Okeke’s last-second block preserves Winthrop win
Winthrop played two opposite halves against Gardner-Webb Thursday night, but survived the more struggle-filled second to win a seventh straight game.
Winthrop lost a 19-point lead in the second period. The game was tied at 70 with just over a minute left and the Runnin’ Bulldogs blew a sparkling chance to take their first lead when Tyrell Nelson lost the ball on the way up for a dunk inside the final minute. The Eagles took advantage, Xavier Cooks converting a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left, before Laquincy Rideau dribbled the ball off his foot and Joshua Davenport pounced on it for a held-ball.
That left 3.2 seconds for Gardner-Webb and Tim Craft’s team got a look, Rideau’s lob into Tyrell Nelson landing under the rim. But Duby Okeke - Winthrop’s all-time leading shot-blocker - denied Nelson’s shot at the rim to clinch a 72-70 Winthrop win.
”That was a big play,” said Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey. “He’s really done an unbelievable job late in games this season.”
“I had a feeling they were gonna throw it in,” said Okeke. “I don’t know, I just tried to stay solid and recover, just do what I try to do.”
The Eagles, ranked 17th in the CollegeInsiders.com mid-major basketball poll, never trailed on their way to a 12th win in the last 13.
Pat Kelsey’s club (16-4, 8-1 Big South) had to feel happy about its first half defensive performance. The visitors harassed Gardner-Webb into a 6 of 28 shooting effort, including misses on all seven 3-pointers. The Runnin’ Bulldogs (11-11, 4-5) also missed a slew of close-range shots right around the rim, and they quickly fell behind Winthrop 12-2.
Gardner-Webb didn’t get within 10 the rest of the first 20 minutes, closing the first half with a nearly 7-minute long field goal drought. Winthrop shot 50 percent from the field, scoring on a number of possessions late in the shot clock to take a 37-21 lead into the intermission.
Turning point
The hosts snapped into life in the second half, a 20-2 run almost erasing what had become a 19-point Eagles’ lead with about 10 minutes to play. It was an even contest the rest of the way, decided only by Okeke’s towering block of Nelson’s close-range layup attempt.
“They just wanted it more for a while and then we clammed up defensively and got the job done,” Winthrop junior Cooks said.
Critical
Winthrop’s ball movement on offense was so easy on the eyes. The Eagles finished eight possessions with assisted dunks, a product of dribble penetration opening up the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ defense.
Early foul trouble for Gardner-Webb limited its two stars, Laquincy Rideau and Tyrell Nelson.
Star contributions
Cooks did his usual bit of everything, finishing the game with 19 points and nine rebounds. Tevin Prescott also gave a positive performance in the paint, finishing off several Winthrop possessions with dunks. He had six points and eight rebounds, and Keon Johnson kicked in 15.
Rideau and Nelson weren’t at their best but the Runnin’ Bulldogs got more than enough from David Efianayi and D.J. Laster, who combined for 42 of Gardner-Webb’s 70.
On deck
Winthrop returns home for a quick turnaround, a Saturday 2 p.m. home game against High Point. The Eagles will try for their eighth win in January, the first undefeated January in program history. Even the fabled 2006-07 team dropped a January game, albeit to Texas A&M.
This story was originally published January 26, 2017 at 9:14 PM with the headline "Okeke’s last-second block preserves Winthrop win."