Rock Hill, S.C. – Chandler Vaudrin recorded a triple-double to help Winthrop cruise to an 83-54 victory over 8
th seeded High Point, Monday evening in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Hercules Tires Big South Conference Men's Basketball Championships.
The Eagles will host Longwood on Thursday, Mar. 4 in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. and the game will air live on ESPN+..
WINTHROP (21-1)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
HIGH POINT (9-15)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- John-Michael Wright (17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal)
- Denny Slay II (9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal)
- Ahmil Flowers (6 points, 2 rebounds, 4 steals)
FIRST HALF
- Eagles knocked down three of their first five shots to jump out to an early 9-3 lead
- D.J. Burns Jr. opened up the scoring with a short jumper followed by threes from Chandler Vaudrin and Jamal King
- Winthrop got after it defensively from the tip and held High Point to a 2-for-16 start from the floor
- Leading 13-4 the offense got going, hitting six of its next seven shots to open up a 29-8 lead with 10:31 left in the half
- Charles Falden ignited the 16-4 run, scoring the first five points and finishing with 10 points during the run
- Despite missing its final five shots of the half, the Eagles led 42-26 at the break
- Winthrop shot 38 percent from the floor while High Point shot 35 percent
SECOND HALF
- Winthrop opened up the second half 9-for-14 from the floor, doubling its lead at 66-33 with 9:43 to play in the game
- After a free throw by Ahmil Flowers made it a 15-point game in the early part of the half, Kyle Zunic buried a three off a turnover by the Panthers that started an 8-0 run
- Denny Slay ended the run as he finished off a fast break with layup off a Jaden House steal, but the Eagles responded with back-to-back baskets in transition
- Zunic's three put the Eagles on top by 33 points, their largest lead of the game
- Eagles led by at least 23 points or more the rest of the way
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop shot 42 percent in the game and held High Point to 30 percent
- The glass was dominated by the Eagles 53-39
- Second chance points were nearly even as the Eagles had a 15-13 edge
- Points in the paint were even at 24-24, but the Eagles finished with 12 threes while the Panthers had just one
- Vaudrin's 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists led to his third triple double of the season and seventh of his career
- Vaudrin was 1-of-4 players in double-figures as Adonis Arms led the way with 15 points
- Burns Jr. added 12 points and Falden finished with 10
- John-Michael Wright finished with a game-high 17 points
- Russell Jones Jr. came off the bench to dish out a career-high 10 assists, tying Vaudrin for the game-high
- The Eagles finished with 24 assists on 28 made field goals
NOTABLES
- Winthrop reached 21 wins for the 10th time in program history and 4th time under Pat Kelsey
- Eagles move on to the semifinals of the Big South Tournament for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons
- The win gives Kelsey 184 career victories, which ranks 4th place in Big South history
- Winthrop is now 41-4 in its last 45 games
- This was the Eagles 600th win since transitioning to the NCAA D1 level
- Vaudrin and Jones Jr. tied Chris Gaynor for the most assists in a conference tournament game for the most by an Eagle
- Vaudrin's 12 rebounds pushed him over the 800 mark in his collegiate career (802)
- Eagles have now won four straight conference tournament games and are 51-23 all-time and 16-6 under Kelsey
- The 24 assists tied a program record for the most assists in a conference tournament game
- The 53 rebounds set a program record for the most in a tournament game
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).
