Clinton, S.C. – Winthrop captured a program-record 20
th straight win after defeating Presbyterian College 78-66, Wednesday evening at the Ross E. Templeton Center. The winning streak surpasses the school mark of 19 straight set by the 2006-07 team as the Eagles remain unbeaten on the year.
WINTHROP (15-0, 12-0 Big South)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE (3-7, 1-5 Big South)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- Rayshon Harrison (16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block)
- Owen Mccormack (11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists)
- Kirshon Thrash (11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist)
FIRST HALF
- Charles Falden put the Eagles on the board first as he received a pass in the corner, drove across the lane and finished off glass
- The Eagles followed with back-to-back threes from Vaudrin in the corner and Adonis Arms for an 8-0 lead
- Winthrop led 10-2 after Kelton Talford scored inside, but PC hit back with a 12-4 run over the four and a half minutes
- It started with a right wing three from Owen Mccormack as Vaudrin answered as he drove down the right side of the lane to score
- Kirshon Thrash hit a fade away three at the baseline to start a 6-0 spurt to make it a 12-11 lead for the Eagles with 12:21 left
- After a jumper by Adonis Arms, Mccormack hit another three to tie the game at 14-14
- Eagles responded with a 7-0 run as Josh Corbin got it started as he came off a screen and buried a straight away three
- Talford made it a 20-14 lead as he scored inside and was fouled as he completed the three-point play
- Vaudrin went 1-of-2 at the line for the 21-14 lead with 10:03 to complete the run
- PC was within five after Trevon Reddish finished off a fast break with a dunk but the Eagles came back with a corner three from Kyle Zunic to push the lead back to eight points
- Following a Winston Hill jumper to cut the Eagles lead to 24-18 with just over nine minutes left, Micheal Anumba followed his own miss to put the lead back to eight points
- The lead stretched to double-figures when D.J. Burns Jr. poked the ball away for a steal on the defensive end and tipped in a miss by Zunic on the other end for a 28-18 lead with 6:28 to play in the half
- Winthrop pushed that to a 9-0 run to extend its lead to 15 points with 4:51 to play after Arms drove down the middle of the lane and scored on a short jumper to lead 33-18
- The defense for the Eagles held PC scoreless for over five minutes to help build the 15-point advantage
- Hill broke the drought for PC with a left-handed baby hook down low, but Burns Jr. came right back and dropped in an 18-foot jumper regain the 15-point lead
- PC fought back to make it a single-digit deficit before the break as it finished the half making its final three shots while the Eagles were 1-of-5
- Eagles shot 45 percent while PC overcame a 1-for-8 start to shoot 46 percent
SECOND HALF
- Zunic and Vaudrin opened the half by knocking down threes from straight on to push the lead back to 15 points
- A three-point play by Rayshon Harrison pulled the deficit down to 12 but Arms scored on a short jumper and then Vaudrin stole the ball and finished with a layup ahead of the pack for a 47-31 lead
- Winthrop led 55-40 after Vaudrin hit two free throws, but PC went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to single-digits
- Mccormack started the run with a three from the right wing and then Kobe Stewart scored on a layup on the break for a quick five points while Thrash made two free throws to cap it off
- After Vaudrin scored in the paint the Blue Hose cut the Winthrop lead back to eight points with 9:57 left
- Arms wasted no time to push the lead back to double-figures as he drove to the hoop and scored
- Then Corbin came off a screen and buried another three for a 13-point advantage
- Eagles maintained their double-figure lead the rest of the way
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Eagles shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half to finish at 48 percent for the game as they were 10-of-22 behind the arc
- PC hit 57 percent of its shots in the second half and finished the game at 51 percent shooting
- Winthrop forced 17 turnovers and scored 19 points off the miscues and committed only 11
- Eagles edged the Blue Hose 32-31 on the boards and finished with a 12-5 advantage in second chance points
- Eagles led for 38:33 in the game, there were no lead changes and the game was tied once
- Vaudrin's 20 points are the most since joining the Winthrop program and is the first Eagle to score 20 points this season
- Arms led the bench in scoring with 14 points, Zunic added 12 points while Talford and Josh Corbin just missed double-figures at nine points
NOTABLES
- The 20 consecutive wins lead the NCAA D1 by two games over top-ranked Gonzaga and is one behind tying the Big South Conference record win streak
- The 2010-11 Coastal Carolina team owns the longest win streak in league history at 21 straight
- Kelsey moved into 3rd all-time in Big South history with 105 regular season wins, passing former Winthrop head coach Gregg Marshall (104) and now trails Radford's Ron Bradley by four
- Winthrop has now won 14 straight Big South regular season games dating back to the 2019-20 season
- It was also the 178th victory in Kelsey's career, as he's now one back of Cliff Ellis for 4th all-time in Big South history
- Winthrop is 12-0 in league play for a second straight year (Eagles started the 2019-20 season 12-0)
- Eagles have held the last two opponents under 60 points and haven't allowed more than 66 points in the last four games
- Over the last two seasons the Eagles are a combined 17-0 in the month of January
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).
