Cancun, Mexico– Cory Hightower and Toneari Lane combined for 43 points to lead Winthrop to a 101-87 over Eastern Michigan, Wednesday afternoon at the Cancun Challenge.
WINTHROP (3-4, 0-0 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
- Cory Hightower (23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block)
- Toneari Lane (20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal)
- Sin'Cere McMahon (18 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal)
EASTERN MICHIGAN (1-5, 0-0 MAC)
STAT LEADERS
- Tyson Acuff (25 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal)
- Noah Farrakhan (17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal)
- Emoni Bates (15 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block)
FIRST HALF
- Kelton Talford scored inside to give the Eagles an early 2-0 lead
- Following an Eastern Michigan three by Emoni Bates, Sin'Cere McMahon drilled a three for a 5-3 advantage
- Eastern built a 9-5 lead when Kasen Harrison came away with a steal and found Xavier McKelvy on the break for a dunk to make it a one possession game
- Cory Hightower put Winthrop ahead 10-9 with a triple
- After EMU regained the lead, Talford scored inside for a 12-11 lead, which started a 6-0 spurt for a five point lead
- A Bates three made it a two point game at 16-14, when Winthrop scored five straight points beginning with a Hightower three followed by Toneari Lane scoring off the drive to lead 21-14 with 9:59 left in the half
- With 4:42 to play, Talford finished with a dunk after a pump fake and then scored again on the next possession inside to put Winthrop on top 37-27
- Eastern cut the Winthrop lead to four points with 2:17 to play but two free throws by McMahon and a three-point play by Hightower off a turnover had the Eagles back on top by eight with 1:14 remaining
- Harrison completed a three-point play with 33 seconds left to push the Winthrop lead back to double-digits
SECOND HALF
- Winthrop scored first out of the break as Chase Claxton hit two free throws
- Leading 53-43, Winthrop used a 10-2 run to open up an 18-point advantage with just under 14 to play
- One of the highlights of the run was when McKelvy drove baseline and finished with an emphatic dunk to give Winthrop its largest lead of the day, 60-43
- The run was capped by a pull-up three from McMahon for the 63-45 advantage
- Winthrop extended its lead to 21 points with 9:41 to play as Harrison found Lane for three and he buried it, forcing a timeout by Eastern
- The Winthrop offense did not slow down in the second half as it shot 67 percent over the final 20 minutes, including an 8-of-11 performances behind the arc
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop shot 65 percent for the game and finished 12-for-22 behind the arc
- Eastern finished the game shooting 43 percent, 9-for-26 from three (35 percent)
- The rebounding advantage favored Eastern 35-29 as it also had a 19-5 advantage on the offensive glass
- Winthrop received 39 points from its bench, led by a career-high 20 points from Lane
- Winthrop finished with a season-high 22 fast break points
- Hightower's 23 points led five Winthrop players in double-figures as Lane added 20, McMahon had 18, Talford finished with 17 and Harrison chipped in with 13
NOTABLES
- Eagles scored a season-high 47 points in the first half and a season-high 54 points in the second half
- This was the 43rd 100-point game in the history of the program as the Eagles are 41-2 all-time when reaching 100 points
- This was the first 100 point game against a non-conference D1 opponent since the Eagles defeated Hampton 102-95 in the 2015 season-opener at home
- Winthrop has now attempted more free throws than its opponent in all seven games this season
UP NEXT
Winthrop will get a five-day break before getting back to the hardwood on Tuesday, Nov. 29 when the Eagles host Toccoa Falls at 7 p.m. It is the first of a three-game home stand.
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).
