‘That attack mode’: Winthrop basketball wins 10th in a row in familiar way against PC
It seemed a bit early at the time to call Micheal Anumba’s 3-pointer from the corner — with just over 10 minutes left — the game’s proverbial dagger.
But it felt like one.
The bucket was one of seven 3-pointers the Eagles hit on Saturday afternoon. It was part of Winthrop’s 72-57 win over Presbyterian College at the Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, contributing to Winthrop’s 10th consecutive win and a league-leading eighth win in the Big South.
And the way it happened was demoralizing for the Blue Hose: It came after two other Winthrop 3s clanked off the rim but found Eagle offensive rebounders, and it extended Winthrop’s lead to 18, the game’s largest margin at the time.
So, Anumba: Did your three seal the team’s win?
“After I made that three, in my head, I kind of thought the game was over,” said Anumba, who finished with 11 points and six rebounds. “But at the same time, coach (Pat) Kelsey — his voice is in my head 24/7 — so as soon as I made that three, all I thought was, ‘Next play, next play.’ ”
PC made a concerted push directly after the bucket, cutting the game’s margin to 13 — and starting forward Josh Ferguson picked up his fourth foul with 10 minutes left and starting guard Chandler Vaudrin collected his fourth foul with six minutes left.
But the shot, effectively, did the Blue Hose in.
The Eagles (14-7, 8-0 Big South) wouldn’t hit a field goal in the final 6:08, but their pair of 10-0 runs — one in the first half and one in the second half — were enough to escape with a win.
“We didn’t really hit the shots that we wanted to in the first half, but we knew that we would in the second half,” said Hunter Hale, who finished with a team-high 19 points. “But yeah, (the run) was us just keeping a really tight defense, pressuring the ball, getting deflections, creating steals and opportunities for us to go score.”
Next, Winthrop will travel to Charleston Southern on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Notable: Rock Hill starting to take notice of Winthrop’s success
A crowd of 3,011 witnessed Winthrop’s 10th win in a row — the second largest crowd of the season.
Kelsey talked about the crowd’s impact in the contest after the game.
“To be honest with you, I think that’s part of the story of today: the crowd,” said Kelsey, who has said numerous times previously that creating a fun atmosphere is a huge part of building a Winthrop men’s basketball program that will last. “They actually had to move some of the seat-kills. I mean, I looked up and the section across from our bench ... (was) totally removed and people went all the way to the top.”
Quotable: ‘He’s my hero’
Hale on his balanced offensive game: “It’s me being more confident in myself and just being in that attack mode because if I’m in that mode, it helps our team a lot. It keeps the defense on their toes.”
Anumba has different family member names and motivational phrases on his basketball shoes. Here’s his take on one of them: “My dad is like my hero. I hope he doesn’t see this because he’s going to get too happy. But he’s my hero. He always tells me the ‘Triple Cs’ — which is confidence, consistency and concentration. And if you have them three consistently, you’ll succeed.”
This story was originally published January 25, 2020 at 4:28 PM.
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