Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop men's basketball opened up the 2024-25 season with 125-65 victory over Piedmont, Monday evening inside the Winthrop Coliseum.
 
WINTHROP (1-0, 0-0 Big South)

• Kelton Talford (17 points, 9 rebounds, assist, block, steal)
• Bryce Baker (16 points, 4 rebounds)
• Ryan Jolly (15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals)

---

PIEDMONT (0-0, 0-0 CCS)

• Fisher Darden (15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, steal)
• Bailey Wiseman (12 points, 2 rebounds, assist, block, steal)
• Javi Marlowe (9 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, block, steal)

---

FIRST HALF

• Ryan Jolly opened up the scoring as he knocked down a jumper
• The game was back-and-forth over the first five minutes as the Eagles lead 11-10 after a three from Bryce Baker
• Leading 13-12 at the 13:41 mark, Kasen Harrison scored off the drive to spark a 7-0 run to lead 22-12
• A three from Fisher Darden ended the run and that was followed by a score at the rim for Javi Marlowe to cut the Winthrop lead back down to five with just over 11 to play in the half
• It was a three-point game with 8:43 left in the half when Kelton Talford scored inside and that was backed up by back-to-back threes from Baker to push the lead to 35-24
• The Eagles didn't stop there as Yoro Diallo scored on a stick back and Baker scored on the fast break to make it a 12-0 run to lead 39-24 with 5:54 on the clock
• Winthrop ended the half on a 10-0 run to lead by 26 at the break, 59-33

---

SECOND HALF

• Eagles continued to click offensively as freshman Paul Jones III had a team-high 11 points in the second half alone
• Eagles outscored the Lions 38-10 over the final 10 minutes to post a 66-point win
• Tai Hamilton scored all 10 of his points in the second half as well

---

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Eagles shot 52 percent from the floor while holding the Lions to 36 percent
• Winthrop held the Lions to 31 percent from the floor in the second half alone
• Eagles knocked down 13 threes while the Lions finished with eight
• At the foul line the Eagles were 20-for-28 and the Lions finished 9-for-12
• The battle on the glass was dominated by the Eagles 63-25 as the Eagles had 28 offensive rebounds that led to 38 second chance points
• Kelton Talford scored a game-high 17 points as he led seven Eagles in doube-figures
• Bryce Baker had 16 points, Ryan Jolly added 15 points, Kasen Harrison had 14, K.J. Doucet had 13 points, Paul Jones III added 11 and Tai Hamilton finished with 10
• Hamilton also had 10 rebounds to post a double-double

---

NOTABLES

• The 125 points are the 5^th most for a single-game in program history
• Winthrop has now won seven straight home openers and 12 of the last 13

---

UP NEXT
Winthrop remains at home as it will host Little Rock on Saturday, Nov. 9 at noon as part of Homecoming Weekend.

---

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)