Pittsburgh, Pa. – Winthrop couldn't overcome a slow start as it suffered a 74-57 loss at Duquesne, Wednesday afternoon at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
WINTHROP (5-8, 0-0 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
DUQUESNE (10-3, 0-0 A10)
STAT LEADERS
- Dae Dae Grant (21 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals)
- Quincy McGriff (15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists)
- Jimmy Clark III (15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals)
FIRST HALF
- The Dukes were on the board first with a layup by Tre Williams
- That was the start of a 20-0 run to begin the game for Duquesne, eight of which came off turnovers
- Two free throws by Kelton Talford stopped the run at the 12:37 mark
- Duquesne responded with a 9-0 run behind threes from Quincy McGriff, Jimmy Clark III and Dae Dae Grant
- Following that quick run the Eagles put together a run of their own, outscoring the Dukes 12-3 over the next five minutes
- It started with a three by Sin'Cere McMahon and then he scored at the rim off a pass from Cory Hightower
- Harrison scored the last five points of the run with a three and two free throws
- The Eagles did outscore the Dukes 19-14 to trail 43-21 at the break
SECOND HALF
- Toneari Lane came out and buried a three to start the second half, only to be matched immediately by a three from McGriff
- Duquesne pushed its lead to 51-28, but the Eagles chipped away to trail 56-39
- They used an 8-0 to help try and close the gap as Toneari Lane hit back-to-back threes and then Hightower converted two free throws
- Winthrop cut the deficit to 13 points with 10:11 to play after Talford scored at the rim
- Trailing 64-46, Hightower followed his own miss behind the arc and dribbled to the hole and scored as he was fouled with 7:41 left on the clock
- Hightower knocked down the free throw to complete the three-point play to trail 64-49
- That was as close as the Eagles would get the remainder of the game
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop shot 38 percent for the game, 22 percent behind the arc (5-for-23) and 10-of-11 at the foul line
- The Eagles began the game 0-for-12 from the floor and 3-of-19 before knocking down 18-of-37 the rest of the way
- Eagles committed 14 turnovers that led to 23 points for the Dukes and the Eagles scored seven points off nine turnovers
- The rebounding battle favored Duquesne 40-33, which also had a 16-11 edge on the offensive glass
- Winthrop had a 13-9 advantage in second chance points
- Kelton Talford led three Eagles in double-figures as he scored 13 points and hauled in 11 rebounds to record his sixth career double-double
NOTABLES
- Hightower surpassed the 1,500 career point mark and now has 1,511 points in 125 career games (120 starts)
- This game concludes the non-conference schedule as the Eagles will open Big South play on Dec. 29
- The Eagles were challenged with a strong non-conference slate as its D1 opponents are a combined 65-31 (68%) as all but two teams have a winning record
- Talford's double-double was his third of the season and first in the last eight games he's played
- Harrison's five assists tied his season-high and he's now had three or more assists in five straight games
- Chase Claxton missed his second consecutive contest
UP NEXT
Winthrop is off until after Christmas when it returns to the court on Thursday, Dec. 29 in Spartanburg, S.C. to take on USC Upstate at 5 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED
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