Radford, Va. – Charles Falden scored nine points in the final three minutes to help lift Winthrop to a 55-47 victory at Radford, Friday evening inside the Dedmon Center.
WINTHROP (18-1, 15-1 Big South)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
RADFORD (13-9, 12-4 Big South)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- Fah'Mir Ali (14 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals)
- Dravon Mangum (8 points, 1 rebound)
- Shaquan Jules (7 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks)
FIRST HALF
- It was a slow start offensively for both teams, but neither were able to pull away
- Winthrop began the game 1-for-6 from the floor with five turnovers in the first 4:46 of the game
- Radford was 1-of-8 from the floor in that span
- The Eagles ended up connected on just three of their first 20 shots in the game
- Radford grabbed a 4-2 lead after Dravon Mangum scored off a drive at the 15:23 mark
- Leading 6-5, Radford pushed its lead to 14-7, but D.J. Burns Jr. knocked down a 10 foot jumper to keep the Highlanders from trying to pull away
- Burns Jr. hit 1-of-2 free throws with 1:54 left in the half to make it a two-point game, but Xavier Lipscomb hit two free throws for a 20-16 lead with just over a minute left in the half
- Chandler Vaudrin drove down the lane and scored off glass with 42 seconds left to trail 20-18
- Eagles played good defense on the ensuing Radford possession but as the shot clock was set to expire Fah'Mir Ali drove across the lane
- Charles Falden was able to get a hand on the ball and knock it away, but Ali somehow corralled it and flipped up a shot toward the basket that fell in as Radford led 22-18 at the break
- Winthrop shot just 24 percent from the floor while the Highlanders shot 35 percent
SECOND HALF
- Winthrop opened the second half going 5-for-5 behind the arc and hitting 8-of-9 shots as it grabbed its first lead since early in the contest
- Radford opened the scoring in the second half as Ali drilled a three for a 25-18 lead, but Winthrop quickly countered with a Charles Falden three
- Lewis Djonkam scored inside to push the lead to six points, but then the Eagles went on a 12-0 run to grab a 33-27 lead with 15:07 to play
- Burns Jr. started the run as he knocked down a jumper followed by a Chandler Vaudrin three from the left wing
- Kyle Zunic then hit Burns Jr. off the dribble for a short jumper for a 28-27 lead
- Following a turnover, Vaudrin hit another three and then scored off the drive to cap off the run for the six-point advantage
- After Mangum scored in the lane, Winthrop's Russell Jones Jr. took over behind the arc, connecting on a triple on back-to-back possessions for a double-figure lead (39-29)
- Over the next five minutes both teams went cold but Radford worked its way to a two-point game at 39-37 with 8:24 remaining forcing Winthrop to call timeout
- Out of the timeout, Chase Claxton made a big defensive play as he jumped the gap for the steal and then finished on the other end with a two-handed dunk
- With 2:53 to play in the game, Ali gave Radford the lead at 45-44 after hitting a 10 foot baseline jumper
- The lead was short lived as Falden drilled a corner three for a 47-45 lead that the Eagles would not relinquish
- Falden scored nine points over the final three minutes to help the Eagles seal the deal
- It was a two-point game with 42 seconds left when Falden hit a straight away three for a 52-47 advantage
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop finished shooting 33 percent in the game while Radford shot 40 percent
- For a second straight game the Eagles had a double-digit advantage on the boards, 42-31
- Radford dominated the paint 36-20 while the Eagles had the edge in points off turnovers at 12-8
- Winthrop's bench contributed a season-low 13 points as Jones Jr. led the way with seven points
- Vaudrin finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists
- Falden scored a game-high 14 points as he was 3-of-4 behind the arc
- Ali tied Falden for a game-high with 14 points and also had three steals
- Burns Jr. finished with a season-high seven boards
NOTABLES
- The 10 straight road win for the Eagles is the second-best active streak behind Belmont who has won 15 straight
- This was the Eagles third straight win at the Dedmon Center and for the fourth time in the last six trips
- Eagles have now won 16 of their last 17 games on the road
- The win gives Pat Kelsey 181 career victories, moving him into 4th place all alone in Big South history
- It was also the 108th Big South win for Kelsey, who is now one back of Ron Bradley (Radford) for second all-time
- The victory is the 15th league win of the season, which ties the program record for the most as the Eagles have four games remaining to set a new mark
- Winthrop is now 38-4 in its last 42 games
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).
