Rock Hill, S.C. – Kelton Talford came off the bench for a career-high 22 points to lead Winthrop to a 58-48 victory over Radford, Wednesday evening inside the Winthrop Coliseum.
WINTHROP (16-8, 9-2 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
RADFORD (7-16, 3-8 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
- Rashun Williams (13 points, 3 rebounds)
- Jeffers (10 points, 3 steals)
- Stapleton (9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals)
FIRST HALF
- D.J. Burns Jr. scored the first four points of the game for an early 4-0 lead
- Eagles held the Highlanders scoreless the first four minutes and 20 seconds until Bryan Hart knocked down a pull-up jumper
- Winthrop led 9-4 following two free throws from Kelton Talford with 13:54 left
- Rashun Williams dropped in a three from the wing to make it a two-point deficit at the 13:40 mark
- The game was tied 17-17, when Talford scored at the rim off a feed from Micheal Anumba
- Eagles outscored the Highlanders 6-1 over the final 3:22 for a 23-18 lead at the half
- Winthrop shot 40 percent from the floor, but was 0-for-7 behind the arc
- The Eagles held Radford to 25 percent shooting and 1-for-9 from three
SECOND HALF
- Williams opened up the second half with a jumper to make it a three-point game
- Winthrop pushed its lead to seven at 29-22 with 16:40 to play after Drew Buggs drove down the right side of the lane and finished with a layup
- Radford got it back to five but a score inside from Talford and then steal by Buggs that led to a Talford finish on the other end forced a Radford timeout as the Eagles led 33-24 at the 15:19 mark
- Winthrop led 37-29 after a Buggs runner, but the Highlanders answered with a 7-0 run to pull within a point with 10:31 left on a corner three from Bryan Hart
- The game was tied 38-38 with 9:10 remaining, but a layup by Talford broke the tie 25 seconds later
- Neither team scored over the next two minutes until Cory Hightower drilled a three
- After getting a defensive stop, Hightower delivered again with a three to put the Eagles on top 46-38 with 6:14 left
- Anumba pushed the lead to double-digits with 3:59 to play as he drove to the basket and scored
- Eagles shot 61 percent from the floor in the second half, 12-of-15 inside the arc
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Eagles finished the game shooting 51 percent and held Radford to 35 percent
- Eagles were just 2-for-15 from three and the Highlanders finished 3-for-18
- Winthrop doubled-up the Highlanders in the paint 40-20
- On the glass the Eagles finished with a 36-24 advantage
- Talford's 22 points led the bench as Hightower added eight points as the bench totaled 32 points
- Radford forced 19 Winthrop turnovers while committing 12 but the points off turnovers were nearly even as Radford had 13 and Winthrop 12
- Talford just missed a double-double had a team-high nine rebounds
NOTABLES
- The win is the 13th straight at home for the Eagles and have now won 24 of the last 25 at home
- It was also the third straight win overall and keeps the Eagles a game ahead in the South Division standings
- Eagles have now held three straight opponents to 57 or fewer points over the last three games
- Buggs inched closer to 1,000 career points as he now has 968
UP NEXT
Eagles are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 4:30 p.m. when they host Presbyterian College. The game is part of a doubleheader with the women's basketball team who will host Longwood 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).
