You’ve read the recap. Now, let’s go inside the numbers of Winthrop’s convincing, bounce-back win over SIUE of the Ohio Valley Conference.

  • One number was more significant than any other:  5,312. That was the announced attendance Tuesday morning, and as we discussed in the game story, over 4,000 of that number was made up of screaming schoolchildren. Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey did such a good job of explaining the impact of the presence of those kids that we’ll just let him take it from here (question from Alex Zietlow of the Rock Hill Herald):
  • Winthrop scored on 49.3 percent of its possessions (the Eagles were above 50, before dribbling out the remaining time to close the game). That number grew to 51.3 percent on 39 second-half trips. That put the Eagles at 1.240 points per possession on the contest, one of the more significant offensive outputs in recent weeks for Kelsey’s crew.
  • To that point, WU drained 15 triples, a season-high. Winthrop connected on 7-of-13 in the first half and 8-of-16 in the second, helping to stave off SIUE’s comeback attempt. The Cougars shot 61.3 percent in the closing 20, but were never able to draw very close, as the Eagles countered with a 55.6 percent performance in that second half.
  • Four Eagles finished in double figures, and four Eagles also finished with multiple treys. Josh Ferguson and Chandler Vaudrin sank four apiece — Ferguson’s only tries and makes were from distance — and Hunter Hale had three. Micheal Anumba added a pair.
  • Kelsey mentioned happiness with his club getting back to the free throw line, a skill that had eluded it during the recent skid. The Eagles dropped 18-of-22 free throws, with Hale leading the way in finishing 5-for-5. The Cougars, conversely, knocked down just 6-of-14 tries from the stripe, completing a day in which they hit more threes (seven) than free throws (six).
  • Highly-regarded redshirt freshman D.J. Burns was largely a non-factor Saturday at Furman — despite their coach, Bob Richey, lauding both Burns’ skill on film and his team’s success in stopping him — due to fouls. Tuesday, Burns played double the minutes of his last game, scoring 19 points and collecting just one foul. Burns’ post moves were on full display, though in a much more “controlled aggression” type of style.

“He’s capable. Defense is ‘want-to’. That’s all it is. There’s a tactical deal to it, but he knows. Our guys know. To be a great defender, you’ve gotta be very conscientious. He was today. To his credit, he recognized and watched tape, and was very disappointed in his grading. (He) made a really, really conscientious effort to improve on the defensive end today, and he did it.” – Kelsey on Burns

  • The Hustle Stats, to close us out:
    • Points in the Paint:  SIUE 26, Winthrop 22
    • Points off Turnovers:  SIUE 13, Winthrop 9
    • Second-chance Points:  Winthrop 17, SIUE 1
      • “I love it, because that’s something that we really hang out hat on. We’ve made it a much, much bigger priority in the last two years to offensive rebound.” – Kelsey on that stat
    • Fast-break Points:  SIUE 7, Winthrop 0
    • Bench Points:  SIUE 35, Winthrop 28

WINTHROP 93, SIUE 73

SIUE (2-9): Uzuegbunem 2-4 0-2 4, Duling 3-10 0-0 7, Adewunmi 0-2 0-2 0, Williford 5-6 2-2 12, Moore 5-12 1-2 15, Martin 3-3 0-0 6, Benton 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 6-13 2-3 15, Jackson 4-9 0-0 8, Wright 0-0 1-2 1, James 2-4 0-1 5. Totals 30-63 6-14 73.

WINTHROP (5-7): Ferguson 4-8 0-0 12, Burns 9-12 1-3 19, Anumba 2-5 3-4 9, Hale 3-7 5-5 12, Vaudrin 4-8 1-2 13, Pupavac 0-0 0-0 0, Falden 2-6 0-0 4, King 3-5 0-0 9, Zunic 2-4 4-4 9, Claxton 1-4 4-4 6, Hunter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-59 18-22 93.

Halftime —Winthrop 42-27. 3-Point Goals—Winthrop 15-29 (Ferguson 4-8, Anumba 2-3, Hale 1-3, Vaudrin 4-5, Falden 0-3, King 3-5, Zunic 1-2), SIUE 7-19 (Duling 1-3, Adewunmi 0-1, Moore 4-9, Williams 1-4, Jackson 0-1, James 1-1). Fouled Out —NA. Rebounds — Winthrop 42 (Anumba/Vaudrin 6), SIUE 26 (Moore/Wright 4). Assists —SIUE 15 (Williford 6), Winthrop 15 (Zunic 6). Total Fouls — SIUE 22, Winthrop 14. Technical — NA. A —5312.