Box Score N. Charleston, S.C. – Winthrop held off a late push by Charleston Southern in a 70-65 road victory, Saturday evening inside the Buc Dome.
WINTHROP (10-6, 3-0 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (3-13, 0-4 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
- Claudell Harris Jr. (18 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block)
- Deontaye Buskey (14 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block)
- Cheikh Faye (9 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 blocks)
FIRST HALF
- The Bucs were hitting the glass in the early going and led 17-10 with 11:24 to left in the half as they scored nine of the points following an offensive board
- Following the stick back from Cheikh Faye to put the Bucs up seven, the Eagles responded with a three from Patrick Good who came off a screen and knocked it down on the left wing
- Good buried another three to pull the Eagles within a point at 17-16 with 10:21 left in the half but Faye answered with a three for the Bucs
- Eagles then scored six straight points to grab their first lead of the game at 22-20, forcing a timeout by Charleston Southern
- The run started with a long jumper from Good and was capped off by a Chase Claxton dunk in transition for the lead
- Charleston Southern regained the lead and led 28-24 with just over six minutes remaining in the half as Deontaye Buskey connected on a three
- Good continued his hot shooting as he drilled another three and then Drew Buggs scored at the rim to put the Eagles back on top 29-28 with 5:01 to play
- Game was tied at the half, 33-33, as the Eagles shot 56 percent from the floor while Charleston Southern shot 36 percent
SECOND HALF
- D.J. Burns Jr. came out firing for the Eagles, scoring the first four points of the half for a 37-33 lead
- Buskey scored off the drive to make it a one possession game again but Russell Jones Jr. responded with a score off the drive for a 39-35 lead
- Three possession later the Eagles grabbed a seven-point lead at 42-35 as Josh Corbin drilled a left wing three
- Buskey again responded as he knocked down a straight away three to cut it to four
- Winthrop reeled off six points as Kelton Talford scored at the rim and then Good scored on a layup as Burns Jr. split the defense with a pass to Good cutting to the basket on the baseline to get it started
- Cory Hightower hit two free throws with 11:10 to play to put the Eagles on top 48-40
- Charleston Southern had an answer as it used an 8-0 run capped off by a three from Tahik Chavez to tie the game again with 8:38 remaining
- After Burns Jr. scored to retake the lead, the Bucs grabbed the lead at 51-50 with 6:25 to play as Buskey drove down the right side of the lane and banked in a short jumper
- The lead changed hands a couple more times and the Bucs had a 53-52 lead with the ball but Chase Claxton came up with a block on a Taje' Kelly shot at the rim that led to a Jones Jr. three on the other end for a 55-53 lead with just under five to play
- Eagles made it a two possession game with 3:34 to play after Talford dropped in two free throws for a 57-53 lead
- Buggs made it a six-point advantage as he drove to the middle of the lane and knocked down a floater with 2:56 left
- Then with 1:29 to play in the game, Good drilled a three from the right wing for a 62-55 lead
- The Winthrop lead grew to nine points with 34 seconds remaining but Charleston Southern fought to the end pulling within three with four seconds left
- Eagles made 8-of-10 free throws in the final 1:05 to hold off the Bucs
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop shot 55 percent for the game, but committed 16 turnovers that led to 19 points for the Bucs
- Charleston Southern finished the game at 32 percent and had 27 more field goal attempts than Winthrop thanks to 21 offensive rebounds that led to 22 points
- Eagles finished the game 16-of-18 at the foul line
- Buggs led the Eagles with four assists as the team ended with 12 assists on 24 made field goals
- Winthrop attempted a season-low 14 three-point field goal attempts as it was 6-of-14 (43 percent) while Charleston Southern finished 9-of-32 (28 percent)
- Good finished the game 6-of-7 from the floor and 4-for-5 behind the arc to finish with 16 points and pulled down a career-best eight rebounds
- Burns Jr. finished 7-of-11 from the floor and had 14 points
- Buggs and Jones Jr. joined Good and Burns Jr. in double-figures with 10 points each
NOTABLES
- Eagles captured their fourth straight win overall as they improve to 3-0 in league play for a 4th straight year
- Winthrop has now won 13 straight Big South Conference road games and have now won eight straight games at the Buc Dome
- With his four triples in the game, Good now has 245 threes in his career and is 37 points away from 1,000
- Burns Jr. moved past 900 career points (907) and is on pace to reach 1,000 career points this season
UP NEXT
Eagles remain on the road as they'll travel to Clinton, S.C. on Wednesday, Jan. 19 to take on Presbyterian College at 7 p.m.
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).
