Johnson sets school scoring record but Winthrop falls to Asheville in double OT classic

Winthrop and UNC Asheville produced the kind of game Thursday night where a reporter had to write 8.6 versions of its story before cobbling together the pieces for a final version.

In the end, Asheville’s MaCio Teague blocked Keon Johnson’s pullup 3-pointer with just seconds left on the clock of a 104-101 double overtime victory that cast two of the league’s best teams in a glowing nationally televised light.

“I think it was one of the great Big South basketball games, maybe ever,” said Asheville coach Nick McDevitt. “I thought Winthrop played terrific. Keon Johnson was unbelievable; we had nothing for him.”

Winthrop’s loss clouded Johnson’s performance, one Winthrop fans won’t forget. With 10 minutes, 18 seconds left in regulation, the senior guard dropped in a pair of free throws to become the school’s all-time leading scorer. In overtime he was unstoppable, hitting step-back 3s and scoring at the rim among bigger bodies with equal ease. He finished with 40 points, a second straight game with a career-high after scoring 39 against Campbell last Saturday.

“He’s a great player and the whole nation got to see it,” said Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey.

Winthrop (18-6, 10-3 Big South) was hunting its 11th road win of the season but was ultimately denied at a jammed and loud Kimmel Arena. Winthrop led by six with four minutes left in regulation but couldn’t hold on, one of several leads that both sides let slip. Asheville (19-7, 11-2) made the biggest play late to crucially split the season series with the Eagles, direct rivals for the Big South regular season title and home court advantage in the tournament, and left Kelsey’s team with a job to get its collective mentality right before Gardner-Webb comes to Rock Hill Saturday.

“There’s some exhausted kids in that locker room, both physically and emotionally,” Kelsey said. “We’ve got a very early game Saturday, 12 noon, against a very good team, very physical team and it’ll be interesting to see how we respond tomorrow in preparation and when that ball goes up on Saturday.”

Winthrop led 35-34 at the half, thanks in part to an 8-0 run in the last few minutes. Johnson’s blow-by and bucket got the spurt going, before Xavier Cooks scored on an inbounds with 2 minutes, 42 seconds left to give the Eagles their first lead since the early exchanges of the game. Johnson then put four quick points on the board, dropping in an up-and-under finish at the rim before converting a steal into a layup to force an Asheville timeout.

Turning point

There were several key moments in a helter-skelter last couple of minutes of regulation and an equally back and forth two overtimes, almost too many for a reporter to follow. MaCio Teague buried a 3 at the buzzer to force the first OT, before Ahmad Thomas followed up a missed shot to send the contest to a second overtime, after Winthrop failed to score.

That led to the penultimate play of the game, Johnson bleeding the clock before pulling up to shoot, only for the 6-foot-3 Teague to block the shot. Asheville then hit two free throws and Winthrop’s fullcourt pass with 1 second left was intercepted.

Critical

At the opening tip, it seemed Asheville was disadvantaged inside with Alec Wnuk sporting a boot cast on his right leg and Giacomo Zilli still not fully recovered from an injury absence (he played 3 minutes). But it didn’t matter because Will Weeks was a monster on the boards, especially the offensive glass where he hauled in seven of his 12. Thomas added 10 to give the Bulldogs a 15-5 offensive rebounding advantage over Winthrop, and a 24-10 win in second chance points.

“I just thought we were pretty active around the glass tonight and were able to get a couple more hidden possessions,” said McDevitt.

Star contributors

Entering Thursday night’s ESPNU-televised game, Johnson had made just two of his last 27 shots against Asheville - a two-game span - and he started slowly on Thursday night, before ditching jump shots for drives to the rim.

“You could tell he had an edge to him the last couple of days and was on a mission,” said Kelsey.

Johnson’s record setting points - two free throws - weren’t nearly as cool as some of the shots he made later in the night, but they counted all the same. Johnson broke Charles Brunson’s record to become the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,874 points.

He sizzled in the second overtime, scoring 10 of his 40 in those five minutes alone. It was a real pity Johnson’s effort didn’t end with a victory.

Cooks was active early and often, producing 20 points and nine rebounds, but he crucially fouled out at the end of regulation and was missed in the two extra sessions, especially his rebounding. The two Bromans also heated up in overtime, Bjorn finishing with 12 points (four 3-pointers) and Anders adding 10.

David Robertson and Weeks carried Asheville in the first half, combining for 20 of the Bulldogs’ 34. Thomas and Teague picked up as the game wore on, Thomas finishing with 26 points and 10 rebounds and Teague adding 24. Weeks had a double-double of 14 points and 12 boards.

On deck

Winthrop returns home to host Gardner-Webb Saturday. The Eagles won the two teams’ first meeting 72-70.

Box score

This story was originally published February 9, 2017 at 10:12 PM with the headline "Johnson sets school scoring record but Winthrop falls to Asheville in double OT classic."