Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop looks to end a three-game skid as it hits the road for a Wednesday night contest at Gardner-Webb.
WINTHROP (11-16, 6-8 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
0 |
Sin'Cere McMahon |
6-1 |
Jr. |
13.5 |
1.8 |
2.4 |
0.6 |
Posted a career-high 35 points at UNC Asheville (Feb. 8) / Leads Big South in free throw percentage (.889) / Returned to the starting lineup at Campbell and scored 23 points / 121 career threes (99 at Winthrop) |
| G |
11 |
Kasen Harrison |
6-2 |
Jr.. |
10.5 |
2.6 |
3.7 |
1.4 |
Game-winning bucket with 1.3 seconds left vs. Longwood / game-winner with 7.3 seconds left vs. UNCA / Double-figures in 12 of last 16 games / Just surpassed 200 career assists (240) |
| G/F |
12 |
Cory Hightower |
6-7 |
R-Sr. |
13.1 |
5.7 |
2.7 |
0.8 |
Posted 22 points at Radford / Scored season-high 25 points at LSU / Knocked down career-high 7 triples at LSU / Preseason All-Big South 1st Team / 1,672 career points, 827 career rebounds / reached 150 career threes in the game at High Point |
| F |
33 |
Chase Claxton |
6-7 |
Sr. |
5.1 |
4.3 |
1.1 |
1.4 |
Played 100th career game vs. PC / Leads team with 32 steals and 31 blocks / 4th in Big South with 1.4 blocks per game |
| F |
4 |
Kelton Talford |
6-7 |
Jr. |
15.6 |
8.1 |
0.7 |
0.7* |
Missed game vs. USC UPstate,/ Recorded a double-double in back-to-back games prior / Pulled down career-high 16 rebounds vs. Gardner-Webb / Career-high 28 points vs. S.C. State / Named to Cancun Challenge Mayan Division All-Tournament Team / Big South Player of the Week (Dec. 12) |
* (blocks per game)
SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: 29-11
Series Streak: L1
Record at Paul Porter Arena: 10-8
Streak at Paul Porter Arena: W1
Prosser vs. Gardner-Webb: 3-1
THE MATCHUP
- The Eagles and Runnin' Bulldogs meet for the second time this season and 42nd overall
- In the first meeting Gardner-Webb rallied from a nine point deficit with seven minutes left to upend the Eagles 63-61
- It was the 22nd game in the history of the series that was decided by six points or less and the 11th decided by a single-possession
- Winthrop has won 17 of the last 20 meetings
WINTHROP
- Looking to end a three-game skid and avoid matching a season-high fourth straight loss
- This is the first of two road games this week as the Eagles will head to Charleston Southern on Saturday (It's also a stretch of four of five games being played on the road)
- Currently tied with Campbell for 6th in the league standings and have four remaining games starting at Gardner-Webb (T3rd), at Charleston Southern (8th), Campbell (T6th) and High Point (9th)
- Lead the Big South in free throw percentage (.745) and lead the league in three-point field goals per game (8.6)
- Kelton Talford, who missed the game at home against USC Upstate, leads the team in scoring (15.6) and is 1-of-5 Eagles scoring double-figures
- The other four are Sin'Cere McMahon (13.5), Cory Hightower (13.1), Toneari Lane (10.5) and Kasen Harrison (10.5)
- Talford is 4th in the league in scoring, McMahon is 10th, Hightower is 12th, while Lane iand Harrison are 24th
- McMahon recently posted a career-high 35 points in the loss at UNC Asheville (Feb. 8), the most points by an Eagle in a conference road game since Nych Smith had 35 at Presbyterian on Jan. 26, 2019
- Winthrop and High Point are the only Big South schools with three players in the Top 12 in scoring
- Talford leads the Big South in field goal percentage and 5th in the nation (.671)
- He also ranks among the top rebounders in the league, ranking 2nd with 8.1 per game
- McMahon is leads the Big South in free throw percentage (.889), ranking T16th nationally
- McMahon has taken the lead on the team for threes per game (2.4) and ranks 4th in the Big South
- Lane is fourth in the league in threes per game (2.3)
- Harrison ranks 2nd in the league in assists per game and 7th in steals per game (Is 1-of-3 players in the league ranked in the Top 7 in both categories)
- Coming off a 23-9 campaign that saw the team reach the Big South Title game for a third straight season before falling to Longwood
- Have won 23 or more games in three straight seasons
- Return five players that saw action in 2021-22, two that sat out and welcome eight newcomers
- Voted to finish second in the Big South Conference preseason poll
- Finished the 2021-22 season ranked 14th in bench scoring (28.6 ppg)
- Cory Hightower was voted to the preseason All-Big South First Team
- Hightower is the top returning scorer at 11.8 ppg and led the team with 5.5 rpg last season
- Kelton Talford is the second-leading scorer returning at 8.5 ppg and was second on the team in rebounding at 4.8
- In the last four seasons the Eagles are a combined 81-35 (.698)
- Winthrop has more wins than any other Big South school (220) since the 2012-13 season
- Mark Prosser starts his second season as head coach of the Eagles, the 7th head coach in program history
- 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
CAREER MILESTONES
- Cory Hightower
- Closing in on 1,700 career points (1,672) and surpassed 800 rebounds (828)
- In 120 career Big South games he has scored 1,409 points and has 711 rebounds
- As of Feb. 14 he's 61st on the active list for points and 34th in rebounds
- His 1,409 points are tied for 66th on the Big South All-Time scoring list
- He's 1-of-45 players in league history with 1,000 points and 600 rebounds
- Became the 34th player in league history to reach 700 career rebounds
- Became the 19th player in league history to reach 1,300 points, 700 rebounds
- Became the 26th player in program history with 100 career threes and ranks 24th with 104 (has 161 in his entire career)
- Just the second player in league history to score 500 or more points for two different league schools
- Chase Claxton
- Played in his 100th of his career with his start against PC
- Reached 400 career rebounds in the game at High Point
- Set single-season career-highs in assists, blocks and steals
- Kasen Harrison
- Reached 200 career assists (240) and surpassed 700 career points (750)
- Kelton Talford
- Pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds to surpass 400 career rebounds and approaching 800 career points (797)
- Sin'Cere McMahon
- Surpassed 100 career three-point baskets (121) and 99 of those have come as an Eagle
- Needs one more threes to become 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
BIG SOUTH WEEKLY HONORS
- Kelton Talford – Big South Player of the Week (Dec. 12)
- Averaged 23.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.0 apg and 1.0 spg in two games
- He posted a career-high 28 points in the win over S.C. State and then scored a team-high 19 points at Furman
- For the two games he shot 77 percent from the floor
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 head to North Charleston, S.C. for their final regular season road game on Saturday, Feb. 18 as they'll take on Charleston Southern at 5:30 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 (/WinthropEagles)
