Drew Buggs game-winner gives Winthrop 9th straight win in Big South openers
Winthrop succumbed to a lot of Campbell’s strengths Monday, but an inspired second-half effort and a Drew Buggs go-ahead bucket with four seconds left delivered the Eagles a Big South Conference season-opening win.
With the 74-72 victory, the Eagles (8-6, 1-0 Big South) have now won their last nine league openers, all six of their home games in 2021-22 and their last eight against Campbell — including last year’s Big South conference championship game.
It required some late-game heroics, though.
Down six with 2:59 remaining, Kelton Talford attacked the basket and got hit hard enough for the officials to call a Flagrant 1 foul — and that set off a whole bunch of big shots the Eagles needed on Monday night.
Talford nailed both free throws. Winthrop then used the extra possession to full effect: Russell Jones Jr. drove left baseline and found Pat Good running off a screen to the left of the top of the key — and Good nailed a three from to pull the game’s margin to 1.
70-69, Campbell still led.
After another Campbell bucket (72-69), Winthrop’s Cory Hightower hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with a hand in his face to tie the game at 72.
And then one Winthrop stop and a Drew Buggs six-foot jumper put the game at 74-72 with four seconds left.
Campbell’s Jordan Whitfield had a good look as time expired at the top of the key, but his shot fell just short.
The win was important for a Winthrop team with NCAA tournament hopes, but it was also an imperfect one.
Here’s what we learned.
Campbell reveals winnable formula against Winthrop
The last time the Camels played in the Winthrop Coliseum, they exited with an 80-53 loss in the 2021 Big South tournament championship game.
Monday night was quite the different story.
This one, after all, didn’t feel the impact of DJ Burns. The junior big man was subdued by foul trouble, earning his second early in the first half and his fourth with six minutes left in the game. He fouled out with 3:34 left in the contest — exiting with an unheralded stat-line: seven points (on 3-of-3 shooting) and one rebound in 15 minutes.
This one was also remarkably slow, too: With its Princeton offense, one of numerous backdoor cuts and dribble-drives and almost no ball-screens, Campbell shredded 30 seconds off the shot clock almost every time it had the ball. (The Eagles, a team that prefers to play fast, scored six fast-break points in the game. The Camels notched five.)
A muted Burns? A slow pace? That seemed for a moment enough to stifle the Eagles — but a disciplined second half and timely shooting down the stretch from Good, Hightower and Buggs outdid it all.
Head coach Mark Prosser resisted the notion that Winthrop played “Campbell’s game” on Monday night.
“They want to play in the 50s, low 60s,” he told reporters postgame, “but I think we can play with an experienced group a lot of different ways. ... So there’s some things we need to do to make sure we’re more comfortable for Thursday night. They did a really good job putting pressure on us, forcing us to make plays. But at the end of the day, those guys in our locker room made those plays.”
We haven’t seen the best of Hightower
With earrings on and a smile on his face after the game, Hightower said he hasn’t yet played his best basketball in a Winthrop uniform.
“Personally, I don’t feel like I’ve played my best basketball,” Hightower said. “I’m still trying to get there. My teammates, my coaches, they’re all helping me. ... There’s more to unlock.”
The redshirt junior finished with 17 points — going 5 of 6 from three — and eight rebounds and two assists.
This is the type of stat line Winthrop has come to expect from Hightower. He and his frontcourt-mates Burns, Talford and Chase Claxton tend to fit together like puzzle pieces — each one varying in personality, on-court demeanor and offensive game.
Hightower’s niche? Despite being a forward, he’s one of the best shooters on the team — and his timely shooting down the stretch is probably what made his impact feel a bit larger than normal.
“If the offense isn’t flowing,” Hightower said, “we got a couple people we can just give the ball to and let him work out.”
And Hightower worked out Friday.
Other notes from Winthrop-Campbell game
▪ Drew Buggs was a scorer when his team needed him to be, and not just on the game’s final possession. He finished with 12 points (second-best behind Hightower) and two rebounds and four assists. He also notched a technical foul in the first half, the product of some chippy play that more or less defined Winthrop’s Big South opener.
▪ The Eagles hadn’t played since New Year’s Eve before Monday night thanks to COVID-19 postponements. They didn’t lack for energy in the contest, though — even if it took a half and some change to knock some rust off.
▪ Winthrop shot 9 for 17 from the free-throw line (53%), not too distant from its 3-point shooting percentage (39%). This has been a head-scratching pair of facts the Eagles have battled all season long.
This story was originally published January 10, 2022 at 7:13 PM.
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