Fired up crowd watches Winthrop ward off Asheville with late surge

Pat Kelsey strode into the postgame press conference just before midnight on Thursday, sat down and instantly gushed over the crowd that turned out at The Coliseum for the Eagles’ pulsating 76-73 win over UNC Asheville.

“I was speechless,” said Kelsey, who implored the Rock Hill community and Winthrop students to come out for Thursday night’s game for almost a week. “And I want to thank everyone because I asked. It was fun. I didn’t have much fun sitting over there watching us blow a nine-point lead, but I hope they do it again.”

Over a thousand students filled the arena near Asheville’s bench - Bulldogs coach Nick McDevitt noted their presence after the game - and the rest of the stadium was well-sprinkled with fans, too, respectable given the game was nationally televised by ESPN and had a 9 p.m.tip-off on a week night.

It’s hard to say if the crowd of over 3,200 was the difference. But the fans were certainly felt when, with 1 minute, 30 seconds remaining, junior Duby Okeke skied into the night, hauled in a missed 3-pointer and smashed the ball through the rim with the force of a monster truck.

That gave the Eagles (14-4, 6-1 Big South) a 76-73 lead but they still had to mount one last defensive stand when Asheville got the final possession, down three. Like much of the second half, the Bulldogs (13-7, 5-2) didn’t run a clean offensive set and MaCio Teague’s 3-pointer from in front of his team’s bench clanked short, clinching Winthrop’s fifth-straight win and its 10th in the last 11.

“We were down eight, 10, 12 points and just kept playing,” said McDevitt. “I liked that the folks watching nationally got to watch two teams getting after it. Unfortunately, our execution wasn’t there the whole game, particularly down the stretch. Just wasn’t good enough to beat a team as good as Winthrop.”

Turning point

Asheville missed 10 straight shots in one second half stretch and the Eagles took advantage, building an eight-point lead with about eight minutes to play. But the visitors kept getting to the foul line and making shots there, which kept them alive. Ahmad Thomas was hot the whole game but he turned red-orange during a one-minute span in which the Bulldogs scored 11 unanswered points, seven coming from the 6-foot-5 senior. Thomas’ jumper gave Asheville a 70-65 lead with about five minutes left.

“We really lost our discipline,” said Kelsey. But he told his team during a timeout with about three minutes left, “We’re down three, Keon (Johnson)’s on the line and he hasn’t missed a free throw since junior high school, he’s gonna make both and it’s a one-possession game. Pick your head up!”

Seven free throws over the next two minutes, including several from Johnson, who struggled against the Bulldogs for the second straight game, helped Winthrop reel in Asheville and take a 72-70 lead. Cooks then scythed open the Bulldogs’ 1-3-1 press with a darted pass to Okeke for a rim-jangling dunk and a four-point cushion. Two Kevin Vannatta free throws got Asheville within one, before Okeke produced his second important dunk, exploding the crowd and the Bulldogs’ chances.

Critical

Winthrop held Asheville without a field goal for almost 15 of the 20 second half minutes. McDevitt’s team shot just 27 percent in the second half after a sizzling offensive first and only stayed in the game by continually getting to the foul line.

The Bulldogs had just two second half assists and got gummed up completely down the stretch.

“In my core, my DNA I’m a defensive guy,” said Kelsey. “That makes me happy.”

Also key: the Eagles beat the Bulldogs 40-33 on the backboards, leading to a 16-3 second chance scoring advantage. None of those were bigger than Okeke’s muscular offensive board and slam that brought the house down late.

Star contributors

Johnson was held to eight points, but Perkins and Anders Broman were immense for the Eagles. The pair average around seven points each per game, but Winthrop got 29 combined from them. Perkins’ 17 points included some momentum-swinging shots in the second half.

“Couple of guys that needed to be held to their average and they doubled it,” said McDevitt.

Cooks had a great game, save for a poorly timed technical foul in the second half. He finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds, his sixth double-double of the season, and crossed the 1,000 career points threshold. And Okeke struggled early - “he stunk,” according to Kelsey - but came through late when inserted into the game for his defensive prowess.

“We call his name, he runs in there and gets huge rebounds, blocks a shot, tears the rim down twice,” said Kelsey. “Guys like that really gave us a boost there late in the game and I really give Duby a lot of credit for having the resiliency to bounce back.”

Thomas sparkled for the Bulldogs, scoring a game-high 27 points in all different manners, while Teague had 15 and Raekwon Miller 13.

On deck

Winthrop heads to Liberty (also 6-1 in league play) on Saturday for its second straight game between Big South standings leaders. Asheville hosts Campbell the same day.

Box score

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 12:36 AM with the headline "Fired up crowd watches Winthrop ward off Asheville with late surge."