Rock Hill, S.C. – Nick Johnson scored a career-high 22 points while
Kasen Harrison added 20 to help lead Winthrop to a 102-97 victory over Mercer, Saturday afternoon inside the Winthrop Coliseum.
WINTHROP (10-4, 0-0 Big South)
- Nick Johnson (22 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals)
- Kasen Harrison (20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, block, steal)
- Kelton Talford (18 points, 10 rebounds, assist, 3 blocks, steal)
MERCER (6-6, 0-0 SoCON)
- Ahmad Robinson (27 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, steal)
- Tyler Johnson (19 points, 3 rebounds, assist, steal)
- Angel Montas Jr. (17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, steal)
FIRST HALF
- Winthrop jumped out to an early 4-0 lead as Kelton Talford opened the scoring boarding a miss and then finishing with a dunk followed by Nick Johnson scoring off the drive
- Mercer took a 6-5 lead after two Ahmad Robinson free throws before Kasen Harrison regained the lead for Winthrop with a layup off a drive
- Bryce Baker followed with a right win three and then Tommy Kamarad hit a runner off the glass to double the lead at 12-6 with 15:09 on the clock
- Eagles pushed their lead to double-digits for the first time at 17-7 when Isaiah Wilson dribbled to the free throw line and as a couple of defenders closed in he found Paul Jones III in the left corner for three
- With 8:58 remaining in the half Jah Nze pulled Mercer within seven with a three only to be matched on the other end by Jones III to extend the lead back to double-digits
- The lead grew to 16 points after Johnson dropped in a left wing three in transition and then scored off the drive across the lane and finished with his left hand to cap off a 7-0 run
- The Bears responded with a 9-0 run to make it a four point Winthrop lead with 2:21 left in the half
- The run began with a turnaround jumper by Angel Montas Jr. and then Cam Bryant forced a turnover that led to an alleyoop dunk by Bryant on the other end
- That was followed by a right win three from Ahmad Robinson and capped off by a score at the rim by Montas Jr.
- Harrison halted the run with a runner off glass to lead 40-34 with 1:36 left in the half
- Eagles got the ball with 32seconds left and eventually ended up with an inbound in front of the Mercer bench with four seconds on the shot clock
- Johnson found Jones III in the near corner and he drained a contested three to give the Eagles a 44-36 lead at the break
SECOND HALF
- Winthrop worked its lead back to double-digits by the 17:13 mark, 51-41 after a Jones III free throw
- Eagles used an 8-0 run that started with an offensive rebound and finish by Johnson followed by a straight away three by Harrison
- Talford finished the run boarding a missed free throw and quickly finishing at the rim to lead 53-41
- Bears quickly cut that lead in half with a 6-0 spurt highlighted by threes from Robinson and Montas Jr. to trail 56-50 with 15:12 to play
- Johnson answered the Montas Jr. corner three with a corner three of his own to push the lead back to nine points
- Harrison pushed the lead to 12 as he raced the ball up court through traffic and finished at the rim while drawing a foul and knocked down the free throw to complete the three-point play
- Eagles were able to maintain a double-digit lead from the 12:36 mark on the Baker three until the 4:46 mark as a Laurynas Vaistaras corner three pulled the Bears within nine at 82-73
- Mercer grabbed some momentum with 3:23 to play as Robinson scored in the paint to spark a 7-0 run to make it a five point lead for the Eagles
- Harrison stopped the run as drove to the basket and scored at the rim to lead 87-80 with just under two minutes to play
- Eagles led 88-82 when Robinson drove the right side of the lane for Mercer and Harrison rejected the shot that led to a corner three on the other end by Jones III for a nine point lead
- Mercer pulled within four points at 92-88 with 43 seconds left after a Tyler Johnson three
- With 37.7 seconds to play, Johnson stepped to the line to make two free throws to push the lead back to six points
- On the ensuing possession the Eagles got the defensive stop they need as Talford contested a short jumper by Alex Holt and then boarded the miss
- Talford was fouled and went to the line to make both free throws to lead 96-88 with 27.7 remaining
- Eagles made all 10 of their free throws with under a minute to play go hold on for the win
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Eagles finished shooting 54 percent for the game while Mercer finished at 47 percent from the floor
- Both teams connected on 11 triples as Winthrop was 11-of-23 (48%) and Mercer was 11-of-25 (44%)
- Eagles were 29-for-48 at the foul line (60%) and Mercer ended the game 18-of-26 (69%)
- The battle on the glass went to the Eagles with a 43-39 edge
- Eagles outscored the Bears 42-38 in the paint
- The Bears took advantage of 17 Winthrop turnovers, turning them into 31 points
- Johnson led five Eagles in double-figures with 22 points while Harrison had 20, Talford 18, Jones III finished with 13 and Baker added 12
NOTABLES
- Eagles reached the century mark for the third time this season and it was the 5th game with 90 or more
- This is the 10th win of the season, which is the first time since 2016-17 the Eagles earned 10 non-conference victories
- This was the second time this season the Eagles had two players score 20 or more points in the same game
- Winthrop has now won 14 of the last 15 non-conference home games and 16 of the last 18
- Talford became the program's all-time leader in free throw attempts (616), surpassing Keon Johnson's 610 attempts
- Talford recorded his 18th career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds
UP NEXT
Eagles are off until after Christmas when they head to Bloomington, Ind. on Sunday, Dec. 29 to take on Indiana at 4 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED
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