Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop heads to Radford riding a three-game winning streak as it looks to continue to climb the league standings.
WINTHROP (11-13, 6-5 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
0 |
Sin'Cere McMahon |
6-1 |
Jr. |
12.7 |
1.8 |
2.4 |
0.6 |
Coming off 20 points in win over Longwood / Leads Big South in free throw percentage (.892) / Returned to the starting lineup at Campbell and scored 23 points / recently surpassed 100 career threes |
| G |
11 |
Kasen Harrison |
6-2 |
Jr.. |
10.8 |
2.3 |
3.7 |
1.4 |
Game-winning bucket with 1.3 seconds left vs. Longwood / game-winnger with 7.3 seconds left vs. UNCA / Double-figures in 11 of last 13 games / Just surpassed 200 career assists (229) / Averaging 12.3 ppg in league play |
| G/F |
12 |
Cory Hightower |
6-7 |
R-Sr. |
12.7 |
5.0 |
2.9 |
0.8 |
Scored season-high 25 points at LSU / Knocked down career-high 7 triples at LSU / Preseason All-Big South 1st Team / 1,624 career points, 796 career rebounds / reached 150 career threes in the game at High Point |
| F |
33 |
Chase Claxton |
6-7 |
Sr. |
5.3 |
4.2 |
1.1 |
1.4 |
Played 100th career game vs. PC / Leads team with 29 steals and 28 blocks / 4th in Big South with 1.4 blocks per game |
| F |
4 |
Kelton Talford |
6-7 |
Jr. |
15.6 |
8.0 |
0.7 |
0.7* |
4th 20-point game on the season vs. PC / 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: 40-42
Series Streak: L1
Record at Dedmon Center: 15-21
Streak at Dedmon Center: W3
Prosser vs. Radford: 1-1
THE MATCHUP
- This is the second meeting this season and marks the 84th meeting all-time
- Radford won the first meeting 66-52 and leads the all-time series 42-40
- The Eagles have won their last three games at the Dedmon Center
- This is a key game for both teams as the Eagles are a game back of 3rd place and Radford is a game behind first-place UNC Asheville
WINTHROP
- Have won three straight for the first time this season after the comeback win over Longwood
- The Eagles trailed by as much as 19 points in the second half before rallying for the last second victory
- It was the largest comeback by the Eagles since 2009 when they rallied down 27 to defeat Charleston Southern at home
- Currently 4th in the league standings, one game behind Gardner-Webb and Longwood
- Eagles face the top two teams in the league on the road in their next two contests, starting with second place Radford (Feb. 4) and first place UNC Asheville (Feb. 8)
- Lead the Big South in free throw percentage (.745) and lead the league in three-point field goals per game (8.9)
- Kelton Talford leads the team in scoring (15.6) and is 1-of-5 Eagles scoring double-figures
- The other four are Cory Hightower is at 12.7 ppg, Sin'Cere McMahon at 12.7 ppg, Kasen Harrison is averaging 10.8 ppg and Toneari Lane is scoring 10.4 ppg
- Talford is 4th in the league in scoring, McMahon is 11th, Hightower is 12th, Harrison is 18th and Lane is 22nd
- 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 (.677)
- He also ranks among the top rebounders in the league, ranking 2nd with 8.0 per game
- McMahon is leads the Big South in free throw percentage (.892) and 5th in threes per game (2.3)
- Lane moved up to third in the league in threes per game (2.5) and is 12-of-20 behind the arc in the last three games
- Harrison ranks 3rd in the league in assists per game and 8th in steals per game (Is 1-of-4 players in the league ranked in the Top 8 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 81-32 (.716)
- 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
- Moved past 1,600 career points (1,624) and now closing in on 800 rebounds (796)
- In 116 career Big South games he has scored 1,341 points and has 679 rebounds
- As of Feb. 2 he's 59th on the active list for points and 39th in rebounds
- His 1,341 points rank 73rd on the Big South All-Time scoring list
- He's 1-of-45 players in league history with 1,000 points and 600 rebounds
- If he reaches 700 career rebounds in the Big South he'll become the 34th player to do so in league history
- He is two three-point baskets away from becoming the 26th player in program history with 100 career threes (has 155 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 (229) and surpassed 700 career points (725)
- Kelton Talford
- Pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds to surpass 400 career rebounds and moved past 700 career points (765)
- Sin'Cere McMahon
- Surpassed 100 career three-point baskets (111) and 89 of those have come as an Eagle
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 remain on the road as they'll head to Asheville, N.C. on Wednesday, Feb. 8 to take on UNC Asheville 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 (/WinthropEagles)
