Rock Hill, S.C. – Kelton Talford scored a game-high 21 points to lead Winthrop to an 82-72 victory over Presbyterian College, Wednesday evening inside the Winthrop Coliseum.
WINTHROP (7-9, 2-1 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE (5-11, 1-2 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
- Terrell Ard Jr. (18 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 steals)
- Jalen Forrest (17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists)
- Trevon Reddish-Rhone (10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal)
FIRST HALF
- Owen McCormack knocked down a triple on the first possession of the game to give PC the early lead, but it didn't last long
- Kelton Talford scored on the Eagles first possession and was fouled in the process as he converted the free throw to tie the game
- The three-point play jump started a 7-0 run that also featured a drive and score from Kasen Harrison and another basket inside by Talford
- Leading 7-5, Harrison found Howard Fleming Jr. on the wing for a three as the Eagles doubled their lead with 16:24 on the clock
- The Fleming Jr. three trigged a flurry of threes in the first half as the Eagles finished the first 20 minutes 9-of-12 from downtown
- The lead to double digits a minute later when a Fleming Jr. steal led to Cory Hightower knocking down a runner in the paint and then drilling a three to lead 15-5
- PC cut the deficit to 18-11 after two free throws from Jalen Forrest, but Sin'Cere McMahon proceeded to knocked down a three followed by triples from Fleming Jr. and Hightower to lead 27-11 nearly midway through the half
- Trevon Reddish-Rhone's stick back with 8.5 seconds left made it a 10 point game, but the Eagles knocked down their ninth three of the half when Harrison took a Hightower pass on an inbound and knocked down a quick three as time ran out
- Winthrop shot 79 percent from the floor in the first half while PC shot 48 percent
SECOND HALF
- Talford scored the first points of the second half with a short jumper as the Eagles pushed their lead to 18 points at 58-40 after Hightower scored inside off a feed from Talford
- Eagles pushed their lead to 20 points at 63-43 after a three from Toneari Lane, but it was short lived as McCormack knocked down another three
- Winthrop had its largest lead with 6:25 to play in the game as a three-point play from Harrison made it a 24-point advantage at 78-54
- The Blue Hose finished the game on an 11-0 run as it finished 48 percent in the second half while the Eagles shot 41 percent
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop made 10 of its first 11 shots in the game, which included knocking down its first five threes as it finished the game shooting 59 percent
- PC finished at 48 percent, but 5-for-17 behind the arc while the Eagles were 12-of-24
- Eagles scored 20 points off 14 turnovers and the Blue Hose managed 13 off 10 Winthrop miscues
- The Blue Hose had a 37-26 advantage on the glass and finished with 20 offensive rebounds that led to 22 second chance points
- PC had 44 points in the paint while the Eagles finished with 36
- At the foul line the Blue Hose were 11-for-22 while Winthrop finished 10-of-13
- Talford led four Eagles in double-figures with his fourth 20-point game of the season (21 points)
- Fleming Jr. scored a season-high 16 points as he knocked down a career-best five threes
- Hightower chipped in with 13 points while Harrison added 12 points as both of them led the team with five assists each
NOTABLES
- The 79 percent shooting in the first half was a season-high for the Eagles and the first time since the team shot the same percentage in the second half of the 80-53 win over Campbell in the 2021 Big South Conference title game
- This was the 8th straight win over PC in the all-time series and 10th straight over PC at home
- Have now won 10 straight home regular season contests vs. Big South opponents
- Eagles are now 6-1 at home on the year and have won 32 of the last 34 at the Winthrop Coliseum
- Chase Claxton played in his 100th collegiate game
UP NEXT
Off back-to-back wins the Eagles head to Farmville, Va. on Saturday, Jan. 7 to take on Longwood at 4 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED
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