Rock Hill, S.C.– Kelton Talford's double-double highlighted Winthrop's 78-56 victory over Piedmont, Wednesday evening in the home opener for the Eagles
WINTHROP (1-1, 0-0 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
- Kelton Talford (23 points, 11 rebounds, 1 block)
- Cory Hightower (15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, 1 steal)
- Toneari Lane (12 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist)
PIEDMONT (0-2)
STAT LEADERS
- Orry Clements-Owens (12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals)
- Ryan Jolly (10 points, 2 rebounds)
- Garrett Beagle (8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals)
FIRST HALF
- Kelton Talford scored at the rim off a nice feed from Chase Claxton to open the scoring as Winthrop raced out to a 12-0 lead
- On the first possession for Piedmont the Eagles forced a turnover and Sin'Cere came down and hit a step-back three for a 5-0 advantage
- Cory Hightower followed with a triple in transition and then Talford scored on a stick back for the 12-0 lead
- The Winthrop lead hovered around 10-12 points over the next four minutes when the Eagles used a 8-0 run for a 29-11 advantage with 11:53 to play in the half
- Talford scored seven of the eight points, starting the run with a layup and then completing a three-point play
- An Xavier McKelvy three had the Eagles on top by 19 with 8:04 left, their largest lead of the first half
- Piedmont chipped away at the Winthrop lead and scored the final seven points of the half to trail 43-34 at the break
- Winthrop shot 47 percent in the first half while Piedmont knocked down 44 percent from the floor
SECOND HALF
- Orry Clements-Owens opened the second half with a quick three to make it a six-point game, but Isaiah Wilson answered with a three
- It was a single-digit lead at 50-41 with 17:10 to play but a jumper in the lane from Claxton put the Eagles up 11
- Winthrop held its double-figure lead the remainder of the way
- A Talford layup with 11:41 remaining put the Eagles up 60-45 and then a couple of plays later McKelvy came away with a steal and then got the ball back from Cory Hightower as he went right down main street for the flush
- Wilson hit a straight away three to give Winthrop its first 20-point lead of the game with 9:13 left
- Eagles outscored the Lions 11-7 the rest of the way
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop finished the game shooting 47 percent from the field, 11-for-34 from three
- Eagles held Piedmont to 30 percent shooting in the second half and 37 percent for the game
- Winthrop had a 20-7 advantage in points off turnovers and 32-18 in points in the paint
- Talford led all scorers with 23 points as he posted his 4th career double-double by pulling down 11 rebounds
- Hightower added 15 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds
- Toneari Lane (12) and McKelvy (11) led the Eagle bench which chipped in with 32 points
NOTABLES
- The win extends the home winning streak to 17 straight games, third best home win streak in program history
- It is also the 58th straight win over a non-D1 opponent
- Hightower moved within two rebounds of 700 in his career
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)
