Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop wraps-up its conference road schedule Saturday afternoon with a key matchup at UNC Asheville.
WINTHROP (18-8, 11-2 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
11 |
Drew Buggs |
6-3 |
Gr. |
5.4 |
2.7 |
4.2 |
0.7 |
Averaging 9.5 ppg, 5.5 apg over last two games / 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 (595) / Career assist leader at Hawaii |
| G |
5 |
Patrick Good |
6-0 |
Gr. |
10.6 |
3.3 |
0.7 |
1.1 |
Averaging 13.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg on the road in leagu eplay / 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 / Tied for 2nd in Big South in 3pt field goals per game / 261 career threes |
| G/F |
3 |
Micheal Anumba |
6-4 |
Sr. |
7.6 |
4.0 |
1.5 |
0.4 |
Averaging 8.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg in Big South games / Made 100th career start vs. Asheville and scored a team-high 18 points / Recently reached 400 career rebounds / 114 career appearances, 111 starts |
| F |
12 |
Cory Hightower |
6-7 |
R-Jr. |
11.5 |
5.6 |
1.9 |
1.1 |
Averaging 16.5 ppg over last two games, leading team in scoring both games / Became 178th player to score 1,000 points in the Big South (has 1267 career points) / Surpassed 600 career rebounds (655) / Hit game-winning three vs. Mercer with 4.2 seconds left in OT |
| F |
30 |
D.J. Burns Jr. |
6-9 |
R-Jr. |
15.5 |
4.5 |
1.0 |
0.6 |
Became 27th 1,000 point scorer in program history in the win at Hampton, 5th to do so before senior season / 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: 46-37
Series Streak: W1
Record at Kimmel Arena: 2-6
Streak at Kimmel Arena: W1
Prosser vs. UNC Asheville: 4-1
SERIES HISTORY
- These teams met earlier this season on Jan. 13 on ESPNU and the Eagles prevailed 86-80 in overtime
- Eagles outscored the Bulldogs 11-4 in the extra period as Micheal Anumba led four players in double-figures with 18
- This marks the 84th meeting all-time as the Eagles hold a 46-37 lead in the all-time series
- With this matchup, the Eagles will have faced the Bulldogs more than any other opponent in program history (Currently have 83 meetings with Asheville and Coastal Carolina)
- Eagles are 2-6 all-time at Kimmel Arena vs. Asheville and 13-22 all-time in road meetings
OVER THE LAST THREE GAMES
- Eagles have averaged 68.0 ppg while holding opponents to 59.7 ppg
- Winthrop has shot 50 percent and opponents held to 40 percent
- Dominating the glass with a +6.7 rebound margin
- Cory Hightower leads three Eagles in double-figures at 13.7 ppg while D.J. Burns Jr. is averaging 11.0 and Kelton Talford 10.0 ppg
- Sin'Cere McMahon has six steals in the last three games and is 9-of-12 at the foul line
AT A GLANCE
- Eagles enter the game with a chance to claim at least a share of the South Division title with a win
- With three games remaining Winthrop's magic number is two
- Winthrop enters the contest on a five-game win streak while Asheville comes into the game winners of three straight
- Eagles are 5-2 on the road in conference play and the Bulldogs are 2-4 at home vs. league opponents
- Winthrop and Asheville are 2nd and 3rd in the league in scoring respectively
- The Eagles are averaging 74.6 ppg and shooting a league-best .483 from the field while the Bulldogs are averaging 74.3 ppg and 3rd in the league in field goal percentage (.456)
- Eagles rank 2nd in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.364) and facing the league's top defensive team on the perimeter as Asheville holds opponents to .273 behind the arc
WINTHROP
- In the 13 conference games the Eagles and opponents have combined for 73 ties and 71 lead changes
- In the first meeting with Asheville the score was tied nine times and there were 19 lead changes
- Has at least 11 league wins for a third straight season and the 15th time in program history
- Have won 23 of the last 26 games on the road in league play
- Burns Jr. continues to lead the team in scoring at 15.5 ppg (4th 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
- He is the 27th Eagle to reach 1,000 career points, the 27th player in program history to do so and the 5th player to do so before their senior season
- Burns Jr. is among 10 players in program history to score 1,000 career points in three seasons or less
- Patrick Good broke out of his scoring slump and posted 15 points to help the Eagles earn the win at Gardner-Webb
- Good is third on the team in scoring at 10.6 ppg behind Cory Hightower in second at 11.5 ppg
- 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 2nd in the conference in threes per game (2.5)
- Sin'Cere McMahon has been in double-figures in four of the last six games and coming off 11 points at Gardner-Webb
- 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 28.9 ppg from the bench, which ranks 15th in the country (Cornell leads at 35.9 ppg through 21 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 (204) 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
Winthrop returns home for its final two games of the regular season, beginning Thursday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. when it hosts USC Upstate on ESPNU.
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).
