Winthrop men fall apart in second half of loss to Asheville

Winthrop men’s basketball dropped a back-breaker Wednesday night, falling to UNC Asheville 85-84 in Kimmel Arena.

The Eagles had a 23-point lead - 64-41 - with 15 minutes, 31 seconds left in the second half, before succumbing to an uncommon meltdown. Pat Kelsey’s team couldn’t overcome a season-high 22 turnovers; those proved to be fuel for the Bulldogs’ second half comeback, and the Eagles’ third straight Big South loss in six days.

Winthrop (9-6, 2-3) led 55-37 at the half after hitting 16-of-22 shots in the first 20 minutes. The Eagles were 5-for-7 from 3-point range and 14-of-16 from the foul line in a first half shooting performance that was nearly perfect, and much needed after the consecutive losses to Campbell and Coastal Carolina. In those games, Pat Kelsey’s team hit just 13-of-50 from 3-point range and only 23-of-44 from the foul line.

Keon Johnson scored 19 of his 23 points in the first half, his arching triple off a Josh Davenport kick-out pass giving the Eagles an 18-point lead with about 4 minutes left in the half. Asheville (11-5, 4-0) produced an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 10, but Winthrop reacted through a Jimmy Gavin 3 to quell the surge. Johnson hit another looping 3 with time running down to push the lead back to 18 at the break.

The second half seemed to be continuing in the same vein when Winthrop suddenly went cold from the field. That cold snap coincided with mounting foul trouble on the Eagle big men Xavier Cooks and Zach Price and elevated defensive pressure from the Bulldogs.

Once Asheville reeled in the Eagles, the lead volleyed back and forth. Trailing 85-84 with 23.9 seconds left, Johnson lost the ball driving to the basket, only for Dwayne Sutton to get whistled for a push-off with his forearm going the other way. Johnson again took the big shot for Winthrop with the clock winding down, but his deep 3 missed and his follow-up was off target leaving Winthrop to stare a jaw-dropping loss in the face.

Turning point

Raekwon Miller’s 3 cut Winthrop’s lead to 73-65 with about 9 minutes left in the game, and after an Ahmad Thomas dunk and another Miller 3 from the corner, the Eagles’ lead was trimmed to two, 75-73, with 5 minutes, 14 seconds left. From there, it was either team’s game.

Critical

Asheville overcame foul trouble to its two leading scorers, freshmen Dylan Smith and Dwayne Sutton, as well as 7-of-22 shooting to get its fourth straight win to start the conference season. The Bulldogs also cranked up the defensive pressure, forcing Winthrop into a season-high turnover tally; the Eagles hadn’t given the ball away more than 16 times in any of their previous 14 games, but they buckled under the Bulldog fullcourt pressure.

Winthrop’s first half shooting would have been the difference had things gone the Eagles’ way. A lot of ink has been spilled over the Eagles’ defensive struggles this season, but when they’ve shot well - which they have more than a few times - that hasn’t mattered.

Star contributors

After his worst game of the season last Saturday in the loss to Coastal Carolina, Johnson was excellent in the first half, before cooling off. Gavin kicked in 17 points but struggled in the second half with turnovers.

Sam Hughes did everything for Asheville, leading the Bulldogs with 21 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots. Kevin Vannatta added 20 points.

On deck

Winthrop hosts NCAA Division III Ferrum College Monday night at 6 p.m. - a tip time that’s been adjusted because of Clemson’s college football national championship game that same night. The Eagles then return to Big South play Thursday, Jan. 14 with a critical game against league leaders High Point at Winthrop Coliseum.

This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 9:22 PM with the headline "Winthrop men fall apart in second half of loss to Asheville."