Tallahassee, Fla. – Bryce Baker's career-high 18 points led Winthrop men's basketball in its 82-64 loss at Florida State, Tuesday evening.
WINTHROP (9-4, 0-0 Big South)
FLORIDA STATE (9-3, 0-1 ACC)
- Jamir Watkins (23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, steal)
- Malique Ewin (21 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, steal)
- Taylor B. Bowen (13 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks)
FIRST HALF
- Each team scored on their opening possessions as Malique Ewin scored inside for FSU and then Kelton Talford dropped in a short jumper in traffic
- Trailing 8-7 at the 16:16 mark, Bryce Baker buried a corner three for a 10-8 advantage
- Seminoles used a 6-0 spurt to take a four point lead with 12:48 left, which included Jamir Watkins scoring the four straight points to lead 14-10
- It was a one point game at the 10:05 mark after a tip-in by K.J. Doucet
- FSU answered with six straight points over the next two minutes to grab its largest lead at 22-15
- A layup by Watkins put the Seminoles up nine, but Ryan Jolly answered for the Eagles with a three to make it a two possession game
- Watkins came right down and buried a three to push the lead back to nine with 5:49 remaining in the half
- The Eagles continued to struggle from the floor as the Seminoles put another run together, this time a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 14 points at 36-22 with 3:34 left in the half
- Eagles made four of their first five field goals in the game, but were just 5-for-28 the remainder of the half to trail 45-27
- On the flip side of that, FSU made 14 of its final 25 field goal attempts into the break, including seven straight field goals
SECOND HALF
- Nick Johnson opened the scoring in the second half by knocking down a right win three
- Johnson proceeded to score Winthrop's first seven points of the second half as the Eagles trailed 50-35 at the 18:06 mark
- FSU pushed its lead to as much as 22 after a Justin Thomas three at the 13:51 mark but Baker answered right back with a three
- A hustle play by Johnson at the 12:14 mark led to an And-1 as he stole the ball on a short outlet pass and then scored
- Johnson complete the three point play to trail 59-42
- At the 10:20 mark the Eagles took advantage of a second chance opportunity as Paul Jones III buried a right wing three to make it a 14-point FSU lead
- FSU proceeded to outscore the Eagles 9-2 to push the lead to 21 points with seven minutes remaining
- With 4:58 to play, Baker knocked down a three and proceeded to hit three in a row for his own 9-0 run to make it a 76-61 FSU lead
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Eagles finished the game shooting 29 percent from the floor while the Seminoles were 51 percent from the field
- Behind the arc the Eagles finished 9-for-36 (25%) and FSU was 7-of-20 (35%)
- Winthrop forced 20 turnovers in the game that led to 20 points while FSU converted 15 turnovers into 12 points
- Seminoles won the battle on the glass with a 49-32 advantage and held a 16-14 edge in offensive rebounds
NOTABLES
- Bryce Baker's 18 points were a career-high as he also made a career-best six threes (6-of-12)
- Johnson had 17 points and is now in double-figures in four straight games
- Baker had 15 of his 18 in the second half while Johnson scored 13 second half points
- Kelton Talford's layup at the 4:30 mark of the first half, scored the 100,000th point in the history of the program
- The loss ends the Winthrop winning streak at five straight as they look to bounce back at home on Saturday
- Baker is the second Eagle this season to hit six threes in a game (Paul Jones III did so on Nov. 27 vs. Averett)
UP NEXT
The return to Rock Hill for their final home game of 2024 when the Eagles welcome Mercer to the Winthrop Coliseum on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED
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