Vaudrin Posts Triple-Double As Eagles Roll Into Big South Semifinals

Rock Hill, S.C. – Chandler Vaudrin recorded a triple-double to help Winthrop cruise to an 83-54 victory over 8^th seeded High Point, Monday evening in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Hercules Tires Big South Conference Men’s Basketball Championships.

The Eagles will host Longwood on Thursday, Mar. 4 in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. and the game will air live on ESPN+..

WINTHROP (21-1)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS

• Chandler Vaudrin (10 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists)
• Adonis Arms (15 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal)
• D.J. Burns Jr. (12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks)

HIGH POINT (9-15)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS

• John-Michael Wright (17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal)
• Denny Slay II (9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal)
• Ahmil Flowers (6 points, 2 rebounds, 4 steals)

FIRST HALF

• Eagles knocked down three of their first five shots to jump out to an early 9-3 lead
• D.J. Burns Jr. opened up the scoring with a short jumper followed by threes from Chandler Vaudrin and Jamal King
• Winthrop got after it defensively from the tip and held High Point to a 2-for-16 start from the floor
• Leading 13-4 the offense got going, hitting six of its next seven shots to open up a 29-8 lead with 10:31 left in the half
• Charles Falden ignited the 16-4 run, scoring the first five points and finishing with 10 points during the run
• Despite missing its final five shots of the half, the Eagles led 42-26 at the break
• Winthrop shot 38 percent from the floor while High Point shot 35 percent

SECOND HALF

• Winthrop opened up the second half 9-for-14 from the floor, doubling its lead at 66-33 with 9:43 to play in the game
• After a free throw by Ahmil Flowers made it a 15-point game in the early part of the half, Kyle Zunic buried a three off a turnover by the Panthers that started an 8-0 run
• Denny Slay ended the run as he finished off a fast break with layup off a Jaden House steal, but the Eagles responded with back-to-back baskets in transition
• Zunic’s three put the Eagles on top by 33 points, their largest lead of the game
• Eagles led by at least 23 points or more the rest of the way

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Winthrop shot 42 percent in the game and held High Point to 30 percent
• The glass was dominated by the Eagles 53-39
• Second chance points were nearly even as the Eagles had a 15-13 edge
• Points in the paint were even at 24-24, but the Eagles finished with 12 threes while the Panthers had just one
• Vaudrin’s 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists led to his third triple double of the season and seventh of his career
• Vaudrin was 1-of-4 players in double-figures as Adonis Arms led the way with 15 points
• Burns Jr. added 12 points and Falden finished with 10
• John-Michael Wright finished with a game-high 17 points
• Russell Jones Jr. came off the bench to dish out a career-high 10 assists, tying Vaudrin for the game-high

NOTABLES

• Winthrop reached 21 wins for the 10^th time in program history and 4^th time under Pat Kelsey
• Eagles move on to the semifinals of the Big South Tournament for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons
• The win gives Kelsey 184 career victories, which ranks 4^th place in Big South history
• Winthrop is now 41-4 in its last 45 games
• This was the Eagles 600^th win since transitioning to the NCAA D1 level
• Vaudrin’s 12 rebounds pushed him over the 800 mark in his collegiate career (802)
• Eagles have now won four straight conference tournament games and are 51-23 all-time and 16-6 under Kelsey