Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop hit four free throws in the final 15.2 seconds to hold on for an 81-77 victory at Presbyterian College, Wednesday evening in Big South Conference men's basketball action.
WINTHROP (19-10, 9-5 Big South)
PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE (11-17, 4-9 Big South)
- Kobe Stewart (18 points, 5 rebounds, assist, steal)
- Kory Mincy (18 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, block, steal)
- Kaleb Scott (7 points, 4 rebounds, assist, block)
FIRST HALF
- Eagles were on the board first as K.J. Doucet followed his own miss and scored with a layup for the early lead
- Aftertwo possessions the Eagles led 4-0 as Kasen Harrison found Tommy Kamarad cutting to the basket for the score at the rim
- It was 8-0 Eagles after another Kamarad scored in transition off another feed from Harrison at the 14:46 mark
- It ended up being a 10-0 run to start the game for the Eagles after Kelton Talford scored inside
- PC put a stop to the run at the 16:48 mark as Kaleb Scott bullied his way in the post and scored on a layup
- The Blue Hose scored four straight to make it a two possession game again after Triston Wilson scored in transition off a Winthrop turnovers
- A Bryce Baker three from the right wing put the Eagles up 13-4 at the 15:48 mark
- The Blue Hose chipped away at the Winthrop lead and made it a three point game at the 10:51 mark after Carl Parrish buried a left wing three
- Eagles scored on the ensuing possession as Talford scored at the rim and then the lead was back to double-digits at 11 after back-to-back threes from Nick Johnson and Harrison
- Eagles turned it into a 12-0 run after Doucet scored four consecutive points to lead 34-19
- Kory Mincy ended the run as he knocked down a left corner three as the Eagles led 34-22 with 7:31 left in the half
- PC scored four straight points to pull within 10 points, but Johnson answered with a corner three to go back up by 13 with a little under seven minutes remaining
- The Blue Hose were within 10 again but Paul Jones III drilled a three to get the lead back to 13
- Winthrop's lead was down to eight with 2:22 left but Talford scored an And-1 and converted the free throw for a 44-33 lead with 1:54 left
- PC did get the Winthrop lead down to single digits before the break as the Eagles led 46-37 at the half behind 60 percent shooting from the floor
SECOND HALF
- Blue Hose opened the scoring in the second half as Kobe Stewart dropped in a three to cut the Eagle lead to 46-40
- Eagles pushed the lead back to nine points a few possession later as Johnson drove and kicked it out to Kamarad on the left wing as he buried the trip to lead 51-42
- The lead quickly dwindled to a one possession game after back-to-back threes by the Blue Hose
- Talford scored inside to push the Eagles back in front by two possessions at 53-48 at the 17:06 mark
- PC used a 6-0 spurt to take its first lead of the game at 54-53 after Mincy scored off the drive with 12:57 to play
- Harrison scored off a drive to get the Eagles right back in the lead at 55-53
- The team's started to trade blows as Stewart answered with a three only to be matched by Doucet as the Eagles led 58-57 with 12:07 remaining
- From the 12:57 mark to the 7:34 mark there were 13 lead changes
- PC took advantage of Winthrop miscues and used a 7-0 run to build a 72-67 lead with 6:03 remaining
- Harrison made two free throws with 5:56 left to make it a one possession game again at 72-69
- After getting a defensive stop the Eagles pushed the ball and Doucet scored with an And-1 to regain the lead
- Doucet missed the free throw but Talford boarded the miss and was fouled on the stick back
- Talford stepped to the line and hit 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game at 72-27 with 5:26 to play
- Doucet drew another And-1 as he scored a layup on the break while drawing the 5th foul on Jaylen Peterson with 3:32 to play
- Doucet made the free throw to complete the three-point play for a 75-72 lead
- The game was tied again at 75-75 after Scott made 1-of-2 free throws with 2:28 to play
- Doucet missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 2:11 to play but Kamarad kept the rebound alive as it tipped to Doucet who quickly laid it in off glass for the lead
- Eagles turned the ball over with 35.6 seconds left after being called for a 10-second violation
- Winthrop got a defensive stop and Talford was fouled after the rebound
- Talford stepped in and made the front of 1-and-1 and both free throws with 15.2 left to lead 79-75
- Mincy knocked down a jumper with 10 seconds left to make it a one possession game again
- Harrison was fouled on the inbound with 8.6 seconds left and converted both of his free throws and the Eagles held on for the four point victory
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Eagles shot 60 percent from the floor in the first half and finished the game at 55 percent
- PC finished the game shooting 48 percent after shooting 52 percent in the second half
- The two teams combined to go 17-for-36 from three as Winthrop was 8-of-17 and PC finished 9-for-19
- Eagles dominated the glass 40-24 and points in the paint 44-30
- Talford and Johnson finished with double-doubles
- Talford had 17 points and 12 rebounds while Johnson posted 10 points and 10 boards
- Doucet led all scorers with a season-high 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting
- Over the final 12:57 of the game there were 14 lead changes and the game was tied twice
- The 10-0 start by the Eagles was the best start this season to a game
NOTABLES
- This was the third straight win on the road for the Eagles
- Talford put up 17 points and is now one point shy of 1,800 in his career
- The double-double by Talford was his 8th of the season and 22nd of his career
- Talford also moved closer to 900 career rebounds (895)
- Doucet had six rebounds and has now reached 600 for his career
- For the Eagles, this was their seventh straight win at the Ross E. Templeton Center
- Winthrop is now one win shy of its 15th 20-win season in program history as an NCAA D1 member (18 total in history)
UP NEXT
Winthrop is off this weekend for it second bye of the conference schedule and will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 26 as it travels to Farmville, Va. to take on Longwood 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)
