Box Score Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop men's basketball fell 83-81 to High Point as Kezza Giffa's baseline jumper with 0.5 seconds left proved to be the game-winning bucket, Saturday afternoon at the Winthrop Coliseum.
WINTHROP (14-9, 5-3 Big South)
HIGH POINT (17-5 7-0 Big South)
- Kezza Giffa (37 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists)
- Trae Benham (13 points, 6 rebounds, block, steal)
- Kiman Hamilton (13 points, 5 rebounds, assist, 2 steals)
FIRST HALF
- Nick Johnson opened the scoring with a bucket at the rim
- High Point responded with a straight away three from Trae Benham for an early 3-2 lead
- Eagles used an 10-0 run to open up a 12-3 advantage with 15:16 on the clock
- The run was highlighted by an emphatic dunk by Kelton Talford
- Kezza Giffa ended the run as he scored off the drive to cut the Eagle lead to 12-5
- Eagles led by 11 after a Talford basket inside
- Panthers chipped away at the Eagle lead and cut it to four points midway through the half
- Nick Johnson hit a three to go up nine, but Abdoulaye Thiam answered with a three and then two free throws from Giffa cut it to four
- A corner three from Sin'Cere McMahon followed by free throws from Talford had the lead back to nine points at the 8:12 mark
- Winthrop used an 8-2 run to help build a double-digit lead at the half, 47-35
- Winthrop shot 61 percent from the floor and scored 34 of its 45 points in the paint
- High Point was held to 37 percent shoot (4-of-14 from three)
SECOND HALF
- Talford scored inside to open up the scoring in the second half to put the Eagles up by 14
- Eagles pushed the lead to 17 with back-to-back baskets at the rim from Alex Timmerman and Kasen Harrison
- High Point worked the deficit down to single-digits at the 12:26 mark after Titas Sargiunas stole the ball at half court and finished with a layup
- Seven straight points by the Panthers cut it to a one possession game with 10:29 left in the game on two free throws by Giffa
- High Point then took the lead 63-62 on a right wing three from Benham with 10:09 left
- In the end it was a 12-0 run by the Panthers that put them in front 65-62 with 9:29 remaining
- Johnson ended the run as he scored on a reverse layup at the 9:17 mark to make it a one point game at 65-64
- Eagles regained the lead at 70-69 with 5:52 to play as K.J. Doucet drove to the hole and scored
- Leading 72-71, Talford received a pass in the post, dribbled to the middle and then scored off glass for an And-1
- Talford converted the free throw to lead 75-71 with 4:17 remaining
- Giffa gave High Point a 79-78 lead with 1:24 left as he knocked down two free throws
- The Eagles missed a chance to take the lead as Johnson couldn't get his shot to fall, but then Johnson came away with a steal
- Johnson collected the ball and went straight to the rim and scored but was whistled for a travel, giving the ball back to High Point up one with 47 seconds left
- Giffa drove and scored for an 81-78 lead with under 25 seconds to play
- Harrison tied the game as he drove into the lane, scored while getting fouled and converted the free throw to make it 81-81 with 14.5 left
- High Point held for the final shot as Giffa drove down the left side of the lane, hesitated and then threw up a floater that bounced on the rim and fell in with 0.5 seconds to play for the win
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop finished shooting 55 percent from the field (3-of-11 from three)
- High Point shot 56 percent in the second half and finished the game at 46 percent
- The Panthers were 27-for-35 at the foul line while the Eagles were 16-for-24
- High Point turned 10 Winthrop miscues into 14 points while the Eagles had nine points off 11 turnovers by the Panthers
- Winthrop finished with a 56-26 advantage in the paint and 16-8 in second chance points
NOTABLES
- Talford posted his 4th 20-point game in the last five contests as he finished with team-high 22 points
- His 22 points pushed him past 1,200 career points, now sitting at 1,208
- This was the 1,400th game in program history
UP NEXT
Winthrop will be off for a week as it will have its first bye during league play and return to action on Saturday, Feb. 3 as it will travel to Asheville, N.C. to take on UNC Asheville at 2 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)
