Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop earned an 85-69 win at Charleston Southern Monday afternoon to tie for the best start to a season in the history of the Big South Conference. The Eagles ties the 1990-91 Radford team with an 8-0 start to the season.
Winthrop and Charleston Southern will wrap-up the two-game series on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 3 p.m.
WINTHROP (8-0, 5-0 Big South)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (1-6, 1-2 Big South)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- Emorie Knox (15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals)
- Terence Porter Jr. (13 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks)
- Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 2 steals)
FIRST HALF
- Eagles struggled out of the gate as Charleston Southern led 10-2 at the first media timeout (15:54) as they committed six turnovers and were 1-for-5 from the floor
- Kyle Zunic's three from the right wing at the 14:42 mark seemed to get the offense going as it cut the Winthrop deficit in half at 10-5
- Charleston Southern's Emorie Knox answered the Zunic triple with a step back three, but Charles Falden had his own answer with a three to cut the lead to 13-8
- Knox buried another three on the ensuing possession, only to be outdone by Falden as he drilled a three from the left side and was fouled in the process as he completed the four-point play to get the Eagles within four points with 13:40 left in the half
- A Phlandrous Fleming Jr. three put the Bucs back on top by seven points, but Falden scored his ninth straight point with a bucket at the rim to trail 19-14
- Trailing 20-17 with around 10 and a half minutes remaining in the half freshman Toneari Lane drilled a three from the corner and two possession later put the Eagles in front for the first time at 23-20 with 9:22 left
- Toneari's two triples sparked a 17-0 run in which the Eagles held the Bucs scoreless for over five minutes and built a 34-20 advantage
- The middle of the run was highlighted by Jamal King scoring a couple of baskets at the rim
- A D.J. Burns Jr. jumper put the Eagles up 41-24 for their largest lead of the half, but the Bucs were able to cut the lead to 12 points before the break
- Winthrop shot 47 percent and hit seven threes as it let 44-32 at the half
- Charleston Southern shot 38 percent from the floor, 6-of-14 behind the arc
- Winthrop had 10 different players score in the first half
SECOND HALF
- Falden opened the second half scoring for a 15-point advantage
- The Bucs chipped away and pulled within 11 points four minutes into the half
- Russell Jones Jr. had an answer as he spun into the lane, dribbled and then scored high off the glass over the defender
- Out of a timeout, the Eagles got a defensive stop and then on a second chance opportunity Josh Corbin knocked down a three for the team's largest lead of the game to that point at 60-42
- Following a Jamir Moore basket inside, the Eagles went on a 7-0 run highlighted by threes from Corbin and Zunic for a 68-44 advantage
- After a Micheal Anumba layup put the Eagles up 70-46, Charleston Southern answered with a 10-0 run
- The run started with a three from Terence Porter Jr. followed with a three from Ja'Quavian Florence
- Porter Jr. scored the final four points of the run to make it a 70-56 lead with 9:18 to play
- The Winthrop lead was down to 12 points with the Bucs getting a chance to make it a single-digit deficit, but Chase Claxton stole the ball and King connected on a left wing three for a 75-60 lead with 6:29 remaining
- Claxton got another steal on the ensuing possession for the Bucs and that eventually led to a Chandler Vaudrin basket inside
- The Eagles pushed their lead back to 20 points with a little over three minutes to play as Falden hit a floater on the drive to lead 83-63
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Eagles finished the game shooting 46 percent from the floor while Charleston Southern shot 54 percent in the second half and finished at 45 percent for the game
- Behind the arc the Eagles were 12-for-32 behind the arc while the Bucs finished 11-of-27
- For a third straight game the Eagles dominated the glass by 21-plus (48-27) as they finished with a 17-2 advantage in second chance points
- Eagles finished with a 17-1 advantage in offense rebounds
- Both teams got out in transition but fast break points were dead even at 21 apiece
- Falden with 14 points and Arms with 10 points were the only Eagles in double-figures as nine different players had at least six points
- The bench for the Eagles contributed with 41 points led by Arms and King added nine points
- Vaudrin flirted with another triple double as he finished with eight points, eight rebounds and eight assists
- The Bucs were led by a career-high 15 points from Knox and a career-best 13 points by Porter Jr.
- Vaudrin and Anumba tied for a team-high eight rebounds
NOTABLES
- Winthrop has now won 13 straight contests, the 4th best winning streak in program history
- Remain unbeaten in league play this year and have won seven straight regular season conference contests
- Pat Kelsey ties Cliff Ellis of Coastal Carolina for the most regular season conference victories with 98 and now trails former Winthrop head coach Gregg Marshall by six (104)
- Off to a 5-0 start in Big South play for a second straight season and fifth time in program history
- Eagles hit 12 threes as they have now connected on 12 or more threes in all three league road games this season
- Vaudrin has moved within nine points of 1,000 in his collegiate career
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).
