Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop heads to Gardner-Webb for a key midweek matchup, Wednesday night at Paul Porter Arena.
WINTHROP (17-8, 10-2 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
11 |
Drew Buggs |
6-3 |
Gr. |
5.2 |
2.7 |
4.1 |
0.7 |
Dished out season-high 8 assists in win over N.C. A&T / Hit game-winning jumper with 4 seconds left in win over Campbell / Is approaching 600 career assists (589) / Career assist leader at Hawaii |
| G |
5 |
Patrick Good |
6-0 |
Gr. |
10.4 |
3.2 |
0.7 |
1.1 |
Hit game-tying three to force OT in win at Upstate / Had 31 points in road win at Presbyterian / Season-high 33 points at Washington State / 3rd in Big South in 3pt field goals per game / 257 career threes |
| G/F |
3 |
Micheal Anumba |
6-4 |
Sr. |
7.4 |
3.9 |
1.4 |
0.4 |
Averaging 8.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg in Big South games / Made 100th career start vs. Asheville and scored a team-high 18 points / Recently reached 400 career rebounds |
| F |
12 |
Cory Hightower |
6-7 |
R-Jr. |
11.2 |
5.9 |
2.0 |
1.2 |
Tied for team-lead with 17 points in win over PC (Feb. 12) / Posted 2nd double-double this season with 13 points, 11 rebounds vs. Asheville / Surpassed 600 career rebounds (654) / Hit game-winning three vs. Mercer with 4.2 seconds left in OT |
| F |
30 |
D.J. Burns Jr. |
6-9 |
R-Jr. |
15.8 |
4.5 |
1.0 |
0.6 |
Became 27th 1,000 point scorer in program history in the win at Hampton / Leads Big South in field goal percentage (.619), 7th in NCAA D1 / 20 games in double-figures / 3rd in Big South in scoring / Preseason Big South Player of the Year |
THE SERIES
Series Record: 27-11
Series Streak: W4
Record at Paul Porter Arena: 9-7
Streak at Winthrop Coliseum: L1
Prosser vs. Gardner-Webb: 2-0
SERIES HISTORY
- Winthrop and Gardner-Webb meet for the second time this season and 39th overall
- In the first meeting the Eagles held on for a 64-62 victory at home
- Eagles have won four straight in the series
OVER THE LAST THREE GAMES
- Averaging 64.0 ppg and allowing 55.3 ppg (+8.7 scoring margin)
- Shooting 51 percent and holding opponents to 38 percent from the floor
- Holding a 35.3 – 28.7 advantage on the glass
- D.J. Burns (16.0), Cory Hightower (12.5) and Kelton Talford (12.0) are all averaging double-figures in that span
AT A GLANCE
- With four games left in the regular season, Winthrop and Gardner-Webb meet in a key matchup in the South Division
- A win for the Eagles will put them two games up in the South Division and a loss would draw Gardner-Webb even with the Eagles with three games to play
- Winthrop is second in the league in scoring (74.4 ppg) as it faces the league's second-best defense in Gardner-Webb (63.2 ppg)
- Winthrop is the league's top shooting team (.483) while Gardner-Webb is first in field goal percentage defense (.386)
- Eagles enter the game having won four straight and the Runnin' Bulldogs are undefeated since falling to the Eagles on Jan. 22 (Six straight wins)
WINTHROP
- In the 12 conference games the Eagles and opponents have combined for 71 ties and 68 lead changes
- Burns Jr. continues to lead the team in scoring at 15.8 ppg (3rd in the Big South)
- Burns Jr. leads the Big South in field goal percentage (.619) and 7th nationally
- In the win over Hampton he surpassed 1,000 career points, becoming the 7th Eagle to score 1,000 before their senior season
- Talford is posted a career-high 22 points in the win over Radford on Feb. 9, his fourth league game in double-figures this season
- Cory Hightower, who also missed the last two games, is third on the team in scoring at 11.2 ppg and leads in rebounding at 5.9 per game (7th in league)
- Patrick Good is third on the team at 10.4 ppg and recently surpassed 1,000 career points
- Good put up his second 30-point game of the season with 31 in the win at Presbyterian (Both 30-point games have come on the road)
- Good is tied for third in the conference in threes per game (2.4)
- Sin'Cere McMahon has been in double-figures in three of the last five games
- The last two seasons the Eagles have finish second in the country in bench scoring and have averaged 42.0 bench points per game this season
- This year the team is averaging 28.8 ppg from the bench, which ranks 21st in the country (Cornell leads at 36.7 ppg through 20 games)
- Earned the program's first ever win over a PAC-12 opponent with the win at Washington (Nov. 27)
- The win against Campbell gave the Winthrop program 750 wins all-time and was the 450th all-time home victory
- Coming off back-to-back Big South Conference Championships
- Last season the Eagles posted the best winning percentage (.920) in the history of the program after opening the season 16-0
- Finished the season receiving votes in the Top 25 poll of the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll
- Winthrop has more wins than any other Big South school (203) since the 2012-13 season
- Mark Prosser starts his first season as head coach of the Eagles, the 7th head coach in program history
- Burns Jr., the 2021-22 Big South Conference Preseason Player of the Year, is the team's top returning scorer at 10.1 ppg
BIG SOUTH AWARDS
- D.J. Burns Jr. –Player of the Week (Dec. 27 / Feb. 7)
- Scored 20 points in the only game the Eagles played (vs. Mississippi State)
- Finished the game 9-of-11 from the field
- Posted back-to-back 20 point games for the first time in career
- It was his 4th game this season with 20 or more points
- Earned his second Player of the Week honors after helping the Eagles in wins over N.C. A&T and Hampton
- Averaged 19.0 ppg and 6.5 rpg while shooting 58 percent from the floor
- Patrick Good – Co-Player of the Week (Nov. 29)
- Averaged 25.5 points, 6.5 rebounds in two games (at Washington State/at Washington)
- Poured in a season-high 33 points in the loss at Washington State
- Against the Cougars he tied his career-high of 11 threes (11-of-19)
- Finished the week 16-of-26 from the floor (62%)
- Scored 18 points (15 in the second half) to help the Eagles earn the win at Washington
400 WINS
On Dec. 1 against Hartford, the Eagles earned an 82-75 victory for the 400
th win all-time inside the Winthrop Coliseum. The Eagles are now 406-156 (.719 winning percentage) in 40 seasons playing in the Winthrop Coliseum. The Winthrop Coliseum opened its doors in 1982 and played the first game on Nov. 17 in a 61-60 loss to Lander. Eagles have won at least 11 or more games in each of the last nine seasons.
20TH ANNIVERSARY
It's been 20 years since the 2001-02 Winthrop men's basketball team overcame a 2-5 start to capture a fourth straight Big South Conference Championship. The Eagles struggled in their season opener with an overtime win against Lander, 60-58. The Eagles went on to lose seven of the next 10 games as they entered conference play with a 4-7 record and fell 69-48 at Radford to open league play. That game seemed to have awakened the Eagles as they went on to win 10 of the next 13 games to earn the top seed for the conference tournament. The entire tournament took place in the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Va. as the Eagles opened with a 66-59 win over Liberty in the quarterfinals. Winthrop went on a defeat Elon in the semifinals and then left no doubt in the title game with a 70-48 victory over High Point. Greg Lewis was named the Big South Tournament MVP and Pierre Wooten also named to the All-Tournament Team. Eagles went on to the NCAA Tournament to face a loaded Duke squad, which was the number-one seed in the South Regional.
TUNE IN TO THE EAGLES ALL SEASON LONG
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
Eagles head to Asheville, N.C. for their final regular season road game when they take on UNC Asheville on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 4:30 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN3.
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).
