Rock Hill, S.C. – For the moment the Winthrop men's basketball team owns the nation's longest winning streak at 18 straight after defeating Longwood 70-50, Friday evening at the Winthrop Coliseum. The Eagles were tied with Gonzaga for the longest streak after Thursday's win, but the Zags were idle.
WINTHROP (13-0, 10-0 Big South)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
LONGWOOD (3-13, 2-8 Big South)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- Justin Hill (15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal)
- Juan Munoz (11 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals)
- Zac Watson (7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal)
FIRST HALF
- Winthrop jumped out to an early 4-0 lead as the Eagles displayed tough defense right out of the gate as D.J. Burns Jr. tipped the ball away for a steal and Kyle Zunic hit Micheal Anumba on the break for the game's first points
- Then Burns Jr. scored inside off a dish from Chandler Vaudrin
- Longwood's Leslie Nkereuwem scored on back-to-back possession at the rim to quickly tie the game at 4-4
- Then Nkereuwem made 1-of-2 free throws for a brief 6-5 lead as Anumba came back to regain the lead knocking down two free throws
- That jumped started a quick 7-0 run as Burns Jr. scored inside again and Russell Jones Jr. buried a three
- Longwood responded with its own 7-0 run as a Juan Munoz triple and layup from Heru Bligen capped off the run for a 12-11 lead
- It remained a one possession game for a few minutes as the Eagles led 17-16 with 10:05 left in the half
- Then both teams went cold from the floor and neither scored for just over three minutes when a Zunic three ended the drought
- Josh Corbin hit another three two possessions later to push the Winthrop lead to 23-16 with 5:46 remaining in the
- The drought continued for Longwood as the Eagles pushed their lead to double-figures when Chase Claxton finished off a pass from Adonis Arms and Jones Jr. scored on a tough contested jumper in the lane to force a timeout by the Lancers
- Eagles pushed their lead to 14 points at the break with a 36-22 lead
- Winthrop allowed a season-low 22 points as it held the Lancers to 32 percent shooting (2-of-12 from three)
SECOND HALF
- Burns Jr. scored six of the first eight points for Winthrop in the second half as he continued to score in the post as his third basket of the half pushed the lead to 15 points
- The lead was 10 at 44-34 when Arms took over scoring six straight points with four at the foul line as he continued to attack the basket
- The Eagles never relinquished their double-figure lead in the second half with it becoming a 10 point game on a couple of occasions
- Winthrop outscored Longwood 7-2 in the final 4:20 to remain unbeaten
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Eagles shot 43 percent in the second half and finished the game shooting 42 percent
- Longwood was much improved in the second half at 46 percent but finished the game shooting 39 percent
- Winthrop held the Lancers to just five offensive boards after allowing 15 in the Thursday's meeting and won the battle on the boards 38-27
- Eagles turned in a strong performance at the free throw line going 19-for-21 while the Lancers were 5-of-9
- Points were even in the paint at 28 and points off turnovers nearly identical with the Eagles scored 16 off miscues and Longwood scoring 14
- Arms led three Eagles in double-figures with 15 points and tied his season-high of eight rebounds
- Vaudrin finished with six points, six rebounds, seven assists and two steals
- Munoz tied arms for a game-high 15 points as he was 5-of-11 from the floor and also hauled in six boards
- The Eagles finished with 12 steals, one shy of a season-high 13 they had vs. Furman
NOTABLES
- The 18 straight wins is tied for the 2nd longest win streak in program history and longest in the Pat Kelsey Era
- The 2004-05 team won 18 straight games on its way to a Big South title and NCAA Tournament appearance against Gonzaga
- Winthrop is currently one win ahead of Gonzaga in the streak and the Zags play Saturday against Saint Mary's
- Kelsey now has 103 Big South wins all-time and is just one back of former Winthrop head coach Gregg Marshall (104)
- Winthrop has now won 12 straight Big South regular season games dating back to the 2019-20 season
- It was also the 176th victory in Kelsey's career, as he's now three back of Cliff Ellis for 4th all-time in Big South history
- Winthrop is 10-0 in league play for a second straight year
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).
