Winthrop Wins 21st Straight Game; 84-80 Over UNC-Asheville

Rock Hill, S.C. – Josh Corbin scored a career-high 20 points off the bench to lead Winthrop to an 84-80 win over UNC Asheville, Thursday night inside the Winthrop Coliseum. The ESPNU audience got to witness the Eagles remain unbeaten and capture their 21^st consecutive victory.

WINTHROP (16-0, 13-0 Big South)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS

• Josh Corbin (20 points 1 rebound, 1 steal)
• Charles Falden (12 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal)
• Chandler Vaudrin (12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists)

UNC ASHEVILLE (9-9, 8-5 Big South)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS

• Tajion Jones (20 points, 4 rebounds)
• DeVon Baker (15 points, 1 assist, 2 steals)
• Trent Stephney (11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block)

FIRST HALF

• It wasn’t an ideal start for either team as the as the Bulldogs started 1-of-5 and 2-of-7 from the floor while the Eagles began the game 2-for-10
• After the first five minutes both team settled into the game offensively
• At the 13:41 mark Chase Claxton scored on a reverse layup for a 10-5 lead as that started a scoring trend of points being scored on five straight possessions as the team’s went back-and-forth in a little over a minute
• The game was tied 16-16 with 8:50 left in the half and then a Coty Jude jumper in the lane put the Bulldogs on top by a bucket
• Winthrop responded in a big way as Josh Corbin took over, drilling three triples in the span of a minute and 12 seconds to put the Eagles in front 25-18 and forcing a timeout from Asheville
• Eagles continued to build on their lead as Chandler Vaudrin hit a short jumper and then Adonis Arms made two free throws to cap off a 13-0 run
• Trent Stephney ended the run with a score on the break, but lead was back to double-figures after Arms stole a pass near the Asheville basket and finished with the dunk
• The Bulldogs did get the deficit within seven points before the half as Winthrop led 38-31 at the break
• Defense led to offense for the Eagles as they turned 10 turnovers into 14 points as they shot 42 percent in the half while Asheville shot 44 percent (5-of-8 behind the arc)

SECOND HALF

• Asheville made its final two shots of the first half and opened the second half connecting on 10 of its first 11 attempts
• But the Eagles held strong and even held a 49-38 lead at the 17:13 mark of the half
• For the next four minutes the Eagles maintained a 7-10 point advantage until a DeVon Baker jumper in the lane made it a two possession game with 12:32 to play
• The Eagles pounded the offensive glass all game and leading by six got three consecutive offensive boards that led to D.J. Burns Jr. finding Vaudrin for a straight away three and a 61-52 lead
• After L.J. Thorpe scored off the drive, the Eagles were back at it on the offensive glass as Kyle Zunic boarded a missed jumper by Burns Jr. and found Charles Falden open for three to push the lead back to double-digits
• On the ensuing possession Zunic jumped the passing lane at the top of the key, leading to him finishing at the other end for a 66-54 lead and another Asheville timeout
• With 8:50 left in the game Corbin hit another triple as the lead was 14 points and his sixth three of the game with 7:58 to pay gave the Eagles a 72-57 advantage
• Corbin wasn’t done as he faked a three, drove the lane and finished a tough short jumper in the paint for Winthrop’s largest lead of the game at 17 points (74-57)
• Following two Vaudrin free throws the Eagles led 67-59 but Asheville did not cool off shooting the ball as they made it a game down the stretch
• With 2:53 left Jones hit a three for the Bulldogs, the first of three straight triples by Jones to make it a five point game with 52 seconds left
• Asheville did make it a two point game with 5.5 seconds left but Russell Jones Jr. made both free throws to earn the four point win

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Winthrop finished the game shooting 42 percent and was 10-of-24 from three
• Asheville shot 72 percent from the floor in the second half and finished at 58 percent for the game (11-for-17 behind the arc)
• Winthrop forced 19 turnovers that led to 31 points as it had a 31-3 advantage in points off turnovers
• Eagles had 18 offensive rebounds that led to 17 second chance points
• Corbin’s 20 points led an Eagle bench that contributed 50 points as Vaudrin had 12 off the bench and Arms added 10
• Corbin finished the game 7-of-9 (6-of-8 from three)
• Points in the paint were nearly even as the Eagles held a 34-32 edge
• Winthrop had 12 steals, the second time in the last four games
• Jones tied Corbin for the game-high with 20 points as he was 7-of-11 from the floor

NOTABLES

• The 21 consecutive wins lead the NCAA D1 by two games over top-ranked Gonzaga and tied the Big South Conference record win streak
• The 2010-11 Coastal Carolina team owns the longest win streak in league history at 21 straight
• Kelsey moved into 3^rd all-time in Big South history with 106 regular season wins, and now trails Radford’s Ron Bradley by three
• Winthrop has now won 15 straight Big South regular season games dating back to the 2019-20 season
• It was also the 179^th victory in Kelsey’s career, tying him with Coastal Carolina’s Cliff Ellis for 4^th all-time in Big South history
• Winthrop is 13-0 in league for just the second time in program history (2006-07 finished the season 14-0 in the Big South)
• Over the last two seasons the Eagles are a combined 18-0 in the month of January