Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop continued its road trip Saturday evening as it travels to the Pelican State to take on LSU.
WINTHROP (5-6, 0-0 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
0 |
Sin'Cere McMahon |
6-1 |
Jr. |
14.4 |
2.1 |
2.5 |
0.7 |
Career-high 24 points at Mercer and has four 20-point games this season / 9th in the Big South in scoring / 84 career threes |
| G |
11 |
Kasen Harrison |
6-2 |
Jr.. |
8.5 |
2.1 |
2.9 |
1.5 |
Started last four games / Coming off season-high 17 points at Furman / 2nd on team with 12 steals |
| G/F |
12 |
Cory Hightower |
6-7 |
R-Sr. |
12.9 |
5.5 |
3.2 |
0.6 |
Leads team in assists per game / In double-figures five straight games / Preseason All-Big South 1st Team / 1,474 career points, 740 career rebounds |
| F |
33 |
Chase Claxton |
6-7 |
Sr. |
5.2 |
4.6 |
1.1 |
1.5 |
Played in 97 career games / Leads team with 15 steals and 17 blocks / Tied for 3rd in Big South with 1.7 bocks per game / 9.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.8 bpg over last 4 games |
| F |
4 |
Kelton Talford |
6-7 |
Jr. |
17.9 |
7.8 |
0.5 |
0.5* |
Career-high 28 points vs. S.C. State / 3rd in Big South for poitns per game (17.8) / Named to Cancun Challenge Mayan Division All-Tournament Team / Big South Player of the Week (Dec. 12) / career-high 14 rebounds at Auburn |
* (blocks per game)
SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: 0-1
Series Streak: L1
Record at Maravich Center: 0-1
Streak at Maravich Center: L1
Prosser vs. LSU: first meeting
THE MATCHUP
- This is just the second matchup all-time between Winthrop and LSU
- The first and only meeting came in 1993 at LSU with the Eagles falling 100-71
- That's nearly 30 years since the last time the two teams squared off
WHO'S HOT
- Kelton Talford
- Averaging 21.0 points, 8.0 rebounds over the last three games
- Is shooting 71 percent from the floor and 76 percent at the line
- Scored career-high 28 points against S.C. State
- Extended streak of scoring double-figures to 10 straight games
WINTHROP
- Looking to avoid back-to-back losses and pick up first road win of the season
- This is the second of four straight road games, with the road swing ending in Spartanburg, S.C. for the Eagles Big South Opener at USC Upstate on Dec. 29
- In the last five games the Eagles are shooting 55 percent from the field, 75 percent at the foul line and scoring 85.8 ppg
- In that same span the Eagles are holding opponents to 43 percent shooting and 74.8 ppg
- Kelton Talford leads the team in scoring (17.9) and rebounding (7.8)
- Talford is 1-of-4 Eagles scoring in double-figures as Sin'Cere McMahon is second with 14.4 ppg, Cory Hightower is third at 12.9 ppg and Toneari Lane is the 4th at 11.4 ppg
- Talford is 3rd in the league in scoring, McMahon is 9th, Hightower 11th and Lane is 17th
- Talford leads the Big South in field goal percentage and 2nd in the nation (.761)
- He also ranks among the top rebounders in the league, ranking 2nd with 7.8 per game
- McMahon is 1st in the Big South in free throw percentage (.870), 4th in three-point field goal percentage (.418) and 4th in threes per game (2.5)
- Lane ranks second in the conference for three-point field goal percentage at .456 and 3rd in three-point field goals with 2.9 per game
- Coming off a 23-9 campaign that saw the team reach the Big South Title game for a third straight season before falling to Longwood
- Have won 23 or more games in three straight seasons
- Return five players that saw action in 2021-22, two that sat out and welcome eight newcomers
- Voted to finish second in the Big South Conference preseason poll
- Finished the 2021-22 season ranked 14th in bench scoring (28.6 ppg)
- Cory Hightower was voted to the preseason All-Big South First Team
- Hightower is the top returning scorer at 11.8 ppg and led the team with 5.5 rpg last season
- Kelton Talford is the second-leading scorer returning at 8.5 ppg and was second on the team in rebounding at 4.8
- In the last four seasons the Eagles are a combined 74-23 (.760)
- Winthrop has more wins than any other Big South school (208) since the 2012-13 season
- Mark Prosser starts his second season as head coach of the Eagles, the 7th head coach in program history
- Led the team to 23 wins, the most by a first-year head coach in program history
- Prosser tied Towson State's Terry Traux (1992-93) for the most conference wins by a first-year coach with 14
BIG SOUTH WEEKLY HONORS
- Kelton Talford – Big South Player of the Week (Dec. 12)
- Averaged 23.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.0 apg and 1.0 spg in two games
- He posted a career-high 28 points in the win over S.C. State and then scored a team-high 19 points at Furman
- For the two games he shot 77 percent from the floor
TUNE IN TO THE EAGLES
Fans can listen to the games all season long on OTS Media of Rock Hill (94.3 FM), which is the flagship station for Winthrop Athletics. In addition, most games will simulcast on 730 ESPN Charlotte and AM 1450 WGNC Gastonia.
All home games as well as all Big South games home or away are available to watch through the Big South Network on ESPN+. To watch live Big South games on ESPN+, you need a subscriber. For more information how to subscribe,
click here.
UP NEXT
Winthrop will have one more contest before Christmas as it heads to Pittsburg, Pa to take on Duquesne on Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 2 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)
