ROCK HILL, SC-- Heson Groves recorded a career-high 23 points on 10-for-13 shooting as Winthrop edged Elon College, 73-72 in a men's college basketball contest at the Coliseum Thursday night.
The Fightin' Christians led 30-22 in the first half on back-to-back 3-point baskets by Brendon Rowell (Fr., Pineville, NC) and Dennis Gaskins (So., Edward, NC), but Winthrop went on an 8-0 run to close out the half and then outscored the Fightin' Christians 16-2 in the opening 3:47 of the second half to take a 46-32 lead. Winthrop went up by as many as 18 at 55-37 with 11:08 remaining. Elon still trailed with 6:45 left in the game when the Fightin' Christians made a furious comeback.
Two free throws by George Dennis (Jr., Philadelphia, PA) and a dunk by Rowell make it 63-52 at the 5:47 mark. With Winthrop still holding on to a 70-61 lead following a layup by Dan Tollens at the 3:08 mark, Elon outscored the Eagles 11-1 over the next 2:29 to go ahead 72-71 with 52 seconds on the clock.
Winthrop's Tyson Waterman was fouled with 35 seconds remaining and sank both free throws to give the Eagles a 73-72 lead and set up the frantic final seconds that saw Elon get off three shots in the final five seconds before the buzzer nullified what would have been a winning tip by Travis Whitaker (Jr., Climax, NC).
Winthrop shot 73 percent from the floor in the second half (16-22) and finished the night at 55 percent (28-51), but poor free throw shooting almost proved to be the achilles heel for the Eagles. Winthrop shot just 50 percent for the game from the charity stripe (12-24) and were only 7-for-15 in the final period.
Robbie Waldrop addedc 16 points, including four 3-pointers, while Waterman dished out a career-best 10 assists in the Winthrop win as they increase their season-long winning streak to nine.
The Fightin' Christians (9-13) were led by senior Mike Thomas (Staunton, VA) who poured in 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting, while Rowell added 16 points and five assists as Elon's four-game winning streak comes to an end.
Elon will travel to UNC Asheville for a Saturday afternoon tip-off with the Bulldogs at 4:00 p.m.
- ELON - ELON (9-13)
Thomas 6-7 5-6 17, Bell 2-3 0-0 4, Rowell 6-13 1-2 16, Gaskins 4-10 0-0 9, Toole 1-5 0-0 2, Schwetz 2-7 4-4 9, Hall 0-0 3-4 3, Whitaker 4-5 1-2 9, Dennis 0-2 3-8 3; Totals: 25-52 (.481) 17-26 (.654) 72
WINTHROP (15-6)
Groves 10-13 3-4 23, Vandescure 2-4 2-6 6, Effiong 1-2 0-0 2, Toxey 3-5 3-4 9, Waterman 1-5 2-3 5, Wooten 0-1 0-0 0, Waldrop 6-13 0-0 16, Stockman 0-2 0-0 0, Wallace 0-0 0-0 0, Tollens 4-4 0-1 8, Fisher 1-1 0-0 2, Pinckney 0-1 2-6 2; Totals: 28-51 (.549) 12-24 (.500) 73
Halftime: Elon 30, Winthrop 30; 3pt Shooting: Elon 5-20 (Rowell 3-7, Gaskins 1-5, Toole 0-3, Schwetz 1-5), WU 5-16 (Toxey 0-2, Waterman 1-4, Waldrop 4-9, Stockman 0-1); Rebounds: Elon 28 (Whitaker 6), WU 32 (Waterman 6, Toxey 6); Total Fouls: Elon 17, WU 23; Assists: Elon 13 (Rowell 5), WU 17 (Waterman 10); Turnovers: Elon 11, WU 9; Blocked Shots: Elon 1 (Gaskins 1), WU 2 (Groves 1, Vandescure 1); Steals: Elon 6 (Rowell 2), WU 5 (Groves 2, Waterman 2); A - 1,192
