Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop defeated USC Upstate 68-64 to extend its winning streak to 12 straight, Thursday evening inside the Winthrop Coliseum.
WINTHROP (20-8, 12-1 Big South)
USC UPSTATE (11-17, 3-10 Big South)
- Carmelo Adkins (21 points, 4 rebounds, assist, 2 steals)
- Karmani Gregory (18 points, 2 assists, block, 2 steals)
- Mason Bendinger (9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, steal)
FIRST HALF
- Upstate opened the scoring as Jafeth Martinez converted two free throws 17 seconds in
- Eagles tied on the ensuing possession as Tommy Kamarad found Isaiah Wilson cutting to the basket for a score at the rim
- Upstate grabbed a 7-4 lead when Carmelo Adkins knocked down a wing three
- Spartans grabbed a two possession lead at 10-6 after a Mason Bendinger three
- Eagles answered with back-to-back threes from Kody Clouet to take their first lead of the game, 12-10 with 15:29 remaining
- With the game tied 17-17 with 8:30 left I the half, Upstate went on an 8-0 run to take a 25-17 lead with 6:44 remaining
- After making their first five field goal attempts, the Eagles were just 2-of-9 over the next nine minutes which also included six turnovers to help the Spartans work their way into the eight point advantage
- The Upstate lead was eight with just under five minutes left in the half when Clouet drilled another three to start an 11-0 run to end the half and lead 30-27 at the break
SECOND HALF
- Upstate's Isaiah Skinner scored the first points of the second half as he scored off the drive to end the 11-0 run by the Eagles
- Eagles responded with a 7-0 run to build an eight point advantage with 17:41 on the clock
- The run began with a free throw from Kareem Rozier and followed by Logan Duncomb boarding a missed free throw and scoring at the rim to lead 33-29
- Rozier scored again as he knocked down a short jumper and then Tommy Kamarad capped the as he boarded a miss and scored
- Winthrop pushed its lead to double-digits at the 16:12 mark after Rozier knocked down a floater in the lane
- Winthrop led by nine with 9:30 to play when Upstate scored a quick five points that included a three from Adkins to cut the lead down to four points at 53-49
- Eagles pushed their lead to 11 with 3:23 to play after Duncomb made two free throws, but Upstate fought its way back to a five point deficit with 1:53 to play after a corner three from Karmani Gregory
- Gregory hit two free throws with 18 seconds left to cut the Winthrop lead to 67-64
- Eagles turned the ball over as Upstate applied pressure and Gregory put up a three, but it didn't fall
- Duncomb hit 1-of-2 free throws with eight seconds left to lead 68-64 and then hauled in the rebound in the final seconds to secure the win
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Eagles finished the game shooting 43 percent and held Upstate to 34 percent shooting
- Winthrop dominated the glass 45-33 and had 14 offensive boards that led to 21 second chance points
- Eagles finished 7-for-23 behind the arc while the Spartans were 7-for-31
- Winthrop finished with a 32-24 edge in points in the paint
NOTABLES
- The win gives the Eagles back-to-back 20-win seasons and it is the 16th 20-win season all-time
- The win is the 12th in a row for the Eagles, tying for the 3rd longest streak in the nation
- The 12-game winning streak also tied for the 6th best win streak in program history
- Eagles have won 10 straight home games
- Duncomb finished with 24 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for his 12th double-double
- It was also his 12th game of the year with 20 or more points
- Duncomb now has 170 made free throws on the season, one shy of tying the program record held by Keon Johnson (2016-17)
- He is also two free throw attempts from tying the program record in a single-season
- Winthrop has won 20 of the last 22 regular season games
- The victory was the 700th NCAA Division I victory for the program
UP NEXT
The Eagles head to High Point, N.C. on Saturday, Feb. 21 to face off against High Point at 4 p.m. in a matchup of the top two teams in the league standings.
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