Winthrop keeps IUPUI at bay in Rock Hill Classic day 2 win

 

Winthrop forward Kelton Talford led all scorers with 17 in Saturday's win. (Photo:  Winthrop University Athletics)

ROCK HILL, S.C. – It’s hard to envision a better script for Winthrop’s first two games of its first off-campus, in-town MTE.

The Eagles have played 80 minutes of basketball for their hometown fans in the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center. They have not trailed for a second of those 80 minutes.

Winthrop placed four scorers in double figures and got 17 from preseason first-team all-Big South performer Kelton Talford in a 74-61 victory over IUPUI of the Horizon League before an announced crowd of 711 Saturday evening.

Winthrop (3-2) first seized the lead as it had done the day prior against Holy Cross, grabbing a 12-4 advantage eight minutes into the contest. IUPUI (2-3) scored nine of the next 14 to cut the Eagle margin to three. The Eagles quickly countered with a 15-3 burst keyed by two Sin’Cere McMahon triples, extending the score to 31-16. IUPUI ended with 11 of the final 17 to cut Winthrop’s halftime lead to 10, at 37-27.

IUPUI used back-to-back buckets to trim the Winthrop lead to seven with 17:22 remaining. The Eagles called timeout shortly after the brief drama, and whatever head coach Mark Prosser said worked. Winthrop unfurled a torrid stretch in which it hit nine consecutive tries from the field and opened the split back as high as 21.

The Jaguars put together a few small bursts in the second stanza. IUPUI notched an 8-3 stretch after a Talford jumper that diced the Winthrop advantage to 15. After Winthrop countered with a 6-0 mini-run, the Jaguars again clipped it to 15 on a 7-1 string. A final 7-1 run reduced the Winthrop advantage to 12, but IUPUI could draw no closer.

Talford paced the Eagles and all scorers with his 17 points. The senior from Great Falls, S.C., did much of his damage from the charity stripe, knocking down 9-of-10 tries. K.J. Doucet added 16, converting 6-of-11 attempts from the field. McMahon contributed 12 on 4-for-7 shooting (3-for-6 from three) and guard Nick Johnson tallied 11 on 4-of-8 from the field. The Eagles finished the night hitting 48.9 percent (22-for-45) from the field despite knocking down just 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from beyond the arc.

IUPUI finished with three double-digit scorers. Kidtrell Blocker found the net on 7-of-12 tries to finish the night with 15 for the Jaguars. Jlynn Counter made 6-of-13 attempts to finish with 13, while senior guard Bryce Monroe chipped in 11. The Jaguars shot 39.7 percent (23-for-58) from the floor and 3-for-17 (17.6 percent) from distance. Winthrop opponents have hit just 7-of-42 tries (16.7 percent) from deep over the first two games of the event.

The teams play their final outings of the event Sunday afternoon. IUPUI opens with Holy Cross in a game set for noon (Eastern). Winthrop will finish the day battling Elon in a 2:30 tip. Both games are set for streaming over ESPN+.

WINTHROP 74, IUPUI 61

WINTHROP (3-2)

Talford 4-7 9-10 17, Johnson 4-8 2-3 11, Harrison 0-4 0-0 0, Doucet 6-11 3-6 16, Claxton 0-0 1-2 1, McMahon 4-7 1-2 12, McKelvy 0-0 0-0 0, Diallo 0-0 1-2 1, Howard 0-0 1-2 1, Van Bibber 2-5 2-2 8, Harrison 0-0 0-0 0, Moore 0-0 1-2 1, Timmerman 2-3 2-3 6. Totals 22-45 23-34 74.

IUPUI (2-3)

Counter 6-13 0-0 13, Monroe 4-12 2-2 11, Samuels 0-2 0-0 0, Blocker 7-12 0-0 15, Nkomba 0-1 0-0 0, Brady 3-7 2-2 8, Egbuta 0-0 0-0 0, Samb 0-1 0-0 0, DeWitt 0-1 0-0 0, Hamilton 1-3 3-4 5, Jackson 2-5 3-3 7, Allen 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 23-58 12-13 61.

Halftime:  Winthrop 37-27. 3-Point goals:  Winthrop 7-18 (Johnson 1-2, Harrison 0-1, Doucet 1-3, McMahon 3-6, Van Bibber 2-5), IUPUI 3-17 (Counter 1-3, Monroe 1-2, Samuels 0-1, Blocker 1-5, Brady 0-3, DeWitt 0-1, Hamilton 0-1, Allen 0-1). Fouled out:  Diallo (WU), Nkomba (IUPUI). Rebounds:  IUPUI 34 (Counter 9), Winthrop 33 (Doucet/Timmerman 6). Assists:  Winthrop 9 (Harrison 6), IUPUI 3 (Counter/Monroe/Samb 1). Total fouls:  IUPUI 24, Winthrop 14. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  IUPUI 21, Winthrop 18.  Points in the paint:  IUPUI 32, Winthrop 28.  Second-chance points:  IUPUI 18, Winthrop 15.  Fast-break points:  IUPUI 11, Winthrop 9.  Bench points:  Winthrop 29, IUPUI 22.