Winthrop to defend home court against High Point Saturday
Fresh off its ninth road win of the season, Winthrop quickly turns its focus to Saturday afternoon and a 2 p.m. home game against High Point.
Saturday’s game will air on ESPN3, or fans can tune into 104.1 The Bridge with Dave Friedman and Mike Pacheco calling the action.
This game marks the second part of the league season as the Eagles have now played every opponent and will wrap-up the regular season with five home games and four on the road. The Eagles held on for a 72-70 win at Gardner-Webb Thursday night for a seventh straight win to improve to 16-4 and 8-1 in the Big South, a game ahead of second-placed Liberty and UNC Asheville.
Senior Keon Johnson continues to lead the team in scoring at 20 points per game, while junior Xavier Cooks contributes 15.3. Cooks leads the team in rebounding at 8.2 in all games, and 9.8 in league play. During the winning streak, Cooks leads the team in free throws made, free throws attempted, rebounds, and assists.
Winthrop has won 18 of 20 home games against Big South opponents. The Eagles are 19-3 in their last 22 regular season league games, dating back to last season.
Winthrop won the first meeting this season at High Point, 80-74. It was the program’s first victory over the Panthers in the Millis Center since Jan. 25, 2007. In the first meeting on Jan. 4, Winthrop tied a school record for three-pointers in a game with 17. Johnson led all scorers with 27 points while Cooks added 21 as it was the only game of the season where they both scored 20 or more.
High Point had four players in double-figures led by Bowman Jr. and Thompson with 15. For most of the season High Point has been one of the most accurate three-point shooting teams in the league but the Eagles are the top team in the league defending the arc as they held the Panthers to 3-for-19.
The last time these two teams met in the Winthrop Coliseum the Eagles exploded for an 86-66 win. While the Eagles have won two of the last three meetings, the Panthers have won three of the last four in Rock Hill.
High Point enters the game having won four straight, including an overtime victory over Charleston Southern Thursday night. Since falling to the Eagles on Jan. 4, the Panthers dropped two more games before reeling off four straight.
Big South men’s basketball standings (as of Jan. 27)
Team | Conference record | Overall record | Next opponent | Streak |
Winthrop | 8-1 | 16-4 | High Point | W7 |
UNC Asheville | 7-2 | 15-7 | Radford | W2 |
Liberty | 7-2 | 12-10 | at Campbell | W1 |
High Point | 5-4 | 11-10 | at Winthrop | W4 |
Campbell | 4-5 | 11-10 | Liberty | W1 |
Gardner-Webb | 4-5 | 11-11 | at Charleston Southern | L1 |
Radford | 4-5 | 9-12 | at UNC Asheville | L2 |
Charleston Southern | 3-6 | 7-13 | Gardner-Webb | L1 |
Longwood | 3-6 | 6-14 | at Presbyterian | L6 |
Presbyterian | 0-9 | 4-16 | Longwood | L10 |
This story was originally published January 27, 2017 at 5:36 PM with the headline "Winthrop to defend home court against High Point Saturday."