Spartanburg, S.C. – Winthrop used a 14-0 second half run to pull away and earn a 105-95 victory at USC Upstate, Saturday afternoon.
WINTHROP (17-9, 7-4 Big South)
USC UPSTATE (5-20, 1-10 Big South)
- Mister Dean (21 points, 2 rebounds, assist, 3 steals)
- Brit Harris (19 points, rebound, 3 assists, steal)
- Carmelo Adkins (17 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists)ac
FIRST HALF
- Karmani Gregory knocked down the first basket of the game he dropped in a three and after Mister Dean went 1-of-2 at the line Upstate led 4-0 in the early going
- Carmelo Adkins hit a three for Upstate to push the lead to 7-2 at the 17:13 mark
- Tommy Kamarad answered with a three for the Eagles and then a turn around jumper by Kasen Harrison tied the game at 7-7
- Kamarad then hit two free throws to tie the game at 11-11 and the Eagles took their first lead on their next possession as Bryce Baker knocked down a three
- Upstate tied the game at 14-14 after two free throws from Brit Harris
- Winthrop used a 7-0 run from that point to open up a three possession advantage
- The run started when Kasen Harrison fed Kelton Talford for a dunk and then Baker drilled another three to lead 19-14 with 12:25 left
- Harrison connected with Talford again as he scored at the rim forcing an Upstate timeout
- Dean ended the run as he came away with a steal and scored on the other end
- Baker continued to feel it from behind the arc as he knocked down his third triple for a 24-16 lead, a span of three triples in three and a half minutes
- Upstate stormed back to tie the game at 26-26 with nine minutes remaining in the half, as threes from Andrew McConnell and Adkins powered the run
- The Spartans regained the lead after Chico Johnson scored off a dish from Adkins to lead 28-26
- A Yoro Diallo dunk at the 8:11 mark put the Eagles back in front 29-28 but another three (Harris) by the Spartans gave them a 31-29 advantage
- Paul Jones III three-point play with just under six minutes left put the Eagles on top 34-33 and sparked a 7-0 run to lead 38-33
- The teams continued to go back-and-forth as the Eagles were able to grab a 52-49 lead at the half
SECOND HALF
- Upstate tied it right out of the gate as Adkins knocked down a three, Kamarad answered right back for the Eagles with a triple only to have Adkins answer with another three as the game was tied 55-55
- Harrison then scored off the drive followed by a Kamarad steal that led to a K.J. Doucet layup to lead 59-55
- Talford scored inside at the 17:43 mark to make it six straight points for the Eagles
- Upstate used a 9-2 run to regain the lead at 64-63 with 13:51 remaining
- The run was highlighted by four points from Nic Book and a three from Harris
- It was a one point deficit for the Eagles after two free throws by Harrison
- Upstate extended its lead to two possessions at 73-68 after two free throws from Chico Johnson with 11:13 remaining
- Upstate looked to add to its lead but Dean missed a floater and Talford boarded the miss and was fouled by Dean
- Talford proceeded to hit two free throws and then Nick Johnson buried a three to tie the game at 75-75 with 9:19 to play
- Johnson put the Eagles back in the lead at 77-75 after converted two free throws
- The Talford free throws started a 17-0 run in which Johnson (10) and Talford (4) combined for 14 points and the run was capped by a Harrison three to lead 87-75 with 6:33 remaining
- Eagles were able to hold off the Spartans the remainder of the game to earn the road win
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Eagles finished the game shooting 54 percent while USC Upstate shot 47 percent
- Winthrop had a strong performance at the free throw line, finishing 31-of-35 while Upstate was 14-for-19
- Winthrop won the battle on the glass 37-33 and had nine offensive boards while the Spartans had 13
- Eagles outscored Upstate 46-40 in the paint while points off turnovers were even at 18 a piece
- Winthrop had three players record 20 or more points as Kelton Talford had 22, Nick Johnson finished with 21 and Kasen Harrison had 20
NOTABLES
- The win was the fourth straight overall for the Eagles, the second time this season they've won at least four straight
- Harrison's nine assists tied his career-best, which he did against Longwood on Jan. 11
- Talford has now scored 20 or more points in four straight games
- This was the 5th game of the season the Eagles scored 100 or more points, which are the most for any season in program history
UP NEXT
Winthrop returns home on Wednesday, Feb. 12 to take on Radford at 6:30 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED
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