The Winthrop Eagles escaped Starkville with a 74-63 road win over Mississippi State (2-1, 0-0), snapping a six-game home winning streak for the Bulldogs.
Senior forward Phillip Williams led Winthrop (2-2, 0-0) with 22 points and 11 rebounds, both season highs, while Torrell Martin and junior Michael Jenkins added 15 and 14 points, respectively, despite the Eagles shooting only 36 percent from the field as a team.
Winthrop shot 87 percent from the free-throw line, scoring 26 points off Bulldog penalties.
“Neither team shot the ball really well,” Winthrop head coach Gregg Marshall said. “But we were able to make several free throws to win the ballgame. We normally don’t shoot that well.”
The Eagles led at halftime 35-28, and despite repeated runs by the Bulldogs, were able to stave off the home team for a huge non-conference win.
“The losses last season to all the SEC schools, and then the loss to North Carolina three days ago were starting to wear on us,” Marshall said. “We needed this win.”
Sophomore point guard Jamont Gordon led the Bulldogs with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Junior Charles Rhodes came off the bench in the first half to add 11 points and five rebounds.
Rhodes, MSU’s third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, didn’t start the game because of a coach’s decision.
Freshman Jarvis Varnado started at center for Rhodes and led the team with two blocks in eight minutes of action.
“We’re going to work everyday,” MSU head coach Rick Stansbury said after the game. “Some days Charles doesn’t work as hard as he needs to.”
Freshman guard Ben Hansbrough also added 10 points in the losing effort.
The Eagles forced 16 turnovers, 10 in the second half, but only earned eight points off the effort.
Winthrop had 10 steals in the contest, two above their season average, while Williams and starting forward Craig Bradshaw combined for five blocks in the game, a season high for the squad.
Bradshaw rounded out the list of double-digit scorers for the Eagles with 10.
“In my opinion, they are a top-10 team,” Stansbury said after the game. “I think they are that good. They have a great flow and chemistry on that team.”
Winthrop out-rebounded the physical Bulldogs 42-36. It is the first time the Bulldogs have been out-rebounded all season.
“Winthrop is a great rebounding basketball team, and we know that,” Stansbury said. “But here at home you have to find a way to overcome that, and we didn’t.”
The loss will end a three-game season-opening home stand for the Bulldogs, who will travel to Clemson today for their first non-conference road game.
“We have to learn from this,” Stansbury said. “We have to learn how to finish ballgames. We found out some things we need to work on, and maybe this will make us better down the road.”