Winthrop eases past Ferrum, readies for big one Thursday
Maybe it was the residual self-confidence left over from Donald Trump’s appearance at Winthrop Coliseum last Friday. More likely it was the inferior opponent, but regardless of the source the Winthrop men’s basketball team rediscovered a little bit of its swagger Monday night in an 81-63 win over Division III Ferrum College.
The final score indicates a game that was a bit closer, but that’s largely because the Panthers closed the gap in the waning moments. Pat Kelsey’s team led by as many as 30 points in the second half, a bit of a relief after a three-game conference losing streak dimmed the mood around the Coliseum a bit.
“Doesn’t matter who we play, the fact we can hopefully get back on a roll and get back in the win column was important,” said Kelsey. “We’ve had a rough stretch. What’s amazing is those guys in the locker room - you would think you would lose three in a row and there would be a little bit of a confidence crisis, but that’s not the case with those guys.”
Kelsey said he felt inflated by his team’s reaction to the difficult situation it found itself in the last week and a half.
“The response to the losing streak was more ferocious practices,” he said.
In the midst of a trying chunk of the Big South schedule - after UNC Asheville last Wednesday, Winthrop (10-6) faces High Point Thursday, Liberty Saturday and Gardner-Webb next Wednesday - Ferrum (7-6) provided a considerably less intimidating opponent. Ferrum coach Billy Tharp, a friend of Kelsey’s and an acolyte of former Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio, finally brought his team to Rock Hill.
“We’ve been talking over the years since I got the job and he’s been hounding me to come play a game here,” said Kelsey. “It’s hard to play friends in this business because everybody’s trying to tear each other’s faces off.”
Turning point
Ferrum jumped out to a 9-4 lead, but Winthrop quickly swallowed up the visitors with a 26-2 run over the next seven minutes. Keon Johnson came into the game - he didn’t start for the first time since Dec. 31, 2014 after being late to a weight-training session - and scored five quick points to even the score. The Eagles then tallied 16 of the game’s next 17 points.
“He did what I expected him to,” Kelsey said, referring to Johnson. “He ran to the scorer’s table when I called his name, came in and banged two 3’s and a layup at the rim. Didn’t pout for one second. Had a very mature upperclassman response.”
Cooks drove right to the rim for a bucket and the foul - and Winthrop’s first lead with just over 5 minutes played - before Johnson and Bjorn Broman drilled 3’s, Zach Price spun and slammed, and Jimmy Gavin hit another 3. Johnson’s coast-to-coast drive and score capped the run and all but killed off the contest as far as entertainment goes.
Critical
Nothing weird happened.
Seriously, the last thing Kelsey’s team needed after a rough patch was for Ferrum to play the greatest game of its program’s history. The Panthers shot the ball well early but eventually cooled off and Winthrop took advantage. It’s a good game for the Eagles when walk-ons Kellen Blake, Mitch Hill, Hunter Sadlon and Freddy Poole get into the game, which they all did Monday night.
Star contributors
Gavin led the Eagles with 19 points, hitting 7-of-9 shots from the floor, including five 3-pointers, en route to his sixth game in the last seven with 17 or more. He added four assists and three rebounds.
Johnson was a spark off the bench for sure with 10 points, a role he’ll likely not revisit the rest of the season barring unforeseen developments. And Duby Okeke was also a force against the much shorter Panthers, blocking four shots in limited action. Price and Josh Davenport added 10 points, and Cooks finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
Josh Grimard led Ferrum with 19 points after connecting on 5-of-6 shots from beyond the arc.
On deck
Winthrop has a big one Thursday night at home against High Point. The Panthers were the preseason favorite to win the league and Scott Cherry’s club is backing that up with results, having won four straight games and its first five in conference play.
“The margin for error drops as High Point executes at a very high level,” Gavin said through a sore throat.
While Winthrop nixed its overall losing streak, it still hasn’t won a Big South game since December.
“Shouldn’t have to say much to those guys to get them up and excited for this one,” said Kelsey.
This story was originally published January 11, 2016 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Winthrop eases past Ferrum, readies for big one Thursday."