Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop men's basketball is set to take on third-seeded Radford Friday night in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Hercules Tires Big South Men's Basketball Championship.
(6) WINTHROP (15-16, 10-8 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
0 |
Sin'Cere McMahon |
6-1 |
Jr. |
13.7 |
1.9 |
2.3 |
0.6 |
Posted a career-high 35 points at UNC Asheville (Feb. 8) / In double-figures last six games / Leads Big South in free throw percentage (.895) / Returned to the starting lineup at Campbell and scored 23 points / 128 career threes (106 at Winthrop) |
| G |
11 |
Kasen Harrison |
6-2 |
Jr.. |
11.0 |
2.4 |
3.8 |
1.3 |
Tied career-high 24 points in win over Campbell (Feb. 22) / Game-winning bucket with 1.3 seconds left vs. Longwood / game-winner with 7.3 seconds left vs. UNCA / Double-figures in 16 of last 21 games / Reached 250 career assists (258) |
| G/F |
12 |
Cory Hightower |
6-7 |
R-Sr. |
13.8 |
5.6 |
2.5 |
0.8 |
Big South Second Team Selection / Tied season-high 25 points in last game (win over HPU) / Knocked down career-high 7 triples at LSU / Preseason All-Big South 1st Team / 1,744 career points, 846 career rebounds / reached 150 career threes in the game at High Point |
| F |
33 |
Chase Claxton |
6-7 |
Sr. |
5.0 |
4.4 |
1.1 |
1.1 |
Played 100th career game on Jan. 4 / Leads team with 32 steals and 35 blocks / 5th in Big South with 1.3 blocks per game |
| F |
4 |
Kelton Talford |
6-7 |
Jr. |
16.1 |
8.1 |
0.7 |
0.7* |
Big South First Team selection / Has 20 or more points in three of the last five games / 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: 40-43
Series Streak: L2
Record at Bojangles Coliseum: n/a
Streak at Bojangles Coliseum: n/a
Prosser vs. Radford: 1-3
THE MATCHUP
- The Eagles and Highlanders meet for the third time this year as Radford won both meetings during the regular season
- This is the first time Winthrop and Radford meet in the conference tournament since 2018
- In 2018 the Eagles lost to the Highlanders 61-52 in the semifinals
- Despite that loss the Eagles have won seven of the last eight meetings with Radford in the tournament
WINTHROP IN THE BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT
- Seeded 6th for the 5th time in program history and hold a 2-4 mark at that seed
- Have advanced to the championship game the last three years
- Eagles are 55-24 all-time in tournament play
- The 55 wins are more than any other program in Big South history
- Have won the opening game of the tournament the last three seasons and nine of the last 10
- Winthrop holds the Big South record for championships (13) the most tournament wins (52)
WINTHROP
- Finished in a three-way tie for fourth place in the league at 10-8, but seeded sixth after tie-breakers
- Enter the conference tournament on a four-game winning streak, the second-longest current streak by league members
- Have now won 10 or more league games in 10 straight seasons and it's also the 10th straight season with a winning record in conference play
- Eagles have hit 11 or more threes in four consecutive games and have now won 27 of the last 29 games connecting on 10 or more triples
- Lead the Big South in free throw percentage (.746) and lead the league in three-point field goals per game (9.0)
- Have made 278 threes on the year, which are the six most in a single-season by a Winthrop team
- Kelton Talford, leads the team in scoring (16.1) and rebounding (8.1)
- Talford is 1-of-5 Eagles scoring double-figures as he is joined by Sin'Cere McMahon (13.7), Cory Hightower (13.4), Kasen Harrison (11.1), and Toneari Lane (10.5)
- Talford is 4th in the league in scoring, McMahon is 10th, Hightower is 12th, Harrison is 18th and Lane is 26th
- In the history of the program, the Eagles have never finished a season with five players averaging 10.0 or more points per game
- Talford was voted to the All-Big South First Team while Hightower was an All-Big South Second Team selection
- Talford leads the Big South in field goal percentage and 4th in the nation (.672)
- McMahon leads the Big South in free throw percentage (.895), ranking T12th nationally
- Toneari Lane and McMahon are among the league leaders in three-point field goals per game as Lane is ranked 3rd and McMahon 4th
- Harrison ranks 2nd in the league in assists per game and 11th in steals per game
- 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 85-35 (.700)
- Winthrop has more wins than any other Big South school (223) 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
- Reached 1,700 career points (1,744) and closing in on 850 career rebounds (846)
- In 123 career Big South games he has scored 1,461 points and has 729 rebounds
- As of Mar. 2 he's 52nd on the active list for points and 36th in rebounds
- His 1,451 points are tied for 61st 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 1-of-18 players in league history with 1,400 points, 700 rebounds
- Became the 26th player in program history with 100 career threes and ranks 22nd with 116 (has 173 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 250 career assists (258) and passed 800 career points (806)
- Kelton Talford
- Is now 22 away from 500 career rebounds and closing in on 800 career points (873)
- Scored 20 or more points in three straight games for the first time in his career
- Sin'Cere McMahon
- Surpassed 100 career three-point baskets (128) and 106 of those have come as an Eagle
- 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
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
If the Eagles win the contest, they will advance to the Big South semifinals on Saturday, Mar. 4 and face the winner of #2 Longwood / #7 Campbell at 2 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)
