Winthrop Falls To Marshall 71-65

ROCK HILL, SC–Marshall rode the inside game of J.R. VanHoose and the outside shooting performance of Tamar Slay to a 71-65 non-conference victory Monday night over Winthrop.

The win improves Marshall to 3-3 while Winthrop drops to 2-5. The Eagles will now have a 14-day break before meeting Clemson on Dec. 18.

VanHoose and Slay, two seniors who were recruited by current Winthrop head coach Gregg Marshall during his years as a Marshall assistant coach, combined for 42 points. VanHoose, a former Kentucky Mr. Basketball came into the game averaging a double-double in points and rebounds and finished with 26 points and 13 boards while Slay scored 16 points, all in the second half.

The Winthrop loss overshadowed a 26-point and eight-rebound performance by Greg Lewis. Marcus Stewart and Pierre Wooten also reached double figures for the Eagles with 12 points each.

Winthrop jumped out to an early 19-9 lead when Tyron Walker connected on a 3-pointer with 12:51 to play in the opening period. Marshall, however, scored 11 unanswered points to take a 20-19 lead with 7:25 remaining on a short jumper by VanHoose. The 6-10 VanHoose scored eight of The Herd’s points during the stretch. Marshall went to intermission with a 33-32 lead on a 3-pointer by Enoch Bunch.

The Eagles took a brief 37-35 lead in the opening minutes of the second half when former Marshall player Derrick Knox scored on a three-point play. Ronny Dawn tied the game eight seconds later on a short jumper and then Slay, who scored all 16 points in the second half, drilled a trey from the corner as The Herd took a 40-37 lead and never trailed again. Marshall’s largest lead of nine points came with 13:25 left in the game when Slay connected on another three to make the score 48-39. The closest Winthrop could get was 61-58 with 4:45 remaining on a three-pointer by Wooten.