Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop is set to host the Rock Hill Classic Nov. 17-19 at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center. Winthrop will open the event on Friday, Nov. 17 against Holy Cross at 5 p.m.
ROCK HILL CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 17
Winthrop vs. Holy Cross, 5:00 p.m. |
Live Stats |
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IUPUI vs. Elon, 7:30 p.m. |
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Saturday, Nov. 18
Winthrop vs. IUPUI, 5:00 p.m. |
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Elon vs. Holy Cross, 7:30 p.m. |
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Sunday, Nov. 19
IUPUI vs. Holy Cross, 12:00 p.m. |
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Winthrop vs. Elon, 2:30 p.m. |
Live Stats |
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SERIES HISTORY
- This is the first time Winthrop and Holy Cross have squared off
- The Eagles are 1-0 all-time against IUPUI, winning the only meeting taking place nearly 28 years ago to the day
- Winthrop opened the 2005 season vs. IUPUI in the first game of the 44th Blue & Gold Classic at Marquette and won the game 73-50
- Eagles and the Phoenix meet for the 15th time
- Eagles lead the all-time series 11-3, but fell 63-61 the last time they met in 2021 at Elon
WINTHROP
- Eagles are coming off a 74-72 home loss to Drexel on Nov. 11
- The last six times the Eagles dropped a home game they won the next contest (dating back to the 2019-20 season)
- In the game, Kelton Talford joined the 500 career rebound club and now has 502
- He is the 104th player in Big South Conference history to reach 500 career rebounds
- Talford is second on the team in scoring at 14.3 ppg while Kasen Harrison leads the way at 14.7 ppg
- K.J. Doucet is the only other Eagle average double-figures at 12.7 ppg
- The margin of victory (+55) in the win over Brevard was the most since beating Mars Hill by 54 on Nov. 21, 2017
- Winthrop returns four starters, a core of reserves and transfers to round out this year's roster
- Highlighting the returners are Talford, Sin'Cere McMahon and Harrison who were all three Big South All-Conference preseason selections
- The Eagles have a veteran lineup with a large amount of experience, starting with the return of Micheal Anumba from injury (missed 2022-23 season) and over four years he played in 120 games with 117 starts
- Voted to finish third in the Big South Conference preseason poll, two votes behind Radford
- Winthrop has more wins than any other Big South school (225) since the 2012-13 season and the closest is Gardner-Webb at 192
- Mark Prosser starts his third season as head coach of the Eagles (7th head coach in program history) and holds a 39-28 recover over the first two years
- Prosser is coaching in his 186th career game and 158th at the NCAA D1 level
- 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
LOOKING BACK AT 2022-23
- Talford led the team in scoring and rebounding in 2022-23 as he earned First Team All-Conference honors
- McMahon was third on the team in scoring at 13.4 ppg and was second in three-point field goals made (73)
- Harrison became the team's starting point guard after six games and finished the season averaging 11.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg and 3.8 apg while shooting 48 percent from the floor
- Chase Claxton, who started all 29 games he played last year, also returns after setting career-highs in assists, blocks and steals
CAREER MILESTONES
- Chase Claxton
- Played in his 100th of his career last season and has 116 total
- Is 46 rebounds away from 500 in career
- Is six blocks away from 100 and 13 steals away from 100 in career
- Kasen Harrison
- Reached 250 career assists (267) and is now 24 points away from 900
- In the final game of the 2022-23 season Harrison hit his 200th career free throw
- Kelton Talford
- Surpassed 500 career rebounds (502) vs. Drexel
- He is the 104th player in Big South Conference history to reach 500 career rebounds
- Is 64 points away from 1,000 in his career
- Has 11 career double-doubles after his 20 points, 12 rebounds in the final game of 2022-23
- Sin'Cere McMahon
- Surpassed 100 career three-point baskets (132) and 110 of those have come as an Eagle
- His 110 threes rank 23rd on Winthrop's all-time list
- Became the 27th player in program history with 100 or more threes in a single-season
- Scored career-high 35 points at UNC Asheville, the 4th most by an Eagle in a conference road game
- Nick Johnson
- Sitting at 741 career points and is 61 rebounds away from 400
- Is 12 assists away from 100 and 22 steals away from 100
- Alex Timmerman
- Moved past the 400 career rebound mark after hauling in five vs. Drexel
- Is 14 assists away from 100 and is 12 games away from 100
- K.J. Doucet
- Surpassed 900 career points after 12 points at Clemson and is now 66 points away from 1,000
SINGLE-GAME TICKETS ARE ON SALE
Fans can purchase single-game tickets for all home contests for the 2023-24 season by visiting
www.winthropeagles.com/basketballtickets or call the ticket office at (803) 323-2345.
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
Eagles will hit the road for a trip to Athens, Ga. to take on Georgia on Friday, Nov. 24 at 5 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 (/WinthropMBB).
