Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop men's basketball is set to host the Rock Hill, Classic Nov. 15-17 which will take place at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center in downtown Rock Hill.
ROCK HILL CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Rock Hill Sports & Event Center |
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Friday, Nov. 15
Winthrop vs. William & Mary, 5:00 p.m. | Live Stats
North Carolina Central vs. Georgia Southern, 7:30 p.m. | Live Stats
Saturday, Nov. 16
Winthrop vs. Georgia Southern, 5:00 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
William & Mary vs. North Carolina Central, 7:30 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
Sunday, Nov. 17
William & Mary vs. Georgia Southern, 12:00 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
Winthrop vs. North Carolina Central, 2:30 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
SERIES HISTORY
- Winthrop and William & Mary meet for just the third time
- Eagles won both meetings, the first of which took place on Jan. 10, 2000 in the Winthrop Coliseum (71-64)
- The other meeting came next season (Nov. 25, 2000) in Williamsburg, Va. as the Eagles earned a 65-54 victory
- This marks the 5th meeting all-time against Georgia Southern
- Eagles have won all four meetings, including the most recent on Dec. 20, 2016 with an 86-84 victory at home
- Winthrop and NCCU meet for a 3rd time, with NCCU having won both meetings
- The first meeting came on Jan. 2, 2013 as Winthrop fell 64-57 at home and then fell 72-66 at NCCU on Dec. 18, 2013
WINTHROP
- Coming off first loss of the season, 58-52 at Virginia Tech on Monday night
- Eagles held the Hokies to 33 percent shoot, but shot 34 percent themselves
- It was the second-fewest points the Eagles have ever held an ACC opponent to (57 vs. N.C. State on 12/3/96 is the lowest)
- Opened the season with a 125-65 victory over Piedmont, the second-largest margin of victory in program history (+60)
- In the game the Eagles also hauled in 63 rebounds, tying a program record with 28 offensive rebounds
- Ryan Jolly, who transferred to Winthrop after a four-year career at Piedmont, started the opener against his former team and finished with 15 points
- First 2-0 start since 2021-22 after an 82-67 victory over Little Rock at home on Saturday
- Winthrop dominated the glass for a second straight game, finishing with a 52-32 advantage
- Through two games the Eagles have five players averaging double-figures led by K.J. Doucet at 15.7 ppg
- Kasen Harrison is second on the team at 15.3 ppg followed by Kelton Talford at 12.0 ppg
- Voted to finish second in the Big South Conference preseason poll
- Eagles had two players on the preseason all-conference teams
- Talford was voted to the first team and Doucet was voted to the second team
- This marks the 1,412th game in program history and hold an all-time record of 799-613
- Winthrop has more wins than any other Big South school (242) since the 2012-13 season and the closest is UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb with 209
- Mark Prosser starts his fourth season as head coach of the Eagles (8th head coach in program history) and holds a 57-42 record now in his fourth season
- Prosser is three wins away from his 100th career victory (97)
- Prosser is coaching in his 218th career game and 189th at the NCAA D1 level
- 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
- The newcomers include five transfers and one true freshman
- The transfers are Ryan Jolly (Graduate Student/Piedmont), Tommy Kamarad (Senior/Arkansas Tech), Tai Hamilton (Sophomore/William & Mary), Logan Duncomb (Junior/Xavier) and Bryce Baker (Junior/Old Dominion)
- The one true freshman is Paul Jones III, a guard out of Suffolk, Va.
- Jolly scored more than 1,000 points in his career at Piedmont
- Kamarad started 28-of-30 games last year and was named to the Great American Conference All-Tournament Team as his team captured the championship
- Baker played in 59 games in his first two seasons at Old Dominion
LOOKING BACK AT 2023-24
- Winthrop returns four starters with all of them being the Top 4 scorers from 2023-24
- Leading the way is two-time Big South All-Conference selection Kelton Talford
- Talford led the team in scoring (14.1) and rebounding (5.7)
- K.J. Doucet, Kasen Harrison and Nick Johnson are the remaining returning starters
- Doucet was second on the team in scoring at 12.4 ppg and second in made threes (51)
- Harrison led the team in assists at 3.8 per game (ranked 3rd in Big South) and also averaged double-figures (11.3)
- Johnson was fourth in scoring at 10.4 ppg and led the team with 44 steals
- Johnson's ranked 4th in the league at 1.4 per game and was the first Eagle with 40 or more steals in a single-season since Chandler Vaudrin had 45 in 2019-20
- Yoro Diallo and Noah Van Bibber also return as Diallo played in 28 games and Van Bibber saw action in 18 games
- Eagles finished 8-8 in the Big South, finishing fourth in the standings
SEASON HONORS/AWARDS
- Kelton Talford, Senior-Forward (Big South Conference Preseason First Team)
- All-Big South First Team Selection in 2022-23 and 2023-24
- Started 28-of-31 games as he led the team in scoring (14.1) and rebounding (5.7)
- Ranked 13th in the Big South in scoring and 11th in rebounding while leading the conference in field goal percentage
- K.J Doucet, Senior-Forward (Big South Conference Preseason Second Team)
- Started 30-of-32 games and was second on the team in scoring at 12.4 ppg
- Second on the team in three-pointers made (51) and field goals made (129)
CAREER MILESTONES
- Kasen Harrison
- Reached 1,000 career points last season and just went over 1,200 points in the game vs. Little Rock (1,227)
- He reached 350 career assists and closing in on 400 (390)
- Played in his 100th career game on Mar. 2, 2024 vs. Gardner-Webb
- Kelton Talford
- Reached the 1,000 points and 500 career rebounds in 2023-24
- Has 1,367 career points, ranking 9th all-time in scoring at Winthrop
- His 689 career rebounds rank 6th all-time and trails 5th place by three
- He became the 104th player in Big South Conference history to reach 500 career rebounds
- Became the 67th player in league history to join the 1,000/500 club
- He became the 65th player in league history to reach 600 rebounds
- Became the 48th player in Big South history with 1,000 points and 600 rebounds
- Has 13 career double-doubles after his 15 points, 10 rebounds against PC on Feb. 21
- Has 524 career free throw attempts, ranking him 5th all-time in program history after passing Xavier Cooks (520)
- Nick Johnson
- Reached 1,000 career points in the win at Radford last season (1,052)
- Reached 400 career rebounds vs. UNC Asheville in 2023-24 and is now one rebound from 450
- Dished out his 100th career assist vs. Queens and surpassed 100 steals
- K.J. Doucet
- Surpassed 1,000 career points after 22 points at Coastal Carolina and reached 1,100 vs. Toccoa Falls and reached 1,200 in the win over Charleston Southern Feb. 7
- Just surpassed 1,300 career points (1,340) and reached 450 rebounds (457) in the win over Little Rock
- His 51 threes in 2023-24 were a career-best for a single-season
- Ryan Jolly
- Scored 1,371 career points in his collegiate career between Piedmont and Lander
- Had 15 points in the opener and now has a career total of 1,393
- Has 334 career assists, 414 career rebounds and 155 career steals
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE
Get your men's basketball season tickets TODAY! Season tickets are $149 for 18 home games, which includes the games played in the Rock Hill Classic at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center (Nov. 15-16). Purchase Today–
Click Here.
SINGLE-GAME TICKETS ARE ON SALE
Fans can purchase single-game tickets for all home contests for the 2024-25 season by visiting
www.winthropeagles.com/MBBTickets2425 or call text ticket office at (803) 323-2345.
25th ANNIVERSARY
This year celebrates the 25
th anniversary of the 1999-2000 team that captured a second straight Big South Conference championship. Under the guidance of second-year head coach Gregg Marshall the Eagles posted an overall record of 21-9 and were 11-3 in the conference (2
nd place). Winthrop defeated fourth-seeded UNC Asheville 75-62 in the Big South title game and faced 3
rd-seeded Oklahoma in Tucson, Ariz. in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
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 in the Winthrop Coliseum 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. ESPN is currently offering a discount between Oct. 25-Dec. 2 to get 12 months for the price of nine. For more information how to subscribe,
click here.
UP NEXT
Following the Rock Hill Classic the Eagles will be back in action on Friday, Nov. 22 as they head to Louisville, Ky. to take on Louisville at 7 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 (/WinthropMBB).
