Josh Ferguson career night not enough in most revealing game to date for Winthrop
With 12 seconds remaining in the game, with Winthrop down two, Kyle Zunic looked to inbound the ball to a streaking Michael Anumba.
There was a full set to run, one orchestrated in the timeout the Eagles had just taken. But Coastal Carolina’s Malik LeGania jumped the initial pass, intercepted it, and — once he was fouled and made both free throws — he effectively ended the game.
The Chanticleers high-stepped off of Winthrop Coliseum, winning 92-88.
Before LeGania’s last-second steal and game-sealing free throws, Coastal Carolina and Winthrop traded big shot after big shot: There was CCU’s Kelshawn Brewton’s 3-pointer with 1:54 left to put the Chants up two; then, on the ensuing possession, Josh Ferguson responded with a three of his own. 85-84, Winthrop.
The next possession, CCU’s DeVante’ Jones knocked in another three — one that seemed to take all the air out of the arena for the moment. But after another Winthrop timeout, Chandler Vaudrin found himself alone in the corner for an open three to put the Eagles up by one. 88-87.
It would be the last lead the Eagles would have.
CCU’s Jones scored a layup on the next possession to make it 89-88 — and then, after two empty possessions and the aforementioned turnover — that was it.
Coastal Carolina was led by Jones, who scored 32 points and went 12-for-12 from the free throw line.
Winthrop’s Josh Ferguson scored 32 points — a career high — and added six rebounds in the loss.
Josh Ferguson career night
Late in the second half, Ferguson was at the free throw line when the intercom enlivened Winthrop Coliseum.
It was news that Levi Cook, Coastal Carolina’s center and biggest body, had fouled out of the game. As soon as Cook trudged off the court, redshirt freshman DJ Burns went up to speak to his senior post companion — and Ferguson smiled as he talked.
“I just said, ‘There’s no way that they can have anybody who can keep up with the both of us,’” Burns said with his trademarked soft smile after the game. “There was nobody on their team — even before, but especially then.”
After all, the two big men that met on the free throw line were in the middle of career nights: Burns ended with 18 points, 6-6 from the free throw line, and three assists.
And Ferguson, of course, was on his way to a career high. He was hitting from everywhere — from three, he was 6-12; and inside, he seemed to be on the end of all of Chandler Vaudrin and Hunter Hale’s drive and dishes.
Before the game, Ferguson was challenged by head coach Pat Kelsey. It was the first time this season Ferguson didn’t start.
Kelsey called him into his office earlier this week, he said.
“I just called Josh in, and I just go: ‘Josh, I don’t know if this is going to make a difference or not, but I’m taking you out of the lineup,’” Kelsey said with a shrug. “And he was like, ‘What the heck are you talking about?’ I mean, here’s my all-conference senior, a decorated player. I go, ‘I’m just giving someone else a chance. I want to see how you respond.’”
Kelsey said he went on to have “unbelievable” days of practice, being as vocal as he’d been all season. He handled it like the “ultimate pro,” Kelsey said.
And ultimately, he responded with a night people in the Coliseum will remember.
“I mean, I played well, but there were a bunch of things that could’ve gone better,” Ferguson added postgame. “Like, I messed up a couple things down the stretch, like blown assignments, finding guys in transition, so we just have a lot of things to clean up...
“We haven’t gotten a good win at home yet, but everything’s for a reason, so we’ll bounce back.”
Notable and quotable: A revealing night
Saturday night epitomized Winthrop’s season up until this point: It resulted in one of its four losses by four points or less this season. It had flashes of how good Winthrop could be when the team’s shot was falling — and how that unlocks everything in the team’s offense.
And, perhaps most notably, it proved that this team and program — judging by the size of the crowd, the occasional dicey play on the court — is ready to embrace a rivalry like the one it once had with Coastal Carolina.
Burns on his team playing inside-out: “It didn’t take long for me to realize that they were trapping coming from the baseline, so the first thing that went through my head was, ‘The guy in the corner is going to be open because they’re going to send his man, so he’s open in the corner.’
“We were just trying to move the ball and make the defense move, and we were finding people open, and we were knocking them down.”
Ferguson on the team missing Russell Jones, Winthrop’s starting point guard who was out with an injury: “He definitely helps us a lot to keep our pace up. And he’s another body. He could’ve pressed (CCU’s) No. 3 DeVante Jones, who had a big night. Russ could’ve given him different looks on defense.”
Coach Kelsey on Burns’ performance: “God bless that No. 32 (Cook). He had the most fun after the game. He deserved it. He was all excited. Great player, great kid, he was all of that stuff. But, you know, he started to give DJ a little bit of an earful and bumped him and tagged and elbowed him, and that’s like poking a bear, no pun intended.
“I just kind of said, ‘I don’t know if that’s what you want to do.’ (Laughs.) DJ got going. He was confident. He was playing. I just have to figure out how to poke that bear every day and get him like that all the time — but he was really, really good tonight.”
Burns on what he’s looking forward to in his future meetings with Coastal Carolina: “Beating them. And winning. By a lot. Keeping this rivalry. They got the best of us this time... Just beating them. There’s no other way to put it.”
This story was originally published December 7, 2019 at 9:32 PM.
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