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Writer's pictureBrian Wilmer

Winthrop gets big night from Claxton, turns away South Carolina State


Winthrop's Chase Claxton had a huge night on both ends of the floor in Tuesday night's win against SC State. (Photo: Winthrop University Athletics)




ROCK HILL, S.C. – Whenever Winthrop sings its alma mater after a victory, chances are pretty good that forward Chase Claxton played a huge defensive role for the prior couple of hours. Claxton frequently draws the assignment of guarding the opponent’s best scorer. This attention requires the senior from Greenville to often sacrifice gaudy scoring numbers of his own.


Tuesday, Claxton played his usual huge defensive role, but also got in on the fun on the other end of the floor.


Claxton tied a career-high with two three-pointers – he had made just five in his collegiate career entering the contest – and poured in 14 points while grabbing seven boards in an 81-67 victory by Winthrop over South Carolina State before an announced crowd of 818 at Winthrop Coliseum.


“He’s just so selfless. He just cares about winning,” Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said after the game. “He comes to work every day. He plays through stuff. He’s a warrior. You can see on nights like this that he’s capable, but he’s so selfless that he couldn’t care less if he has 14, 7, and 5 or if he has 2, 1, and 3. Winning is all he cares about. It’s good for all of us to see that work pay off. He’s a special kid and special player.”


“It feels good (to put up those numbers),” Claxton said. “I affect the game in ways that don’t really show up on the box score, so it feels good to affect the same way and have it show up in the box score.”


South Carolina State (1-9) came to Rock Hill as an underdog to most, having won just once this season and playing every game away from the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. The Bulldogs traded the lead back and forth with the homestanding Eagles for most of the first 14 minutes. Winthrop (5-5) finally wrested control of the game on the first of two Kelton Talford free throw attempts at the 6:15 mark of the period.


Still, the lead hovered within two possessions for the next couple of minutes, before Cory Hightower circled home a triple that put Winthrop ahead by seven with 4:02 remaining in the period. Winthrop resumed trading scorers with South Carolina State as the interval neared, leading by as many as 11 on a Claxton put-back with 15 seconds to play in the half. D.J. Bates scored on a layup just before the horn to send South Carolina State to the locker room trailing by just nine.


Winthrop’s two key scorers carried the early part of the second half as they had the first. Talford’s firepower continued as he scored in traffic, but not before Claxton drained his second triple of the night to push the lead back to double digits. The Eagle advantage hovered between seven and 10 for the first half of the second stanza.


The visiting Bulldogs made another quick charge, though, with an 8-0 run carving a comfortable 12-point Eagle lead to just four. Winthrop requested a stoppage, sensing momentum starting to shift to the scrappy club from Orangeburg.


Just as quickly as South Carolina State flipped the game, Winthrop flipped it right back. The Eagles tore off a 9-0 run – all from Claxton and Talford – and took the lead back to 13. The burst proved to be the death knell, as the Eagles would never again see their lead dip back into single digits before the final horn.


The Eagles capitalized on the quick turnaround after a Saturday loss to Coastal Carolina. The club, who has road games remaining at Furman, LSU, and Duquesne before beginning Big South Conference play, seemed to get some catharsis from the solid performance. Claxton, though, downplayed the effect of the game.


“I wouldn’t say we needed (the win) extremely badly,” Claxton said. “We lose a game, and we flush it down the toilet and focus on the next game. There’s not really a carry-over. We just keep working.”


As good as Claxton’s numbers were, Talford’s equally stood out. The native of nearby Great Falls, S.C., tallied a career-high 28, hitting 10 free throws and grabbing nine boards. The comparison to 2021-22 Big South Player of the Year D.J. Burns, who transferred from Winthrop to N.C. State after the season, seems obvious.


“(Talford)’s like a safety valve,” Talford said. “D.J. has a hook and a mid-range game. KT gets an angle and gets a bucket every single time.


“A lot of (Talford’s success) is KT getting good position. When we see his number, we just get him the ball.”


Talford’s 28 and Claxton’s 14 paced the Eagles, with the pair combining for 24 of Winthrop’s 43 second-half points. Forward Cory Hightower joined the tandem, contributing an 11-point, 10-board double-double in 36 minutes of game action. Hightower also dished five of the Eagles’ 14 dimes on 29 makes. Winthrop shot 59.2 percent (29-for-49) on the game, cashing eight shots from distance in 21 tries. The Eagles outrebounded South Carolina State, 39-27.


The Bulldogs’ pair of double-figure scorers emerged from their reserves. Orangeburg native Jordan Simpson guided the Bulldogs with 12 points in 32 minutes off the pine, with Bates contributing 11 in 22 minutes of game action. South Carolina State hit 41.2 percent (28-for-68) of its shots, though just 21.1 percent (4-for-19) of its three-point attempts found the bottom of the net.


The sides return to the floor Saturday , with both playing in the Upstate region of South Carolina. South Carolina State travels to USC Upstate’s Hodge Center in Spartanburg for a tilt against another Big South opponent. Tip time is set for 3:00 (Eastern). Winthrop ventures to Timmons Arena on the campus of Furman University for a duel with the Paladins. That game jumps at 4:00.

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