Winthrop outscored the Blue Hose 30-9 during a 10-minute stretch in the second half to pull away from a close contest and take the 72-57 win over the Presbyterian College men's basketball team in Big South action Saturday afternoon in Rock Hill, S.C. Chris Martin led the offense with 13 points, with CJ Melton pulling down a team-leading nine rebounds.
 
Scoring the game
A slow start for both teams in the opening minutes of the first half, with the Blue Hose and Eagles shooting in the low 20s. PC led 6-3 four minutes in, but Winthrop use back to back jumpers to take the one-point advantage. An 11-4 run by the Blue Hose, capped by a Sean Jenkins three-pointer, put the visitors ahead by six, 17-11, 7:16 remaining. The Eagles answered with a run of their own, this one a 10-0 clip to give the home team its largest lead of the half, 21-17, 4:23 on the clock.  A Kody Shubert free throw and JC Younger three-pointer, his first of the game knotted the contest at 21-21, at the 3:28 mark.  The Eagles would outscore the Blue Hose, 6-3 the final three minutes to go into the lock room holding the three-point, 27-24 lead.
 
PC hit three-three-pointers in the opening two and a half minutes, while Winthrop added two during the same stretch, the last one by Josh Ferguson at 17:31 to give the Eagles a four-point lead, 37-33. Michael Isler collected a basket and a free throw to cut the margin to one, just over 17 to go, but Winthrop came back with a 14-0 run, highlighted by back to back three-pointers, to take its largest lead of the game to that point, 51-36, 12:23 left. Ben Drake posted a layup at 11:53 to end the Blue Hose drought, cutting the margin to 13, 38-51. The Eagles added five, before PC answered with five of its own to make it a 13-point game again. That would be as close as PC would get, with the Eagles using an 11-2 run to extend their lead to 22, 67-45, 6:08 remaining. The Eagles hit free throws down the stretch to keep any Blue Hose rally at bay, taking the 72-57 win.
 
Players of the Game
Leading the Blue Hose was Chris Martin with 13 points, with CJ Melton pulling down a team-leading nine rebounds. Hunter Hale led Winthrop with 19 points. Josh Ferguson was tops in rebounds with eight.
 
Stats of the Game
Both teams struggled to shoot the ball well, with the Blue Hose and Eagles playing solid defense. Both teams finished the half shooting 33.3%, the points in the paint the difference with Winthrop holding a 16-6 advantage in the first 20 minutes. PC shot 45.8% in the second to finish the game with 40.0%, while Winthrop increased its percentage to 52.2, for 41.5% for the game. The Eagles outrebounded the Blue Hose 34-29. PC recorded 26 turnovers, to Winthrop's 19. The Eagles responded with a 32-19 advantage in points off turnovers.  Three-pointers were fairly even with Winthrop recording two more, 7-5. PC hit 16 free throws, compared to 21 for Winthrop.
 
For the Record
PC drops to 8-13 overall and 5-3 in the Big South, while Winthrop improves to 15-7, 8-0
 
Notables
Ben Drake recorded a career-high five free throws.
CJ Melton pulled down a career-high nine rebounds.
 
Up Next
The Blue host USC Upstate Thursday, Jan. 30.  The game will tip off at 7 p.m., and will air live on ESPNU and WPCC.