Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop men's basketball is set to take on Coastal Carolina for its third road contest of the season, facing its old Big South Conference rival on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 3:30 p.m.
WINTHROP (5-3, 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. |
10.8 |
3.8 |
1.3 |
1.6 |
In double-figures in 6-of-8 games / 2nd on team with 13 steals and 37 free throw attempts |
| G |
11 |
Kasen Harrison |
6-2 |
Sr.. |
10.1 |
3.4 |
3.9 |
1.9 |
'23-24 Big South Preseason All-Conference / Double-figures in 19 of last 25 games / Closing in on 300 career assists (293) / 5 or more assists in five straight games / Scored a career-high 26 points in final game of '22-23 |
| F |
12 |
K.J. Doucet |
6-7 |
Jr. |
12.1 |
3.1 |
1.9 |
0.6 |
Season-high 16 points in the win over IUPUI / In double-figures 5-of-7 games / 23 points away from 1,000 in career |
| F |
33 |
Chase Claxton |
6-7 |
Sr. |
2.5 |
1.9 |
0.1 |
0.6 |
Played 100th career game last season and has played in 124 over career / 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. |
13.6 |
3.9 |
0.5 |
0.6 |
Posted 11th career 20-point game with 21 against Brevard on 8-of-10 shooting / Became 27th Eagle to score 1,000 career points / '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 VERSUS COASTAL CAROLINA/SUN BELT OPPONENTS
- This marks the 86th meeting all-time between Winthrop and Coastal Carolina
- The Chanticleers have won three straight meetings and lead the all-time series 45-40
- Two of the last three games have been decided by five or fewer points
- In the last meeting on Dec. 3, 2022 the Eagles fell 86-81 at home
- Winthrop is 2-5 all-time against opponents from the Sun Belt
WINTHROP
- Eagles have won four of their last five games
- Leads the Big South Conference in defensive scoring at 63.1, ranking 33rd nationally
- Only Big South team to not allow 80 points or more to an opponent
- Have attempted 79 more free throws than opponents and have made (161) more than opponents have attempted (141)
- In the win over Bob Jones the Eagles dished out 22 assists, the most in a single-game since they had 24 in an 83-54 win over High Point in 2021
- Kelton Talford leads the team in scoring (13.6 ppg) and is 1-of-4 Eagles averaging double-figures
- Talford reached 1,000 career points on Nov. 28 vs. Bob Jones
- Talford is now the 67th player in Big South history to score 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds
- Also averaging double-figure scoring is K.J. Doucet (12.1), Nick Johnson (10.8), and Kasen Harrison (10.1)
- Harrison has dished out five or more assists in five straight games after only five combined in the first three games
- Entering the 2023-24 season the Eagles had the 31st best home winning percentage among Division I programs over the last 10 seasons
- 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
- This marks the 1,386th game in program history and hold an all-time record of 785-600
- Winthrop has more wins than any other Big South school (229) since the 2012-13 season and the closest is Gardner-Webb at 195
- Mark Prosser starts his third season as head coach of the Eagles (7th head coach in program history) and holds a 43-29 recover over the first two years
- Prosser is coaching in his 191st career game and 163rd 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 124 total
- Is 35 rebounds away from 500 in career
- Is four blocks away from 100 and 10 steals away from 100 in career
- Kasen Harrison
- Closing in on 300 career assists (293) and moved past 900 points (913)
- In the final game of the 2022-23 season Harrison hit his 200th career free throw
- Kelton Talford
- Surpassed 500 career rebounds (522) vs. Drexel
- He is the 104th player in Big South Conference history to reach 500 career rebounds
- Reached 1,000 career points vs. Bob Jones and is now the 67th player in league history to join the 1,000/500 club
- 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 (145) and 123 of those have come as an Eagle
- His 123 threes rank 17th 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 798 career points and is 42 rebounds away from 400
- Is four assists away from 100 and 15 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 six games away from 100
- K.J. Doucet
- Surpassed 900 career points after 12 points at Clemson and is now seven 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
Winthrop returns home on Tuesday, Dec. 5 to take on Queens 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).
