Winthrop basketball sweeps Longwood in Big South conference opener for both schools
Trailing by 11 with 14 minutes to play against Longwood, Winthrop’s men’s basketball team had to have a burning feeling of déjà vu. Any of the team’s fans who were at the Eagles’ home game against Longwood one year ago certainly did.
Winthrop overcame that 11-point deficit with clutch baskets and resurgent shooting from the free-throw line to overcome Longwood in overtime Wednesday night, 68-60.
“We have a really resilient group,” Winthrop head coach Mark Prosser said. “We talked before the game about limiting distractions, and it’s been a theme for us throughout the course of the year.”
Last year against Longwood, Winthrop was down by 18 in the second half and came back to win by two, 76-74.
“I think, in years past, we’ve gotten distracted in some ways that took us down a path where, maybe for a minute or two, we had a couple bad moments,” Prosser said. “But I thought as the game ebbs and flows, and we’re missing shots, missing free throws, going down by 11 in that second half, I thought our kids really stuck with it and fought through those moments where it’d been easy to hang your head and ‘woe is me’ and just continue to play.”
In the first 36 minutes Wednesday, Winthrop was just 14 of 28 from the line. In the final four minutes of the second half and in overtime, the Eagles made 10 of their 11 attempts.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had a few games like this, but we have good shooters,” Prosser said. “They know that we have total confidence in them because they spend a lot of time in the gym, and they work really hard at it, and typically, when you work really hard at something, good things happen.”
Winthrop clawed its way back to tie the game at 55, and the Eagles had a shot to win at the end of regulation, but the shot did not fall.
Senior guard Nick Johnson was the leading force for the Eagles in overtime, scoring nine of his 15 points in the extra period as Winthrop outscored Longwood, 13-5.
“I got going early in the first half, but I got quiet throughout the first half and then the second half,” Johnson said. “When K.J. Doucet fouled out, somebody else had to step up and make plays. So I just relied on my hard work and time at the gym, and thankfully, the shots went in and I stayed aggressive.”
Forward Kelton Talford and guard Kasen Harrison also scored 15 for the Eagles (10-6).
Winthrop women roll
In a women’s game between the two schoold, Winthrop picked up a 58-53 win over Longwood in Farmville.
The Eagles jumped out to a 27-16 lead in the second quarter, but the Lancers launched a 14-2 run over the next 11 minutes to take a one-point lead. Winthrop retook the lead on a Marissa Gasaway layup with just over five minutes left and never trailed again.
Guard Jada Ryce led all scorers with 21 points in the game, while forward Elli Garnett scored 11 for the Eagles (7-7).
Winthrop will next play USC Upstate on Saturday, Jan. 6. The women will play the Spartans at home at 2 p.m., while the men will play on the road at 4 p.m.
