Rock Hill, S.C. – D.J. Burns Jr. scored a team-high 19 points to help Winthrop rally for a 64-62 victory over Gardner-Webb, Saturday afternoon at the Winthrop Coliseum.
WINTHROP (12-6, 5-0 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
GARDNER-WEBB (9-10, 3-3 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
- Lance Terry (20 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal)
- Zion Williams (11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists)
- Jordan Sears (9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals)
FIRST HALF
- Eagles committed six turnovers on their first 10 possessions as the first field goal came with 12:29 left in the half when D.J. Burns Jr. scored on a jump hook
- The Burns Jr. bucket made it a 9-5 deficit despite the turnovers
- Gardner-Webb pushed its lead to 12-5 on a straight away three from Jordan Sears, but Cory Hightower answered with a corner three to make it a four-point deficit again
- The Burns Jr. hook got the Eagles going as they connected on six of the next seven shots to lead 19-15 with 8:53 to play
- Gardner-Webb followed with an 8-0 run highlighted with threes on back-to-back possession to regain the lead at 23-19 with just over six left in the half
- Winthrop failed to hit a field goal over the final 8:53 of the half but were able to keep the game within reach with tough defense and free throws
- Hightower's two free throws with 2:50 left made it a two-point game at 25-23, but the Runnin' Bulldogs outscored the Eagles 7-2 the rest of the way for a 32-25 lead at the break
- Winthrop finished the half with 13 turnovers and shot 40 percent from the floor
- Gardner-Webb shot 41 percent and committed nine turnovers
- Eagles were 11-of-15 at the foul line
SECOND HALF
- Eagles continued to struggle shooting from the field, but continued to turn in a strong defensive effort
- Gardner-Webb was able to build a double-digit lead at the midway point of the half, mainly at the foul line
- Eagles answered right away to get the deficit back to single-digits as Russell Jones Jr. drove the lane and dished to Kelton Talford who scored with his left hand
- Eagles pulled within five points with 6:40 to play as Jones Jr. stripped the ball that went to Chase Claxton as he pushed the ball ahead to Patrick Good who dropped in a pull-up three that forced a Gardner-Webb timeout
- Out of the timeout, D'Maurian Williams scored on the drive but the Eagles answered with a Micheal Anumba right wing three to trail 49-45
- Following a Gardner-Webb basket, Burns Jr. worked his way in the lane with his back to the rim and turned for a short hook shot that dropped as he was fouled
- Burns Jr. made the free throw to complete the three-point play as the Eagles trailed 51-48 with 5:18 remaining
- Eagles continued to get stops defensively as they pulled within a point when Burns Jr. hit Good cutting to the basket for a layup and then grabbed the lead 52-51 as Burns Jr. got a free throw line jumper to fall with 3:38 left
- Gardner-Webb regained the lead as Kareem Reid dropped in a hook shot from straight on
- Winthrop grabbed the lead again on two free throws from Anumba and then Hightower stole the ball around the free throw line and finished on the other end for a 56-53 lead
- After Anthony Selden hit 1-of-2 free throws with 2:06 left, the Eagles pushed their lead to four points as Burns Jr. hit Hightower cutting to the basket off a Drew Buggs screen for the layup
- It was back to a two-point game after Lance Terry hit two free throws with 1:30 to play
- On the ensuing possession Buggs drove down the right side of the lane and scored on a layup for a 60-56 lead with 1:14 left
- Out of a Gardner-Webb timeout, Terry took a quick shot as he knocked down an elbow jumper
- It was back to a four point advantage for the Eagles as Anumba scored off the drive as he came off a screen for a 62-58 lead with 35.1 seconds left
- With 14.7 left, Williams was fouled driving down the right side of the lane as he went 1-of-2 at the foul line to trail by three
- On the inbound the Eagles got the ball to Good as he was fouled with 13.5 seconds remaining and hit both free throws for a 64-59 lead
- Gardner-Webb came down and Terry hit a straight away three with 7.2 seconds left
- Good was fouled with 6.5 left and went to the line for another one-and-one and missed as the Runnin' Bulldogs boarded the miss as Williams dribbled up the court and pulled up at the buzzer from the right wing for the win but the shot was long
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Over the final 6:40 the Eagles were 9-of-10 from the floor and finished the final 10:06 making 11-of-14 shots
- Eagles finished the game shooting 49 percent while holding Gardner-Webb to 40 percent
- Battled of the boards went to Gardner-Webb 33-30, but second chance points were even at 5-5
- Winthrop was just 4-of-15 behind the arc while the Runnin' Bulldogs were 8-for-21 (2-of-8 in the second half)
- The two teams combined for 37 turnovers as Gardner-Webb had 19 and Winthrop had 18
- Eagles finished with a 15-9 advantage in points off turnovers
- In addition to his team-high 19 points, Burns Jr. dished out a career-best four assists
NOTABLES
- Eagles improve to 5-0 in league play for a third straight season
- The win was the eighth straight at home and have now won 22-of-23 games at home
- Good finished with eight points in the game as he reached 1,000 career points (now with 1,002)
- This was the 38th meeting all-time between Winthrop and Gardner-Webb and the 21st game decided by six or fewer points
- Eagles have now won 23 of the last 24 games played in the month of January
UP NEXT
Eagles are back on the road as they'll played their third game in a five-day span when they head to High Point, N.C. to take on High Point on Monday, Jan. 24 at 6 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).
