Winthrop’s shows toughness, resilience in close win over UNC Asheville

Winthrop’s 62-60 win over UNC Asheville at Winthrop Coliseum Saturday afternoon meant more than your normal close victory.

It meant more than the Eagles’ first conference win in this young season.

Winthrop had trailed for most of the game, down by nine at the half and as much as 15 early in the second period. With eight and a half minutes left, Winthrop still trailed by double digits.

However, the Eagles remained persistent and eventually broke through, outscoring the Bulldogs 18-7 over the final eight minutes to pull off the comeback. Kasen Harrison scored eight of his 12 points during that stretch.

It took a lot of resilience to get the win, but it’s the resilience that head coach Mark Prosser expects.

“(The players) are just so tough, and they don’t accept defeat,” Prosser said. “Even if we continue to build 15-point, second-half deficits. They don’t blink. They come in the huddle, ‘What’s next?’ And they keep playing. We were fortunate today. Hopefully, we don’t have to do that every game, but we’re fortunate today to come out with a win.”

The play of the game came on Winthrop’s final offensive possession.

Harrison drove right on his defender into the lane and scooped a right-handed layup off the glass into the basket, giving Winthrop a 62-60 lead with seven seconds left.

“Coach Prosser and my team had confidence in me,” the 6-foot-2 guard from Beaumont, Texas, said. “I had just made a big play like two plays before, and they told me to make a decision because we ran an action on the backside too. And I knew, if for one second he stepped off, I was going to pass it.”

Winthrop, now 6-9, hadn’t lost a conference game at home since January 2021 -- to UNC Asheville. After falling behind 44-29 with less than 16 minutes to go, redshirt sophomore guard Toneari Lane scored nine straight points for Winthrop, every shot generating a louder response from the crowd.

Once the home crowd got into it, the visiting team had problems. They committed a crucial 30-second violation.

“It was awesome,” Prosser said of the home crowd. “It was like old Winthrop Coliseum in the way I remember it. It’s on us. We have to put a product out there on the floor that people can get excited about and feel good about supporting.

“I think we have that. We’ve had to work through a couple of injuries and things like that, but I think we’re getting there. But it was like the Winthrop before. It was loud. They were trying to call plays, and it was loud in here and it was hard to hear play calls. And it’s on us to make sure we defend that. We take it very seriously.”

Harrison said he believes games like this are what make championship-caliber teams. He said the win will galvanize the team as they work toward a successful season.

“I feel like it just helped us and gave us momentum,” Harrison said. “It’ll help us lock in better because when you can win at home versus a very good team, it’s a pretty good deal.

“I feel like we needed that win to help us keep going, and we just got to go watch film and see where we made a lot of mistakes and just get better and get ready for the next game.”

Winthrop’s next game is at home against Presbyterian on Jan. 4. Tip off is at 7 p.m.