Rock Hill, S.C. -- After its four-game win streak was snapped at Xavier on Saturday, Winthrop gets a chance to bounce back quickly as it is back on the court Tuesday evening (Dec. 19) as it travels to South Carolina.
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WINTHROP (8-4, 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. |
10.4 |
3.5 |
1.8 |
1.6 |
Dished out career-high 5 assists at Little Rock / Ranks 4th in the Big South in steals per game (1.6) / Leads team 19 steals and 61 free throw attempts |
| G |
11 |
Kasen Harrison |
6-2 |
Sr.. |
11.1 |
3.4 |
4.0 |
1.5 |
23-24 Big South Preseason All-Conference / Double-figures in 21 of last 28 games / Passed 300 career assists (310) / 35 points away from 1,000 / Scored a career-high 26 points in final game of '22-23 |
| F |
12 |
K.J. Doucet |
6-7 |
Jr. |
14.1 |
3.7 |
1.6 |
0.6 |
Has scored 20 or more points in 3-of-4 games / In double-figures 10-of-12 games / Reached 1,000 career points in the game at Coastal |
| F |
33 |
Chase Claxton |
6-7 |
Sr. |
2.4 |
3.1 |
0.6 |
0.5 |
Played 100th career game last season and has played in 127 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. |
11.4 |
4.0 |
0.6 |
0.5 |
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 |
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SERIES HISTORY VERSUS SOUTH CAROLINA/SEC
- Winthrop and South Carolina meet for the 7th time and for the first time since Nov. 16, 2008
- The Gamecoks lead the series 6-0 and won the last meeting 86-63
- The Eagles are 0-1 this season and 3-33 all-time against SEC opponents
- Last win over an SEC opponent was Dec. 22, 2012 in a 74-67 victory at Auburn
WINTHROPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â
- Had a four-game winning streak snapped on Saturday at Xavier
- Eagles are 4-1 in the last five games and 8-2 over the last 10 contests
- Sitting at 8-4 for the 5th time in program history
- This is the third of four straight road games that will continue with trips to South Carolina and Florida State
- Eagles are 3-1 in the month of December and need one more win in the next three games to secure a winning record during the month
- It would be the first time since the 2018-19 season the Eagles posted winning records in November and December
- Coming off loss at Xavier, but have won non-conference road games at Coastal Carolina and Little Rock
- In the game at Coastal Carolina the Eagles grabbed 28 offensive rebounds, the most since having 26 on Jan. 29, 2021 against UNC Asheville
- Rank 3rd in the Big South Conference in defensive scoring at 68.1 ppg, scoring margin (+10.9), and steals per game (7.0)
- Have attempted 113 more free throws than opponents and have made (225) more than opponents have attempted (205)
- 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
- K.J. Doucet leads the team in scoring (14.1 ppg) and has 20 in three of the last four games (six straight games in double-figures)
- Doucet surpassed 1,000 career points in his collegiate career in the game at Coastal
- Kelton Talford is second on the team at 11.4 ppg followed by Kasen Harrison at 11.1 ppg and Nick Johnson at 10.4 ppg
- 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
- Harrison has dished out five or more assists in seven of the last eight 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 1,389th game in program history and hold an all-time record of 787-601
- Winthrop has more wins than any other Big South school (232) since the 2012-13 season and the closest is Radford at 199
- Mark Prosser starts his third season as head coach of the Eagles (7th head coach in program history) and holds a 46-30 recover over the first two years
- Prosser is coaching in his 195th career game and 166th 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 128 total
- Is 13 rebounds away from 500 in career
- Is two blocks away from 100 and nine steals away from 100 in career
- Kasen Harrison
- Approaching 1,000 career points (965)
- Against Queens he reached 300 career assists (310)
- In the final game of the 2022-23 season Harrison hit his 200th career free throw
- Kelton Talford
- Surpassed 500 career rebounds (535) 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
- Ranks 22nd all-time in scoring at Winthrop (1,030) and 18th in total rebounds (539)
- Has 11 career double-doubles after his 20 points, 12 rebounds in the final game of 2022-23
- Sin'Cere McMahon
- Knocked down his 150th career three vs. Queens and 132 of those have come as an Eagle
- His 132 threes rank 16th 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 837 career points and is 30 rebounds away from 400
- Dished out his 100th career assist vs. Queens and 9 steals away from 100
- Dished out a career-high five assists at Little Rock
- Alex Timmerman
- Moved past the 400 career rebound mark after hauling in five vs. Drexel and now has 456
- Is seven assists away from 100 and is three games away from his 100th
- K.J. Doucet
- Surpassed 1,000 career points after 22 points at Coastal Carolina and now has 1,066
- Approaching 350 career rebounds (344)
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.
25th ANNIVERSARY
This year celebrates the 25
th anniversary of the 1998-99 team that captured the first ever Big South Conference regular season championship and made the program's first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Under the guidance of first-year head coach Gregg Marshall the Eagles posted an overall record of 21-8 and were 9-1 in the conference. Winthrop defeated second-seeded Radford 86-74 in the Big South title game and faced Auburn in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. This team will be inducted into the Winthrop Hall of Fame as a Team of Distinction on Jan. 12, 2024. To purchase tickets,
click here.
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
The Eagles will wrap-up their four-game road trip with a visit to Tallahassee, Fla. to take on Florida State on Friday, Dec. 22 at 7 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).
