Eagles Match 91-92 Radford Team For Best Conference Start Ever

Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop earned an 85-69 win at Charleston Southern Monday afternoon to tie for the best start to a season in the history of the Big South Conference. The Eagles ties the 1990-91 Radford team with an 8-0 start to the season.

Winthrop and Charleston Southern will wrap-up the two-game series on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 3 p.m.

WINTHROP (8-0, 5-0 Big South)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS

• Charles Falden (14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist)
• Adonis Arms (10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal)
• Chandler Vaudrin (8 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists)

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (1-6, 1-2 Big South)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS

• Emorie Knox (15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals)
• Terence Porter Jr. (13 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks)
• Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 2 steals)

FIRST HALF

• Eagles struggled out of the gate as Charleston Southern led 10-2 at the first media timeout (15:54) as they committed six turnovers and were 1-for-5 from the floor
• Kyle Zunic’s three from the right wing at the 14:42 mark seemed to get the offense going as it cut the Winthrop deficit in half at 10-5
• Charleston Southern’s Emorie Knox answered the Zunic triple with a step back three, but Charles Falden had his own answer with a three to cut the lead to 13-8
• Knox buried another three on the ensuing possession, only to be outdone by Falden as he drilled a three from the left side and was fouled in the process as he completed the four-point play to get the Eagles within four points with 13:40 left in the half
• A Phlandrous Fleming Jr. three put the Bucs back on top by seven points, but Falden scored his ninth straight point with a bucket at the rim to trail 19-14
• Trailing 20-17 with around 10 and a half minutes remaining in the half freshman Toneari Lane drilled a three from the corner and two possession later put the Eagles in front for the first time at 23-20 with 9:22 left
• Toneari’s two triples sparked a 17-0 run in which the Eagles held the Bucs scoreless for over five minutes and built a 34-20 advantage
• The middle of the run was highlighted by Jamal King scoring a couple of baskets at the rim
• A D.J. Burns Jr. jumper put the Eagles up 41-24 for their largest lead of the half, but the Bucs were able to cut the lead to 12 points before the break
• Winthrop shot 47 percent and hit seven threes as it let 44-32 at the half
• Charleston Southern shot 38 percent from the floor, 6-of-14 behind the arc
• Winthrop had 10 different players score in the first half

SECOND HALF

• Falden opened the second half scoring for a 15-point advantage
• The Bucs chipped away and pulled within 11 points four minutes into the half
• Russell Jones Jr. had an answer as he spun into the lane, dribbled and then scored high off the glass over the defender
• Out of a timeout, the Eagles got a defensive stop and then on a second chance opportunity Josh Corbin knocked down a three for the team’s largest lead of the game to that point at 60-42
• Following a Jamir Moore basket inside, the Eagles went on a 7-0 run highlighted by threes from Corbin and Zunic for a 68-44 advantage
• After a Micheal Anumba layup put the Eagles up 70-46, Charleston Southern answered with a 10-0 run
• The run started with a three from Terence Porter Jr. followed with a three from Ja’Quavian Florence
• Porter Jr. scored the final four points of the run to make it a 70-56 lead with 9:18 to play
• The Winthrop lead was down to 12 points with the Bucs getting a chance to make it a single-digit deficit, but Chase Claxton stole the ball and King connected on a left wing three for a 75-60 lead with 6:29 remaining
• Claxton got another steal on the ensuing possession for the Bucs and that eventually led to a Chandler Vaudrin basket inside
• The Eagles pushed their lead back to 20 points with a little over three minutes to play as Falden hit a floater on the drive to lead 83-63

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Eagles finished the game shooting 46 percent from the floor while Charleston Southern shot 54 percent in the second half and finished at 45 percent for the game
• Behind the arc the Eagles were 12-for-32 behind the arc while the Bucs finished 11-of-27
• For a third straight game the Eagles dominated the glass by 21-plus (48-27) as they finished with a 17-2 advantage in second chance points
• Eagles finished with a 17-1 advantage in offense rebounds
• Both teams got out in transition but fast break points were dead even at 21 apiece
• Falden with 14 points and Arms with 10 points were the only Eagles in double-figures as nine different players had at least six points
• The bench for the Eagles contributed with 41 points led by Arms and King added nine points
• Vaudrin flirted with another triple double as he finished with eight points, eight rebounds and eight assists
• The Bucs were led by a career-high 15 points from Knox and a career-best 13 points by Porter Jr.
• Vaudrin and Anumba tied for a team-high eight rebounds

NOTABLES

• Winthrop has now won 13 straight contests, the 4^th best winning streak in program history
• Remain unbeaten in league play this year and have won seven straight regular season conference contests
• Pat Kelsey ties Cliff Ellis of Coastal Carolina for the most regular season conference victories with 98 and now trails former Winthrop head coach Gregg Marshall by six (104)
• Off to a 5-0 start in Big South play for a second straight season and fifth time in program history
• Eagles hit 12 threes as they have now connected on 12 or more threes in all three league road games this season
• Vaudrin has moved within nine points of 1,000 in his collegiate career