunter Hale (19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals)
- Micheal Anumba (9 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal)
USC UPSTATE (11-19, 6-11 BIG SOUTH)
SCORING LEADERS
- Tommy Bruner (13 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists)
- Dalvin White (12 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal)
- Bryson Mozone (13 points, 2 rebounds)
FIRST HALF
- Josh Ferguson scored the first four points of the game for an early lead for the Eagles
- Upstate scored five straight to get its first lead behind two free throws from Brandon Martin and a three from Tommy Bruner from the corner
- The team's traded baskets over the next 3-4 minutes as Winthrop led 12-11 on a Kyle Zunic stick back
- Thomas Booker put Upstate on top 13-12 with a score inside which sparked a 7-0 run as Bryson Mozone followed with a jumper off glass and a corner three to cap off the run
- Winthrop fought back to take a 21-20 lead with 8:37 left as back-to-back steals by the Eagles led to baskets on the other end for Hunter Hale to make it a two point game
- After Mozone answered for a 20-16 lead, the Eagles reeled off five in a row as Russell Jones Jr. gave Winthrop the lead with a score at the rim off the drive
- The game remained close the rest of the half and Hale scored off a drive at the buzzer to tie the game at 38-38 at the half
- Upstate had a chance to add to a two-point lead with 33 seconds left but the Eagles forced a turnover giving them a chance to tie or take the lead before the break
- Winthrop was 0-for-11 behind the arc in the half while Upstate was 8-of-12
- Eagles made up for the struggles behind the arc by forcing 10 turnovers that led to 19 points
- Eagles shot 42 percent from the floor and the Spartans were 50 percent from the floor
SECOND HALF
- Eagles opened the second half scoring as Hale knocked down the team's first three of the game for a 41-38 advantage
- Upstate came back to take a 43-42 lead on a straight away three from Bruner
- On the ensuing possession Ferguson hit Micheal Anumba cutting to the basket for a two and a 44-43 lead
- That basket sparked a 11-0 run as Ferguson followed with a three from the wing and then finished off a fast break with a big slam off a dish from Hale for a 49-43 lead, forcing an Upstate timeout
- Chase Claxton capped off the run with a three-point play with 15:15 to play
- After a dunk by Khydarius Smith, Hale answered with a three for a 55-45 lead with 14:51 remaining
- Upstate worked the deficit down to a possession at 57-54 with 13:08 on the clock
- Eagles responded with a 13-5 run to open back up a double-digit lead at 70-59 as a Charles Falden corner three gave Winthrop its largest lead to that point
- Winthrop held on to a consistent 6-8 point lead the next six minutes and Upstate had it down to five points with just under three to play after a Dalvin White three
- Eagles came right down and scored as Chandler Vaudrin whipped a pass under the basket and Ferguson finished with a dunk for a seven point lead
- Winthrop got a stop on the next possession for Upstate and Hale proceeded to knock down a straight away three for an 85-75 lead with 1:45 to play
- The Eagles held off the Spartans the rest of the way to get the road win
- Winthrop made 11 of its first 15 shots in the second half and finished shooting 65 percent over the final 20 minutes
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop finished the game shooting 52 percent as Upstate finishing at 47 percent (44% in the second half)
- Eagles started off 0-for-11 from three but finished 6-for-23 (6-of-12 in the second half) as they were 26-for-39 inside the arc
- Winthrop forced 13 turnovers in the game that led to 23 points and outscored the Spartans 52-18 in the paint
- Upstate hit 16 threes (16-for-31), which was just the second time this season with 10 or more in a single-game
- Winthrop finished with 15 assists on 32 field goals made while Upstate assisted on 25-of-28 field goals
- The game saw six ties and 16 lead changes
NOTABLES
- Winthrop reached 20 wins for the fourth time under Pat Kelsey and the 17th in program history
- It is also the 300th Big South win in program history as the Eagles become the first league member to reach the mark
- Eagles now lead the series with the Spartans 12-8 and have won seven straight
- Winthrop now has 10 true road wins on the year, the 6th time in program history and second time under Kelsey (3rd time in D1 Era)
- Ferguson finished the game with a game-high eight rebounds and now has 711 in his career which ranks 30th all-time in league history
- Ferguson now trails Andre Smith for 20th all-time on the scoring list with 1,061 career points
- Kelsey now has 159 career wins and is one behind Nield Gordon for 2nd all-time at Winthrop
UP NEXT
The regular season comes to a close on Saturday, Feb. 29 when Winthrop hosts High Point at 1 p.m. It is also "Senior Day" as a special recognition will take place prior to tipoff.