Winthrop men’s basketball falls to ETSU, 61-58, in another close road contest
With 13 seconds left, down three points, Winthrop point guard Russell Jones received a hand-off from D.J. Burns at the 3-point line.
Jones made a move past his defender, air-balled a floater that was collected by Burns, and Burns found Michael Anumba open at the top of the key.
Anumba, who finished with 10 points and a team-leading 30 minutes of playing time, launched the shot. This was it — the culmination of a night where the Eagles hadn’t led but once when the score was 2-0, but had kept the game close by virtue of good interior defense, timely shooting and a career night from the team’s highly-touted transfer from Tennessee, Burns.
It was the last of a trio of important possessions: a made three by senior Josh Ferguson for Winthrop to tie it at 58; a 3-pointer by ETSU’s Tray Boyd III to make it 61-58; and now this.
The shot hung in the air for what felt like 10 seconds, and rattled out. Winthrop (2-2) wouldn’t get off another shot in regulation.
The Eagles fell to ETSU on Thursday night, 61-58 — another road game final score separated by one possession.
Winthrop shot just 37 percent from the floor in the first half, but the team saw good minutes from Burns, who went 4-4 in the first half with eight points. The Eagles trailed 32-25 at the half.
In the second half, the Eagles went on an 8-0 run before the first media timeout and found themselves tied with just under 12 minutes to go in the game.
Junior redshirt transfer Chandler Vaudrin made his mark in the second half. He finished the game with nine points and five assists, playing 29 minutes. The offense seemed to run through him and the Eagles’ big man, Burns — who, on top of scoring, used his vision to find players on the perimeter.
Winthrop’s Josh Ferguson added nine points and four rebounds, and Jones had five points, three assists and a turnover.
ETSU was led by Bo Hodges, who scored 17 points and added nine rebounds, and Boyd III, who scored 13 points — including the go-ahead three that put his team up for good.
The Eagles will play at home at 4 p.m. against Mid-Atlantic Christian on Saturday.
Miscellaneous observations
- Burns played the most minutes he had all season (27) despite foul trouble in the first half. He was arguably Winthrop’s most valuable player down the stretch, touching the ball every possession, even if he had to get a catch nearly 20 feet from the basket. He led the team in scoring with 17 points on 8-10 shooting but also proved to be an adept interior passer, adding three assists.
- Both teams had inefficient nights at the free throw line. ETSU went 5-10 and Winthrop went 3-9. The Eagles are shooting less than 50 percent from the stripe on the year.
- Prior to the contest, head coach Pat Kelsey said that this East Tennessee State team would be the “most talented team” Winthrop has faced thus far this season.
This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 9:24 PM.
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