Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop pulled away over the final nine minutes of the game to earn an 81-67 victory over South Carolina State, Tuesday evening in a non-conference matchup at the Winthrop Coliseum.
WINTHROP (5-5, 0-0 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
- Kelton Talford (28 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal)
- Chase Claxton (14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3 steals)
- Cory Hightower (11 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block)
SOUTH CAROLINA ST. (1-9, 0-0 MEAC)
STAT LEADERS
- Jordan Simpson (12 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals)
- D.J. Bates (11 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal)
- Rakeim Gary (9 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals
FIRST HALF
- Winthrop led 3-0 in the early going, but a stick back by Dallas James and a Jordan Simpson dunk off the fast break had the Bulldogs in front 4-3
- The teams traded leads over the first 14 minutes and the Eagles regained the lead at 22-20 after two free throws from Kelton Talford
- The Eagles then forced a turnover as Chase Claxton came away with the steal that led to an Xavier McKelvy corner three in transition
- A Kasen Harrison short jumper in the paint at the 4:59 mark put the Eagles up 27-21
- Winthrop pushed the lead to seven points on a couple of occasions before the Bulldogs made it a five point game with 3:04 left in the half
- The Eagles closed out the half on a 6-2 run to hold a 38-29 advantage at the break
SECOND HALF
- Rakeim Gary scored the first points of the second half as he knocked down a jumper, only to be answered by Claxton with a corner three and a double-digit lead
- After a miss by D.J. Bates on the other end, the Eagles came back with a bucket inside from Talford for a 43-31 lead
- Simpson drilled a three to make it a single-digit deficit only to have Sin'Cere McMahon knock down a three to push the lead back to 12
- Winthrop mostly held a double-figure lead over the first eight minutes and led by 12 with 11:57 to play
- A steal by Bates led to a South Carolina State layup on the other end by Rakeim to spark an 8-0 run that was capped off by a Bates jumper in the lane to trail 59-55 with 9:20 left
- The Eagles had an answer as they fed Talford inside again for a short jumper in the paint
- That started a 9-0 run that pushed the lead back to double-digits and a 68-55 lead with 5:56 remaining
- Claxton completed the run with a layup as Talford found Claxton under the basket and he quickly jumped and dropped in a short jumper
- Winthrop held its double-figure lead the rest of the way as it held the Bulldogs to 6-for-20 from the floor over the final 9:25
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- In the second half the Eagles shot 64 percent from the floor, going 8-for-10 from the floor in the final 9:02
- Winthrop shot 59 percent for the game while holding South Carolina State to 41 percent
- The Eagles were 15-for-22 at the foul line with the Bulldogs were 7-of-13
- The rebounding battle favored the Eagles 39-27 and second chance points were even (10-10)
- The teams combined for 82 points in the paint as the Eagles had a slight edge of 42-40
- Talford led the Eagles with a career-high 28 points and grabbed nine boards to just miss a double-double
- Claxton had his first double-figure game of the season with 14 points and filled up the stat sheet with seven rebounds, a career-high five blocks and added three steals
- Cory Hightower posted his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds
NOTABLES
- Talford outdid his career-best by five points and reached nine rebounds in a game for the fourth time this season
- This was the second straight win over South Carolina State in the all-time series
- Eagles have now won 32-of-34 at home
- In addition to his career-high in blocks with five, Claxton also hit multiple threes in a game for the second time in his career
UP NEXT
Winthrop hits the road for the next four contests beginning with Furman on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 4 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).
