Winthrop relies on its upperclassmen to defeat Gardner-Webb, heads to Big South final
When Winthrop encountered struggles on its way to a Big South regular-season co-championship, coach Pat Kelsey leaned on his leadership council.
Chandler Vaudrin, Hunter Hale and Josh Ferguson had been through many trying experiences, and demonstrated a steady hand.
The trio combined for 55 of Winthrop’s 78 points Friday night, helping propel the Eagles to their first Big South Championship final appearance since 2017. Winthrop won 78-66 over third-seeded Gardner-Webb.
“(Vaudrin and Hale) are two of our leadership council guys. They’re leading the way,” Kelsey stated. “We worked all year to be trained and prepared for this moment, and these guys are seeing the fruits of all their labor. I’m really proud of them.”
The game started as the usual classic between the two teams. The lead changed three times in just over a minute early on. It was a foreshadowing of the 10 lead changes that would occur in the opening 20 minutes. As each struggled to create separation, Winthrop (23-10) could grow its lead no further than four points before a key sequence late in the half.
Gardner-Webb (16-16) drew within a single point after the second of back-to-back Nate Johnson three-point shots with 3:26 to play. Winthrop then countered with three straight buckets to key an 8-0 run. Chandler Vaudrin scored two, followed by back-to-back threes from Josh Ferguson and Hunter Hale. A Jaheam Cornwall layup at the horn knifed the Eagles’ interval advantage to 37-30.
“We just said (that) if we want to get where want to go, we’ve gotta get stops,” Vaudrin said. “At the end of the day, you can’t always control if you’re gonna make shots, but we can get deflections, we can get stops, and we can force them into shots that they don’t really want to take. That was kind of what we did down the half.”
Nate Johnson put home a layup for the Runnin’ Bulldogs to start the second half and narrow the Winthrop margin to five. That was the closest Gardner-Webb could draw the remainder of the game.
The Winthrop defense, which was the focus of the team’s “reset” following its struggles, came to the fore, locking down what had been the league’s hottest team coming into the tournament.
“(That was) just a tough game for us. I think they had a great game plan,” said Gardner-Webb coach Tim Craft. “They made it really difficult on us offensively. This was, by far, the lowest shooting percentage we’ve had (over) the last eight or nine games. We struggled to get the shots that we’ve been getting.”
Gardner-Webb shot 38.6 percent (22-for-57) from the field.
Now, two of the members of Kelsey’s leadership group get to play for a conference tournament title for the first time as Division I athletes. Vaudrin and Hale took a somewhat circuitous route to get here, but that makes it even sweeter.
“I think (Hunter and I) both thought that we were supposed to be at this level. It didn’t happen right away, but with hard work and persistence, we got to where we were supposed to be,” said Vaudrin, who transferred from Division II Walsh. “I think it’s just like a chip on our shoulder. We both play a tough and confident game. We believe that we should be here.”
“You’ve gotta keep working, and you’ve gotta keep your head up,” said Hale, who played at Division II Grand Valley State before coming to Rock Hill. “I always knew that if I put the work in, I could get back to where I wanted to be. Now we have a great opportunity to go to the (NCAA) tournament, if we win one more game. It doesn’t matter who we face. I’m just ready to play again.”
Hale tallied 28 for the Eagles on 6-for-14 shooting, adding seven rebounds and three assists. Vaudrin added 14, while Ferguson contributed 13. Winthrop shot 45.5 percent from the field in the victory.
Jaheam Cornwall led four Gardner-Webb scorers in double figures with 24 points on 8-for-19 from the field. Eric Jamison finished with 14, while Christian Turner added 12 and Nate Johnson 10.
The Eagles advance to Sunday’s championship game, which will tip at 1 p.m. and be broadcast on ESPN.
Want to watch?
Who? Winthrop vs. Hampton
Where? Winthrop Coliseum, Rock Hill, S.C.
When? 1 p.m.
Fun fact: The Eagles, under Kelsey, haven’t lost a Big South final at home.
This story was originally published March 6, 2020 at 10:32 PM.
