Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop is riding a three-game winning streak heading into the Thanksgiving holiday and will look to extend it with a trip to Athens, Ga. to take on Georgia on Friday, Nov. 24.
WINTHROP (4-2, 0-0 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS (stats from 2022-23) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
10 |
Nick Johnson |
6-4 |
Sr. |
11.2 |
3.7 |
1.0 |
1.8 |
In double-figures the last five games / Tied for team-lead with 11 steals / tied for second on team with 26 free throw attempts |
| G |
11 |
Kasen Harrison |
6-2 |
Sr.. |
9.5 |
3.5 |
3.5 |
1.8 |
'23-24 Big South Preseason All-Conference / Double-figures in 18 of last 22 games / Closing in on 300 career assists (283) / Scored a career-high 26 points in final game of '22-23 / Hit two game-winning buckets with under 8 seconds left in '22-23 |
| F |
12 |
K.J. Doucet |
6-7 |
Jr. |
11.8 |
3.8 |
1.3 |
0.3 |
Season-high 16 points in the win over IUPUI / 33 points away from 1,000 in career |
| F |
33 |
Chase Claxton |
6-7 |
Sr. |
3.0 |
1.5 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
Played 100th career game last season and has played in 122 over career / has started all six games / Led team with 33 steals and 36 blocks in '22-23 / Averaging 1.6 offensive boards per game in career |
| F |
4 |
Kelton Talford |
6-7 |
Sr. |
14.0 |
3.7 |
0.6 |
0.7 |
Posted 11th career 20-point game with 21 against Brevard on 8-of-10 shooting / Is 19-of-20 at the foul line in the last two games / '23-24 Big South Preseason All-Conference / '22-23 Big South All-Conference First Team / led team in scoring and rebounding in '22-23 |
SERIES HISTORY
- This marks the 8th meeting all-time between the Eagles and Bulldogs
- Georgia leads the all-time series 6-1 and has won the last three meetings
- The two teams last met on Dec. 5, 2017 in Athens as the Bulldogs won 87-72
WINTHROP
- Eagles have won three straight games after earning wins in three days at the Rock Hill Classic last weekend
- Opened the event on Friday with an 89-51 victory over Holy Cross
- One of the things that stood out the most was the balanced scoring by the Eagles with five players averaging in double-figures and averaging 80.3 ppg as a team
- The Eagles also turned in impressive defensive numbers, allowing just 60.7 ppg over the three games
- Winthrop now has five players averaging double-figures on the season led by Kelton Talford at 14.0 ppg
- Talford joined the 500 career rebound club and now has 513
- He is the 104th player in Big South Conference history to reach 500 career rebounds
- Joining Talford in double-figure scoring average is K.J. Doucet (11.8), Nick Johnson (11.2), Noah Van Bibber (11.0), and Sin'Cere McMahon (10.0)
- Van Bibber posted a career-high 22 points in the win over Holy Cross, becoming the first Eagle freshman with a 20-point game since D.J. Burns Jr. with 23on Jan. 30, 2020 at Charleston Southern
- Eagles have attempted 67 more free throws than their opponents over the first six games and are shooting 72 percent at the line
- Winthrop is ranked 7th nationally in free throws made and 8th in free throw attempts
- 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 (228) since the 2012-13 season and the closest is Gardner-Webb at 193
- Mark Prosser starts his third season as head coach of the Eagles (7th head coach in program history) and holds a 42-28 record
- Prosser is coaching in his 189th career game and 161st 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
SEASON HONORS/AWARDS
- Noah Van Bibber (Big South Conference Freshman of the Week – Nov. 20)
- Came off the bench vs. Holy Cross and scored a career-high 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting
- Was 6-for-8 behind the arc and 4-for-4 at the foul line
- Finished the Rock Hill Classic averaging 12.7 ppg, 9-of-16 from three and a perfect 7-for-7 at the foul line
CAREER MILESTONES
- Chase Claxton
- Played in his 100th of his career last season and has 122 total
- Is 36 rebounds away from 500 in career
- Is five blocks away from 100 and 12 steals away from 100 in career
- Kasen Harrison
- Closing in on 300 career assists (283) and is now 11 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 (513) vs. Drexel
- He is the 104th player in Big South Conference history to reach 500 career rebounds
- Is 23 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 (140) and 118 of those have come as an Eagle
- His 118 threes rank 20th 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 779 career points and is 50 rebounds away from 400
- Is eight assists away from 100 and 17 steals away from 100
- Alex Timmerman
- Moved past the 400 career rebound mark after hauling in five vs. Drexel
- Is 10 assists away from 100 and is eight games away from 100
- K.J. Doucet
- Surpassed 900 career points after 12 points at Clemson and is now 33 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
After facing the Bulldogs Friday night, the Eagles will have three days between games as they'll host Bob Jones University on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 6:30 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).
