Rock Hill, S.C. – Freshman
Paul Jones III scored a career-high 25 points to lead Winthrop to a 99-56 victory over Averett, Wednesday evening.
WINTHROP (6-3, 0-0 Big South)
AVERETT (5-0, 0-0 ODAC)
- Davion Bowens (11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks)
- Mason Mitchell (11 points, 2 steals)
- Jackson Sellars (9 points, rebound, steal)
FIRST HALF
- Eagles won the tip and opened the scoring on their first possession as K.J. Doucet scored at the rim
- The game was tied 5-5 after Mason Mitchell made three free throws for the Cougars
- Eagles proceeded to go on an 8-0 run starting with an alley-oop to Tai Hamilton from Kasen Harrison
- Then after forcing a turnover the Eagles went down and Harrisson found Paul Jones III for three and the foul as he converted the four-point play
- Bryce Baker's layup capped off the run with a layup as the Eagles led 13-5 at the 15:45 mark
- Eagles led by seven points at the 12:34 mark but the lead was down to one after back-to-back triples from Averett's Davion Bowens
- The game went back-and-forth until the 10:31 mark when Jones III was fouled on a made three again and converted the free throw to lead 25-19
- Two free throws by Doucet followed by a Kasen Harrison three put the Eagles up by double-digits at 30-19
- Eagles led by as much as 17 points at the 1:40 mark and held the double-figure lead into the half, 49-35
SECOND HALF
- Eagles pushed the lead back to 17 early in the second half on a turn around jumper by Doucet
- Bowens was fouled on a three again and made them all to start a 9-1 run to make it a nine point advantage to the Eagles
- The lead was nine points again at the 15:55 mark after two more free throws by Bowens but a Harrison layup and three-point play from Hamilton pushed the lead back to 14 points
- The Eagles went on another run (7-0) as Jones III scored on a layup and then off a turnover Nick Johnson scored off a drive
- Jones III capped the run with back-to-back triples, putting the Eagles ahead by 24 points at 72-48 with under 10:33 remaining
- Averett stopped the run with a free throw but the Eagles were relentless as Talford scored inside and then Jones III knocked down another three in transition
- Those baskets ignited an 11-0 run Talford followed with a three-point play for a 30-point lead and then Baker topped off the run with a three for an 83-50 lead with 8:23 to play
- Baker caught fire, scoring nine straight points to lead 89-53 with 6:46 left in the game
- Defensively the Eagles held Averett to just six points over the final 7:55 of the game, including holding them scoreless for over five and a half minutes
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop shot 45 percent from the floor, 39 percent behind the arc where it finished 11-of-28
- Eagles attempted 41 free throws and were 30-for-41 while Averett finished 14-for-19
- Winthrop had just eight turnovers while forcing 23 that led to 25 points
- The battle on the glass went to the Eagles 43-38
- Winthrop had a big advantage in the paint, outscoring Averett 36-20
NOTABLES
- Jones III posted the first 20-point game by a freshman since teammate Noah Van Bibber dropped 22 on Holy Cross on Nov. 17, 2023
- Jones III also matched Van Bibber behind the arc going 6-for-8
- Talford posted 13 points on the night and moved into 5th on the all-time scoring list, passing Winthrop Hall of Famer Tyson Waterman and now has 1,467
- This was the 63rd straight win over a non-D1 opponent
- The Eagles tied the program record for the most wins in the month of November (6)
UP NEXT
Winthrop is off the next five days until it travels to Charlotte, N.C. to take on Queens on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 7 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)
