Rock Hill, S.C. – .Winthrop wraps-up its two-game road swing on Wednesday night when they head to Asheville, N.C. to take on UNC Asheville at 6:30 p.m.
WINTHROP (11-14, 6-6 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
0 |
Sin'Cere McMahon |
6-1 |
Jr. |
12.5 |
1.8 |
2.4 |
0.6 |
Scored 20 points in win over Longwood (6th 20 point game of season) / Leads Big South in free throw percentage (.894) / Returned to the starting lineup at Campbell and scored 23 points / recently surpassed 100 career threes |
| G |
11 |
Kasen Harrison |
6-2 |
Jr.. |
10.4 |
2.4 |
3.6 |
1.4 |
Game-winning bucket with 1.3 seconds left vs. Longwood / game-winner with 7.3 seconds left vs. UNCA / Double-figures in 11 of last 14 games / Just surpassed 200 career assists (231) / Averaging 11.5 ppg in league play |
| G/F |
12 |
Cory Hightower |
6-7 |
R-Sr. |
13.1 |
5.1 |
2.8 |
0.8 |
Coming off 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 / 1,646 career points, 803 career rebounds / reached 150 career threes in the game at High Point |
| F |
33 |
Chase Claxton |
6-7 |
Sr. |
5.4 |
4.2 |
1.1 |
1.4 |
Played 100th career game vs. PC / Leads team with 31 steals and 28 blocks / 4th in Big South with 1.4 blocks per game |
| F |
4 |
Kelton Talford |
6-7 |
Jr. |
15.5 |
8.0 |
0.7 |
0.7* |
Coming off double-double at Radford (12 points, 10 rebounds / 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: 48-37
Series Streak: W3
Record at Kimmel Arena: 3-6
Streak at Kimmel Arena: W3
Prosser vs. UNC Asheville: 6-1
THE MATCHUP
- Winthrop and Asheville meet for the second time this season and 86th meeting all-time
- The Eagles took the first meeting 62-60 thanks to a Kasen Harrison basket in the final seconds and have a chance to sweep the regular season series for a second straight year
- Winthrop leads the all-time series 48-37, but it's a series that's been full of a number of tight games
- There have been seven meetings decided by one point and 23 decided by five or fewer points
- In the last trip to Kimmel Arena the Eagles hit 12 threes and shot 51 percent in an 84-79 victory
WINTHROP
- Have won three of the last four games and sitting 6-6 in league play
- The last two games have been decided by one possession as the Eagles defeated Longwood and fell at Radford
- Currently 5th in the league standings and have six games remaining that include at UNC Asheville (T-1st), USC Upstate (T6th), at Gardner-Webb (T3rd), at Charleston Southern (8th), Campbell (T6th) and High Point (9th)
- Eagles are in the midst of a stretch where they play 4-of-5 games on the road before
- Lead the Big South in free throw percentage (.742) and lead the league in three-point field goals per game (8.8)
- Kelton Talford leads the team in scoring (15.5) and is 1-of-5 Eagles scoring double-figures
- The other four are Cory Hightower is at 13.1 ppg, Sin'Cere McMahon at 12.5 ppg, while Kasen Harrison and Toneari Lane are averaging 10.4 ppg
- Talford is 4th in the league in scoring, Hightower is 10th, McMahon is 12th, Lane is 23rd and Harrison is 24th
- 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 6th in the nation (.671)
- 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 (.894) and 5th in threes per game (2.3)
- Lane is third in the league in threes per game (2.4)
- Harrison ranks 3rd in the league in assists per game and 7th 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 81-33 (.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 (1,646) and 800 rebounds (802)
- In 117 career Big South games he has scored 1,363 points and has 685 rebounds
- As of Feb. 6 he's 58th on the active list for points and 39th in rebounds
- His 1,363 points are tied for 72nd 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
- Became the 26th player in program history with 100 career threes and ranks 24th with 102 (has 159 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 (232) and surpassed 700 career points (728)
- Kelton Talford
- Pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds to surpass 400 career rebounds and moved past 700 career points (777)
- Sin'Cere McMahon
- Surpassed 100 career three-point baskets (113) and 91 of those have come as an Eagle
- Needs nine more threes to become the 27th player in program history with 100 or more threes in a single-season
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
Winthrop returns home on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 5 p.m. when it hosts USC Upstate.
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)
