Nashville, Tenn. – Cory Hightower scored a team-high 15 points as Winthrop fell 77-63 at Vanderbilt, Saturday night in non-conference action.
WINTHROP (2-2)
SCORING LEADERS
VANDERBILT (3-1)
SCORING LEADERS
- Jordan Wright (28 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals)
- Tyrin Lawrence (20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists)
- Scotty Pippen Jr. (13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block)
FIRST HALF
- Vanderbilt's Jordan Wright opened the scoring with a deep three from the right wing as the shot clock neared zero
- Eagles scored five straight for the lead, which came on a Cory Hightower three from the left wing off a nice feed from D.J. Burns Jr.
- A 6-0 spurt had the Commodores in front 9-5 that was capped off by a Scotty Pippen Jr. score at the rim
- Game was tied at 13-13 with 13:42 left as Hightower drilled another three
- Vanderbilt led by six with just under 10 minutes left in the half but the Eagles made it a one possession game after a Patrick Good jumper and then off a turnover Russell Jones Jr. led the break and dished to Kelton Talford who finished with the one-handed flush
- Following an illegal screen on an inbound for a Vanderbilt turnover, the Eagles tied the game as Jones Jr. got in the lane and dropped a jumper
- A three-point play by Wright broke the tie and started a 7-0 run for a 33-26 lead with 2:31 left in the half
- The Eagles were able to make it a one possession game before the half as Hightower knocked down a corner three as they trailed 35-32 at the break
- Eagles shot 50 percent in the first half while Vanderbilt shot 48 percent
SECOND HALF
- Eagles trailed 43-38 just shy of five minutes into the second half when Josh Corbin scored on the drive as he was fouled and completed a three-point play
- The Eagles then applied full court pressure and forced a turnover as Patrick Good stole the ball and laid it in to tie the game at 43-43 with 14:38 left
- Wright connected on another three and then after an offensive rebound Tyrin Lawrence dribbled toward the corner, turned and then drained a three for a six point advantage
- The 6-0 spurt turned into 13-0 run as the Eagles went cold for three minutes as Vanderbilt built a 56-43 lead
- Jones Jr. ended the drought for the Eagles as he drained a three
- Over the next five and a half minutes the Commodores outscored the Eagles 12-4 as they pushed their lead to 18 at 68-50 with 5:29 to play
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Eagles shot just 37 percent from the field in the second half as it finished at 43 percent for the game
- Vanderbilt shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half and finished at 49 percent for the game
- Eagles had 19 turnovers as the Commodores had a 19-9 advantage in points off turnovers
- Commodores had 10 offensive rebounds and had a 9-0 edge in second chance points
- Eagles hit 10 threes and finished 34 percent behind the arc
- Winthrop's bench outscored Vanderbilt's 31-4
NOTABLES
- Eagles connected on 10 threes in the game and have at least 10 in three of the first four games
- Hightower was the first Eagle with five first-half threes since Josh Ferguson hit five on Mar. 5, 2020 vs. USC Upstate in the Big South quarterfinals
- After his team-high 15 points, Hightower is now 30 points away from 1,100 in his career
- Drew Buggs had three assists in the game and surpassed 500 for his career (502)
UP NEXT
Winthrop has a quick turnaround and an airplane ride west as it travels to Pullman, Wash. for a Monday night contest at Washington State at 9 p.m. (EST)
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).
