Men's Basketball VMIKeydets.com

Winthrop Rolls to 98-65 Win Over the Keydets

ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Senior forward James Shuler led four Winthrop players in double figures with 17 points, while Torrell Martin added 15 as the Eagles cruised to a 98-65 win over the Keydets Wednesday night at the Winthrop Coliseum. Reggie Williams scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Keydets.

Just four days after the Eagles fell from the top spot in the Big South for the first time in almost two years, they responded with an impressive showing for their 2,000 plus home fans against the Keydets. The Eagles surged to a 13-0 run to close out the first half, and cruised the rest of the way for the victory.

The Eagles improve to 15-6 overall this season, and 9-2 in conference play to regain a share of the Big South Conference lead with Birmingham-Southern. Meanwhile, the Keydets fall to 7-15, and 2-9 in the Big South.

The Eagles jumped out on the Keydets early by nailing three treys, including two by Martin, to take an early 9-3 lead. The two teams traded buckets for the next several minutes, but a jumper by Otis Daniels put the Eagles out front by ten at the 14:05 mark.

VMI rallied back quickly, going on an 11-4 run, and pulled to within three points after a Reggie Williams three-pointer midway through the first.

Winthrop quickly built the lead back up to ten, and the 13-0 run to close out the first frame put them up 46-23 advantage at the half. The Eagles shot an astounding 60.0% (18-30) from the field in the first half, and held their counterparts to just 36.0% (9-25).

Another reason for the early success for Winthrop was the bench play, as 21 of their 46 points came from the bench players. In all, the Eagles had nine of its ten players score in the first half, and turned 13 VMI turnovers into 20 points.

Winthrop came out for the second half and didn't miss a beat. The Eagles continued their hot shooting, and stretched the lead to 32 points just over three minutes into the second session after a Shuler free throw.

Despite an improved shooting performance by the Keydets in the second half, the Eagles always seemed to have an answer. Twice in the next ten minutes VMI had managed to trim the lead down to under 25, but both time the Eagles responded with a run of their own.

A bright spot in the second half for VMI did come, however, by way of Fred Robinson's play. Robinson yet again came off the bench and played solid minutes for the Keydets, scoring all twelve of his points in the second half. He also added four rebounds and just one turnover in the game.

For the game, Winthrop was red-hot from the field, shooting 61.3% from the field connecting on 38-62 attempts. The Keydets shot 43.9% (25-57) for the game, but hit just 36% in the first half.

Another startling stat was turnovers, and more importantly, points off of turnovers. VMI committed 24 turnovers in the game, and the Eagles took advantage by converting those in 33 points.

Winthrop dominated the Keydet frontcourt with 44 points in the paint to VMI's 18, and also held a slight 32-27 rebounding advantage.

Behind Williams and Robinson, Matt Murrer contributed 11 points on 4-5 shooting, but only managed to grab one rebound after securing a career-high 15 the last time the two teams met. For the Eagles, Michael Jenkins and Craig Bradshaw added 15 and 14 points, respectively.

Tonight's meeting was the 10th between the two schools. The series is now tied at 5-5, but Winthrop has won five of six since the Keydets became a member of the Big South.

VMI must now regroup and focus on UNC Asheville, of whom they host on Saturday, February 11 at Cameron Hall in a critical conference game for the Keydets. The Eagles next play host to Radford University, also on Saturday.
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