Winthrop rolls to easy win over VMI

 
Staff Report
VMI sports: www.vmikeydets.com

The Winthrop Eagles snapped a five-game losing streak and rolled to a 96-63 Big South Conference win over VMI Thursday night at Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, S.C.

The Keydets remained winless on the road this year and dropped their fifth straight game while suffering their worst setback at Winthrop since an 85-41 loss to the Eagles two years ago.

VMI (4-8, 1-3 BSC) was paced in scoring by junior guard Austin Kenon, who scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half. Freshman forward Stan Okoye joined Kenon as VMI’s only other double-figures scorer with 14 points.

2008 Waynesboro High School grad Nick Gore scored eight points and snared four rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.

Winthrop (6-9, 2-4), which entered the game shooting 34 percent from the floor on the season, fired 52 percent from the field for the evening and connected on 12 of 27 three-pointers for 44 percent. Five Eagles reached double-figures scoring led by sophomore center Matt Morgan with 15 points while sophomore guard Reggie Middleton added 13 points.

Winthrop contained VMI’s outside shooting for most of the evening, limiting the Keydets to 9-of-26 shooting beyond the arc. The Keydets didn’t fare any better looking for points inside as the Eagles posted 11 blocked shots for their second most in a game this season. VMI also committed 21 turnovers, the fourth time it had logged 20 or more turnovers in a game this year.

The Keydets continue the road swing Saturday night with a Big South match-up against Presbyterian College at 7 p.m.