Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop men's basketball is back in action Wednesday night in a Big South Conference matchup at Gardner-Webb.
WINTHROP (11-6, 1-1 Big South)
| WINTHROP PROBABLE STARTERS |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
Noteworthy |
| G |
11 |
Kasen Harrison |
6-2 |
Sr. |
13.5 |
2.5 |
3.4 |
1.5 |
'23-24 Big South Preseason All-Conference / Approaching 450 career assists (438) / In double-figures for 14-of-17 games, including a 24 point performance vs. Georgia Sou. / Season-high 7 assists Upstate |
| G |
3 |
Paul Jones III |
6-3 |
Fr. |
8.2 |
3.1 |
0.5 |
0.4 |
Career-high 25 points vs. Averett / Was 6-of-8 behind the arc / 7th double-digit game with 12 vs. Upstate / 4 rebounds or more in eight games / 9.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg as a starter |
| G/F |
10 |
Nick Johnson |
6-4 |
Sr. |
11.1 |
2.5 |
146 |
1.4 |
Career-high 22 points in win over Mercer / 20 points in win at Queens / Ranked 8th in Big South with 1.4 spg / at least 1 steal in 15-of-17 games played / 7 straight games in double-figures came to end after 9 points at Radford |
| F |
12 |
K.J. Doucet |
6-7 |
Sr. |
14.6 |
6.2 |
1.0 |
0.9 |
24-25 Big South Preseason All-Conference / Posted back-to-back double-doubles (at Indiana/vs. Upstate) / Surpassed 1,500 career points / In double-figures in 15-of-17 games / Season-high 23 points vs. Coastal / 3rd in Big South in free throw attempts / had five 20-point games in '23-24 |
| F |
4 |
Kelton Talford |
6-7 |
Sr. |
15.4 |
7.9 |
0.6 |
1.3 |
'23-24/'24-25 Big South Preseason All-Conference / '22-23/'23-24 Big South All-Conference First Team / 19th career double-double with 25 points, 12 rebounds vs. Upstate / Moved into 3rd on the all-time rebound list (803), now 5th in career points (1,593) / Became program's all-time leader in free throw attempts (635) |
SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: 30-14
Series Streak: L1
Record at Paul Porter Arena: 11-18
Streak at Paul Porter Arena: L1
Prosser vs. Gardner-Webb: 4-3
- Eagles and Runnin' Bulldogs meet for the 45th time
- Gardner-Webb has won three of the last four meetings, but Winthrop leads the all-time series 30-14
- Eagles have won two of their last three visits to Paul Porter Arena
- In the last 15 meetings, 12 games have been decided by less than 10 points and eight decided by five or fewer points
WINTHROP IN BIG SOUTH
- Eagles are 1-1 this season and looking to avoid second straight road loss
- Hold an all-time record of 150-147 all-time in league road games
- Have won 32 of the last 46 Big South road games
- Second in the Big South in scoring (84.5) and 23rd nationally
- Eagles are 351-240 all-time in regular season league games as the 351 wins are the most by any Big South program in history
WINTHROP
- Leading the nation in free throw attempts per game (31.1) and second in free throws made per game (21.0)
- Eagles have almost made as many free throws (357) than opponents have attempted (360)
- Opened conference play with a 95-76 victory over USC Upstate behind a 25-0 second half run
- It was the 10th home win of the season, which the Eagles now have 10 or more home wins in 13 straight seasons
- Reached 10 wins before the start of conference play for the first time since the 2015-16 season
- Win over Mercer assured a winning record in the month of December for a second straight season and fourth time in the last five seasons
- Eagles posted 102 points in the win over Mercer, the 18th all-time 100 point game vs. a D1 opponent (Eagles hold a 42-2 all-time mark when scoring 100 and 16-2 vs. D1 opponents)
- Of the Eagles non-conference D1 opponents, nine of them have a winning record (as of Jan. 6)
- Kelton Talford leads the team in scoring at 15.4 ppg, K.J. Doucet is next at 14.6, Kasen Harrison is averaging 13.5 ppg and Nick Johnson is at 11.1 per game
- Talford is 5th in the league, Doucet is 11th and Harrison is 17th in scoring
- Talford is second in the Big South in rebounding (7.9) and third in field goal percentage (.587)
- Talford and Doucet each recorded double-doubles in the league opening win over USC Upstate
- Eagles have four players ranked among the Top 10 in the Big South for free throw attempts as Talford is 1st, Doucet 3rd, Johnson 7th, and Harrison 8th
- Eagles had 48 free throw attempts in the win over Mercer, the 5th game of the year with 40 or more trips to the foul line
- Johnson had a career-high 22 points in the win over Mercer, his second 20 point game of the year
- Johnson had 20 points to help the Eagles to their first road win of the season at Queens on Dec. 3
- Eagles hosted the Rock Hill Classic Nov. 15-17 and came away with a 2-1 record
- Opened the weekend with a thrilling 86-85 victory over William & Mary as Bryce Baker buried a three at the buzzer
- The win over William & Mary was the 100th career victory for head coach Mark Prosser
- It also marked the 800th win all-time in program history
- Eagles dropped the second game, 89-87 to Georgia Southern as that game came down to the final seconds
- Capped off the weekend with a 77-75 victory over North Carolina Central
- This was the first time the Eagles have been involved in three consecutive games decided by a single-possession since Nov. 10-14, 2019 vs. Fresno State (3), St. Mary's (2) and ETSU (3)
- First loss of the season and only road game so far came on Nov. 11 with a 58-52 loss to Virginia Tech
- 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
- 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 1,427th game in program history and hold an all-time record of 808-618
- Winthrop has more wins than any other Big South school (251) since the 2012-13 season and the closest is UNC Asheville with 218
- Mark Prosser starts his fourth season as head coach of the Eagles (8th head coach in program history) and holds a 66-47 record now in his fourth season
- Prosser earned his 100th career win on Nov. 15 vs. William & Mary, which was also his 100th game coached at the helm of the Winthrop program
- Prosser is coaching in his 232nd career game and 204th 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
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 moved past 1,400 points after 12 at Radford (now has 1,411)
- Surpassed 400 career assists (438) as he's dished out 287 as an Eagle
- Played in his 100th career game on Mar. 2, 2024 vs. Gardner-Webb
- Made his 100th career start in the game at Florida State (currently 117 games played)
- Kelton Talford
- Reached the 1,000 points and 500 career rebounds in 2023-24
- Has 1,593 career points, ranking 5th all-time in scoring at Winthrop
- His 803 career rebounds are ranked 3rd all-time in program history
- Became 11th player in Big South history with 1,500 points/800 rebounds
- Is currently the career leader in field goal percentage in Big South history at .638
- Is 1-of-14 NCAA D1 active players with 1,500 points/700 rebounds in a career
- 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 19 career double-doubles after his 25 points, 12 rebounds vs. USC Upstate
- Became the program leader for most free throw attempts (635), passing Keon Johnson's all-time mark of 610
- Overtook George Valentine for the most games played by a single-player in program history after playing at Indiana and now has 134 in his career
- Nick Johnson
- Reached 1,000 career points in the win at Radford last season and surpassed 1,200 points (now has 1,233)
- Made his 100th career start at Radford (121 games played)
- Reached 400 career rebounds vs. UNC Asheville in 2023-24 and is now at 480
- 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 (2023)
- Moved past 1,500 points in his career (1,541) after 22 points vs. Upstate
- Joined the 1,000 point/500 rebound club and now has 544 boards in his career
- 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 vs. his former team (Piedmont)
- Currently sitting with a career total of 1,438 points
- Has 347 career assists, 423 career rebounds and 163 career steals
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.
CHAMPIONSHIP ANNIVERSARIES
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. Greg Lewis was voted the Big South Tournament MVP.
It is also the 20th anniversary of the 2004-05 team that went 27-6 on the season and 15-1 in Big South play on its way to the first of four straight league titles for the second time. Eagles opened conference play with a 76-68 victory before reeling off 15 straight wins to take the regular season championship. Eagles rolled in the conference championship game, 68-46 over Charleston Southern as Torrell Martin was named the Big South Tournament MVP. The team was seeded 14th in the NCAA Tournament and faced #3 Gonzaga in Tucson, Ariz as it fell 74-64. The 18 consecutive wins is the 3rd longest winning streak in program history and 2nd longest in a single-season.
It's been 15 years since the Eagles captured the 2009-10 Big South Title. The Eagles were 19-14 overall and 12-6 in the Big South. Eagles started off league play with a 1-3 record before going on to win 11-of-12 league games and earned the 3rd seed. Opened the tournament with an 80-72 win over 6th-seeded Liberty before defeating 2nd-seeded Radford 61-46 and then top-seeded Coastal Carolina on its home court, 64-53. Mantoris Robinson was named the Big South Tournament MVP.
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 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
Eagles return home on Saturday, Jan. 11 to take on Longwood inside the Winthrop Coliseum at 2 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).
