It was a very good season for Winthrop’s Kelton Talford, but he won’t get the chance at a good postseason.
The Eagles fell in the quarterfinals of the Big South Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Friday to Radford 78-69. In the loss, Talford, a junior, scored 20 points and had 12 rebounds. Those numbers were pretty consistent with what the Great Falls High graduate produced all through the season. He appeared in 30 of the team’s 32 games, averaged 31.7 minutes, 16.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest. Only twice all year did he fail to score in double figures.
With the loss and the team’s 15-17 record, Friday’s game almost certainly marked the end of the 2022-’23 campaign, with no postseason tournaments in the offing. Talford racked up some impressive accolades this season, earning “Conference Player of the Week” honors in December.
At Great Falls, Talford was moved to the post midway through his freshman year and started there the remainder of his prep career. He was the Class A Player of the Year and an All-State pick as a senior and he helped guide the Red Devils to the 2020 Class A state championship in his final game.
He also played football at Great Falls.
