Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop welcomes Charleston Southern to the Winthrop Coliseum Wednesday night as both teams wrap-up the first half of the Big South Conference season.
WINTHROP (8-13, 3-5 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
0 |
Sin'Cere McMahon |
6-1 |
Jr. |
12.9 |
1.8 |
2.4 |
0.6 |
Returned to the starting lineup at Campbell and scored 23 points / In double-figures last three games / recently surpassed 100 career threes |
| G |
11 |
Kasen Harrison |
6-2 |
Jr.. |
10.4 |
2.1 |
3.4 |
1.4 |
Game-winning bucket with 7.3 seconds left vs. UNCA / Double-figures in 9 of last 11 games / Scored season-high 17 points at Furman / Just surpassed 200 career assists (212) / Averaging 12.0 ppg in league play |
| G/F |
12 |
Cory Hightower |
6-7 |
R-Sr. |
12.7 |
5.1 |
2.8 |
0.8 |
Scored season-high 25 points at LSU / Knocked down career-high 7 triples at LSU / Preseason All-Big South 1st Team / 1,599 career points, 786 career rebounds / reached 150 career threes in the game at High Point |
| F |
33 |
Chase Claxton |
6-7 |
Sr. |
5.3 |
4.7 |
1.0 |
1.4 |
Played 100th career game vs. PC / Leads team with 26 steals and 26 blocks / 4th in Big South with 1.4 blocks per game |
| F |
4 |
Kelton Talford |
6-7 |
Jr. |
16.2 |
8.3 |
0.7 |
0.7* |
4th 20-point game on the season vs. PC / Pulled down career-high 16 rebounds vs. Gardner-Webb / Career-high 28 points vs. S.C. State / Named to Cancun Challenge Mayan Division All-Tournament Team / Big South Player of the Week (Dec. 12) |
* (blocks per game)
SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: 50-26
Series Streak: W6
Record at Winthrop Coliseum: 26-10
Streak at Winthrop Coliseum: W2
Prosser vs. Charleston Southern: 2-0
THE MATCHUP
- This will be the 77th meeting all-time between the Eagles and Buccaneers
- Winthrop has won six straight meetings, including a 92-86 win in last year's matchup at the Winthrop Coliseum
- The last three meetings have been decided by six or fewer points
- The team that has led at the half in the last 26 meetings has gone on to win 23 times
- This game features the top two three-point shooting teams as both lead the league with 8.5 threes per game
WINTHROP
- Have dropped back-to-back games and looking to avoid the first three-game losing streak in conference play since 2017-18
- Lead the Big South in free throw percentage (.742) and tied for 1st in three-point field goals per game (8.5)
- Kelton Talford leads the team in scoring (16.2) and rebounding (8.3)
- Talford is 1-of-4 Eagles scoring in double-figures as Sin'Cere McMahon is second at 12.9 ppg, Cory Hightower is next at 12.7 ppg, while Kasen Harrison is averaging 10.4 ppg
- Talford is 4th in the league in scoring, McMahon is 10th, Hightower is 13th and Harrison is 24th
- Winthrop and High Point are the only Big South schools with three players in the Top 13 in scoring
- Talford leads the Big South in field goal percentage and 5th in the nation (.681)
- He also ranks among the top rebounders in the league, ranking 2nd with 8.3 per game
- McMahon is leads the Big South in free throw percentage (.893) and tied for 4th n threes per game (2.3)
- Toneari Lane is tied with McMahon for three-point field goals with 2.4 per game
- Harrison ranks 4th in the league in assists per game and 7th in steals per game (Is 1-of-3 players in the league ranked in the Top 7 in both categories
- Coming off a 23-9 campaign that saw the team reach the Big South Title game for a third straight season before falling to Longwood
- Have won 23 or more games in three straight seasons
- Return five players that saw action in 2021-22, two that sat out and welcome eight newcomers
- Voted to finish second in the Big South Conference preseason poll
- Finished the 2021-22 season ranked 14th in bench scoring (28.6 ppg)
- Cory Hightower was voted to the preseason All-Big South First Team
- Hightower is the top returning scorer at 11.8 ppg and led the team with 5.5 rpg last season
- Kelton Talford is the second-leading scorer returning at 8.5 ppg and was second on the team in rebounding at 4.8
- In the last four seasons the Eagles are a combined 78-32 (.709)
- Winthrop has more wins than any other Big South school (217) since the 2012-13 season
- Mark Prosser starts his second season as head coach of the Eagles, the 7th head coach in program history
- Led the team to 23 wins, the most by a first-year head coach in program history
- Prosser tied Towson State's Terry Traux (1992-93) for the most conference wins by a first-year coach with 14
CAREER MILESTONES
- Cory Hightower
- Closing in on 1,600 career points (1,599) and now has over 750 rebounds (786)
- In 114 career Big South games he has scored 1,336 points and has 669 rebounds
- As of Jan. 24 he's 58th on the active list for points and 36th in rebounds
- His 1,312 points rank 76th on the Big South All-Time scoring list
- He's 1-of-45 players in league history with 1,000 points and 600 rebounds
- If he reaches 700 career rebounds in the Big South he'll become the 34th player to do so in league history
- He is seven three-point baskets away from becoming the 26th player in program history with 100 career threes (has 150 in his entire career)
- Just the second player in league history to score 500 or more points for two different league schools
- Chase Claxton
- Played in his 100th of his career with his start against PC
- Reached 400 career rebounds in the game at High Point
- Kasen Harrison
- Reached 200 career assists (212) and recently passed 600 points (686)
- Kelton Talford
- Pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds to surpass 400 career rebounds and moved past 700 career points (730)
- Sin'Cere McMahon
- Surpassed 100 career three-point baskets (104) and 82 of those have come as an Eagle
BIG SOUTH WEEKLY HONORS
- Kelton Talford – Big South Player of the Week (Dec. 12)
- Averaged 23.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.0 apg and 1.0 spg in two games
- He posted a career-high 28 points in the win over S.C. State and then scored a team-high 19 points at Furman
- For the two games he shot 77 percent from the floor
TUNE IN TO THE EAGLES
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 will hit the road for its next contest as it remains in the Palmetto State as it heads to Clinton, S.C. to take on Presbyterian College on Saturday, Jan. 28 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).
