Kelton Talford, Winthrop’s secret weapon, shines in win over Radford. What we learned
Look out Big South — Winthrop has another big man who can change a game.
And his name is Kelton Talford.
The Great Falls native and Eagles sophomore reserve big man turned in one of the best performances of his young career in Winthrop’s 58-48 win over Big South Conference foe Radford on Wednesday night in Rock Hill. He finished with a career-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting and nine rebounds in 26 minutes.
You already know DJ Burns. He was the league’s preseason player of the year this year, the league’s Freshman of the Year two seasons ago, the best prospect out of high school to have ever worn a Winthrop jersey, the Rock Hill native who ventured to the University of Tennessee before transferring back home to play for the team he grew up watching. In his tenure in the Big South, Burns has been a delicacy in a league of guards and has helped lead his team to two straight Big South titles and NCAA tournament bids because of it.
But Winthrop fans saw another South Carolina-born forward shine on Wednesday. And it was Talford — a 6-foot-7, 195-pound, long-haired, bubble gum-chewing sophomore who, on Wednesday, furnished scoring in a game where scoring was scarce.
Talford was impressive off dump-offs, with his post moves — doing pretty much anything on Wednesday. He just appeared quicker than anyone Radford threw at him.
“I’ve always been undersized as in the weight category, so growing up, coming through school, it’s always been, ‘If they’re bigger than you, you gotta be quicker than them,’” Talford said postgame. “So I just try to use my quickness as an advantage when I’m down there just to help me get to the rim.”
Talford’s most impactful run was with 18:47 left in the second half, right after Burns notched his third foul: He played for most of the second half from there — making an impact with impeccable under-the-basket footwork on post moves and being ready to flush away dunks on any Drew Buggs and Micheal Anumba drives — and even scored six straight points for the Eagles that ultimately gave Winthrop an eight-point second-half lead (35-27) it wouldn’t relinquish.
A stat to consider: Talford was 9-of-12 from the floor, as previously mentioned.
Not Talford was 13-of-31.
Winthrop, in other words, needed its secret weapon on Wednesday night, and it got him.
“He’s a very efficient offensive player,” head coach Mark Prosser told reporters postgame. “He plays really, really hard. He gives us a presence on the offensive glass as well. ... We trust Kelton as much as anybody else. For us it’s going to be different guys on different evenings. But tonight was his night, and he certainly freakin’ stepped up.”
The Eagles, with the win, move to 16-8 overall and 9-2 in the Big South — enough to keep them atop the South division of their league.
Here’s what else we learned.
Brutal first-half shooting
Neither team was pleased with how it played in the first half. And they shouldn’t have been.
The halftime score was 23-18, Winthrop leading. The Eagles and Highlanders combined for 32% from the field (14-of-44) and 6% from the three (1-16). The Eagles, specifically, notched 11 of their 19 turnovers in the first half. (Winthrop only finished with two 3s all game, a season low.)
The second half was sluggish at its start, too, but Talford’s emergence and Winthrop’s timely defense fueled Winthrop to a lead and a third straight win.
A few absent Eagles re-emerge
Three Winthrop stars were absent from the Eagles’ contests last week.
And a few re-emerged on Wednesday night.
Graduate transfer guard Patrick Good, the team’s second-leading scorer coming into Wednesday and its most prolific 3-point shooter, was scoreless in 20 minutes of play. It was only the second time he’d been held without points this season. (He was sidelined last week with a tight back.)
Redshirt junior Cory Hightower — after a medical hiatus, too — notched eight points on 3-of-6 shooting. He hit two 3s on two straight possessions with about six minutes left to extend Winthrop’s lead to eight after Radford made its last run of the game.
That said, redshirt sophomore Josh Corbin — who has been absent for “personal reasons,” per the Winthrop athletics department — was again not in the Coliseum on Wednesday.
When asked postgame, Prosser told reporters that he is in contact with Corbin often: “His jersey’s hanging in his locker every day,” Prosser said.
Other notes
▪ The Eagles are still undefeated at home this year (10-0). That unbeaten record has been tested several times this year and required a few unbelievable comebacks. Wednesday’s contest was only the second double-digit home win over a Division I opponent for Winthrop this season.
▪ Burns, despite foul trouble, still had a decent game. He finished with eight points on 4-of-7 shooting with three rebounds.
▪ One last note about Talford: The forward always ends his pregame warm-up with a flavorful dunk. A tomahawk. A between-the-legs flush. A windmill. What goes into that pregame ritual? “Everybody who can dunk or wants to dunk gets in a line,” Talford said. “I don’t really decide (what dunk I’ll do) until I catch the rip. So it’s an on-the-fly type of thing.” It’s been paying off.
This story was originally published February 9, 2022 at 9:02 PM.
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