Rock Hill, S.C. – Kelton Talford scored a career-high 17 points and added 10 rebounds for a double-double but Winthrop fell 65-56 at High Point, Monday night in Big South Conference men's basketball action.
WINTHROP (12-7, 5-1 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
HIGH POINT (8-11, 2-3 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
- Zach Austin (17 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block)
- Bryant Randleman (14 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals)
- Jaden House (12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists)
FIRST HALF
- High Point was on the board first as Zach Austin knocked down a mid-range jumper but then Drew Buggs and D.J. Burns Jr. ran a perfect pick and roll as Buggs slipped the pass to an open Burns Jr. for the easy layup
- With the score tied at 4-4, Patrick Good found Cory Hightower open on the left wing and he buried the three
- After getting a stop, the Eagles went ahead 9-4 as Kelton Talford with his back to the basket slipped by his defender and finished with a lay-in
- The defense got another stop, getting a shot clock violation that led to the first media timeout
- Out of the timeout, Winthrop's Sin'Cere McMahon fed Talford in the post as he spun and slammed from the baseline for an 11-4 run to cap off a 7-0 run
- Leading 15-8 with 10:35 left the Eagles went cold and went just over four minutes without a point, allowing High Point to trim the deficit to one, but Russell Jones Jr. ended the drought with a drive and score
- Talford scored inside for a 19-14 lead, but High Point put together a 6-0 spurt for a 23-19 lead with just under five to play
- Hightower had an answer for the Eagles as he hit another three from the left wing to trail by one and then off a turnover Hightower found Talford open inside for the layup to tie the game 24-24
- Following a miss, Talford boarded the miss as the Eagles pushed the ball up the court and as Talford trailed the play Buggs slipped the ball to Talford down the middle of the lane for the finish and a 26-24 lead with 2:01 left
- Leading 27-26 and a chance for the lead Bryson Childress missed a left wing three as Talford rebounded the miss and worked his way up court and as he approached the arc he picked up speed and Hightower lobbed a pass at the rim for an alley-oop as Talford caught the ball and finished off the glass
- The Talford bucket gave the Eagles a 29-26 lead at the break
- Eagles turned the ball over 10 times in the half but shot 50 percent from the field and held the Panthers to 27 percent
SECOND HALF
- Eagles scored first as Buggs hit Hightower cutting backdoor on the baseline for the layup
- The Panthers scored five straight to tie the game and then Austin stole a pass by Good and went the distance for the dunk and the lead
- Burns Jr. tied the game again at 33-33 but a quick score by Jaden House on the drive had the Panthers back on top
- High Point outscored the Eagles 20-6 over the first six and a half minutes of the half for a 46-35 as Childress hit the three for a double-digit advantage
- A contested three from the left wing by Austin put the Panthers ahead by 16 points with 11:20 to play
- Eagles turned the ball over on the ensuing possession but stole it right back as Chase Claxton found good open for three on the left wing and he knocked it down to trail 53-40 with 10:51 remaining
- Hightower got the Eagles within 11 following a turnover as he scored on a short hook in the lane
- Good came off a couple of screens with 5:28 left to make it a nine point game at 58-49
- Over the next three minutes the Eagles got the defensive stops they needed but couldn't get shots to fall as the game remained 58-49 until 2:15 remaining when Bryant Randleman hit two free throws
- With 1:04 to play, Good was fouled shooting a three and made all three free throws to cut the High Point lead to 61-54 but that was as close as the Eagles got
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Eagles shot just 33 percent in the second half and finished the game at 42 percent
- Behind the arc the Eagles were just 4-of-24 while the Panthers were 5-of-12
- High Point finished the game shooting 40 percent after knocking down 56 percent of its shots in the second half
- Winthrop had 22 turnovers in the game that led to 23 points for the Panthers
- Panthers edged the Eagles on the boards 35-32, but had 12 offensive rebounds that led to 10 points
- Eagles did finished 12-for-15 at the foul line and High Point was 16-for-25
- Talford posted his second double-double of the season with his career-best 17 points and hauled in 10 boards
- Talford finished the game 8-of-9 from the floor and also had three blocks which matched his career-best
NOTABLES
- Eagles conference road win streak comes to an end at 14 straight as they drop their first league game of the season
- Despite the loss, Winthrop has still won 20 of its last 22 road games in league play
- This was the first loss of the season for the Eagles when they score more points in the paint (9-1 now)
- The loss also ended a streak of 12 straight wins in conference regular season matchups
- This was the third game in five days for the Eagles, who will head to Upstate in two days for the fourth game in seven days
UP NEXT
Winthrop heads to Spartanburg, S.C. for the second of a three-game road trip as it takes on USC Upstate on Wednesday, Jan. 26 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).
