Winthrop vs UNC Asheville: Josh Corbin’s 6 threes sustain Eagles’ undefeated season

The Winthrop men’s basketball team leveraged a breakout 3-point shooting display from sophomore Josh Corbin — and weathered a 57.7% shooting performance and 21-8 run to end the game from Big South Conference foe UNC Asheville — to win in Rock Hill, 84-80, on Thursday night.

The game came down to the wire: UNC Asheville’s Coty Jude hit a 3 with six seconds left to pull the game’s margin to two, 82-80. But Winthrop executed a clean in-bounds play immediately after, and Russell Jones Jr. hit two free throws to put the Bulldogs’ upset hopes out of reach.

The Eagles, despite keeping the game uncomfortably close by shooting 16-of-26 from the free-throw line and 42% from the field, extended their winning streak to 21 wins dating back to February 2020 and remain one of a handful of undefeated teams in the country. They were led by Corbin, who went 6-of-8 from 3 for 20 points; Charles Falden, who scored 10 points; and Chandler Vaudrin, who scored 12 points and notched an uncharacteristically low four assists.

“I think I just took the shots that I take every day in practice and workouts and stuff,” said Corbin, whose 20 points is a career high. “My team’s confident in me shooting, and that’s the power of our team: We just have players who can spark up like that.”

Winthrop and UNC Asheville will face off again on Friday at 6 p.m. in the Winthrop Coliseum. The game can be streamed on ESPN3.

EVALUATING WINTHROP’S KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Defend the 3: UNC Asheville (9-8, 8-4 Big South), on average, shoots just over 23 3-pointers a game. And although the team doesn’t hit a particularly high percentage (35.6%) of them, a hot-shooting night could jeopardize Winthrop’s winning streak. (It’s worth mentioning that in both of Winthrop’s one-possession wins this season, their opponents shot 57% and 40% from 3, respectively.)

Postgame evaluation: The Bulldogs hung tough in the first half in large part because of their 5-for-8 shooting from 3. The Eagles limited UNC Asheville’s 3-point tries (despite letting the team hit 11-of-17 from deep) and got a boost of perimeter scoring of its own in the form of Corbin — who hit three of them in the first half and four in the second (one of which he hit while getting fouled).

2. Engage DJ Burns early. No Big South team thus far this season has provided an answer for DJ Burns — the Eagles’ homegrown, 6-foot-9, 275-pound big man and Big South Freshman of the Year in 2019-20. Asheville isn’t likely to be the exception. Burns will likely be matched up with the Bulldogs’ Evan Clayborne, who starts at the four or five and leads the team in blocks with 24. But he’ll still be out-sized (6-6, 228 pounds). And when Burns gives Winthrop an inside scoring option early and stays out of foul trouble, this team looks invulnerable.

Postgame evaluation: Well, this didn’t happen. And it didn’t need to, apparently. For the first time this season, Burns didn’t start. In fact, he wasn’t part of the team’s first substitution wave and didn’t score. Burns had never been held scoreless in his career before Thursday, and Winthrop, similarly, had never won when Burns played but scored less than four points.

3. Run, run, run: No reason to change a game plan that has worked all season. It also helps that the Eagles’ 11-man rotation keeps the whole team fresh and makes them uniquely equipped to handle the conference’s back-to-back contests.

Postgame evaluation: The Eagles had 10 players play more than 10 minutes — and they played fast. After each UNC Asheville made basket, head coach Mike Morrell demonstratively motioned and yelled and willed his team back on defense. Winthrop notched 31 points off turnovers and 10 fastbreak points, besting its opponent in both categories.

BETTING LINES, OVER/UNDER

Per Vegas Insider, Winthrop opened as an 11-point favorite against the Bulldogs on Thursday. Over-under was at 157.5 points.

Winthrop opened as an 11-point favorite against UNC Asheville again for Friday’s game. Over-under is at 158.5 points.

What’s next?

Friday

Stream: ESPN3. (Go to ESPN.com/watch and provide your cable provider information to access the game.)

When and where: 6 p.m. at Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill

Follow @alexzietlow05 on Twitter for instant updates.

This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 5:00 AM.

Alex Zietlow

The Herald

Alex Zietlow writes about sports and the ways in which they intersect with life in York, Chester and Lancaster counties for The Herald, where he has been an editor and reporter since August 2019. Zietlow has won nine S.C. Press Association awards in his career, including First Place finishes in Feature Writing, Sports Enterprise Writing and Education Beat Reporting. He also received two Top-10 awards in the 2021 APSE writing contest and was nominated for the 2022 U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Rising Star award for his coverage of the Winthrop men’s basketball team.