Boiling Springs, N.C. – Cory Hightower and
Kelton Talford each posted 22 points to lead Winthrop to a road win at Gardner-Webb, Wednesday evening in Big South Conference action.
WINTHROP (12-16, 7-8 Big South)
GARDNER-WEBB (15-12, 10-5 Big South)
- D.Q. Nicholas (21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal)
- Kareem Reid (14 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assists, 2 blocks, 3 steals)
- Caleb Robinson (10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists)
FIRST HALF
- Eagles won the tip and almost immediately Sin'Cere McMahon drops in a three for the early lead
- Toneari Lane then stole the ball as Kasen Harrison pushed the ball up and found Cory Hightower for three and a 6-0 lead
- After back-to-back baskets by the Runnin' Bulldogs, Lane joined the party behind the line and drilled a three for a 9-4 advantage
- That three sparked a 7-0 run to lead 13-4 with 16:46 on the clock
- Gardner-Webb cut the Winthrop lead to five points at the 15:10 mark but then back-to-back threes from Hightower pushed the lead to double-digits
- The Eagles started the game 10-of-12 from the floor and just kept pouring it on
- A three-point play by Chase Claxton put the Eagles on top 28-15 and then a jumper by Harrison had the Eagles doubling up the Runnin' Bulldogs at 30-15
- An 8-0 run by the Eagles pushed the lead to 20 points at 38-18
- Two free throws by McMahon started the run and Kelton Talford scored the first four points with buckets at the rim
- Ademide Badmus stopped the run with a layup but the Eagles bounced right back with a three from Harrison followed by a Talford layup
- McMahon followed that up with four straight points to give the Eagles a 27 points lead with 4:40 left in the half (47-20)
- Eagles shot 73 percent to help build a 52-32 advantage the break
SECOND HALF
- Gardner-Webb opened the second half on a 6-0 run that started with a four-point play from Julien Soumaoro
- The Runnin' Bulldogs continued to try and chip away at the Winthrop lead the but the Eagles maintained at least a 13 point lead and pushed the lead back to 18 on a couple of occasions
- At the 7:01 mark, Gardner-Webb's Anthony Seldon made it a 12 point game after a basket inside
- Winthrop had an answer as Hightower found Claxton for three for a 77-62 lead
- A 6-0 run by Gardner-Webb made it a single-digit lead at 77-68, but Talford came right back to score inside
- Two free throws by Robinson pushed the lead back to single-digits and a three from Soumaoro cut the Winthrop lead to six with 1:19 to play
- The Eagles were able to hold off Gardner-Webb and even pushed the lead back to 11 points after two free throws from Hightower with 12 seconds left
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Eagles shot 73 percent in the first half, 55 percent in the second half to finish at 65 percent for the game
- Gardner-Webb shot 39 percent in the first half and finished the game at 46 percent
- Runnin' Bulldogs had a 40-28 advantage in the paint and 18-16 edge in points off turnovers
- The battle on the boards favored Gardner-Webb 34-22
- Winthrop had four players in double-figures led by Hightower and Talford with 22 points each
- The Eagles hit 12 threes in the game (12-fo-20) while Gardner-Webb was 7-of-27
- Winthrop opened the game 10-for-12 from the floor and 16-of-20
- After missing the first shot of the second half, the Eagles made their next eight shots
NOTABLES
- Hightower has back-to-back 20-point games and now has 14 in his career
- Hightower pulled within six points of 1,700 in his career and is now 16 rebounds from 850
- Talford posted his 4th 20-point game of the season and 6th of his career
- McMahon reached 100 career threes as an Eagle, becoming the 27th player in program history to reach that mark (has 122 in career)
- This was the Eagles second straight win at Paul Porter Arena
- Eagles hit 12 threes and are now 6-1 when connecting on 10 or more during league play
UP NEXT
Eagles remain on the road as they'll head to North Charleston, S.C. on Saturday, Feb. 18 to take on Charleston Southern at 5:30 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED
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).
