By Justin Mathis (@J_Math23)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Saturday afternoon’s Big South Conference clash between Winthrop and USC Upstate Spartans had the feel of a heavyweight fight. However, one player landed a proverbial right hook.
This topsy-turvy contest required an extra five minutes to determine a winner, as a Micheal Anumba three-pointer and late free throw shooting propelled the Eagles to a thrilling 82-80 overtime victory over Upstate. This also marks the first time that Winthrop has played in consecutive overtime games since February 2014, when the Eagles went to an extra session at Gardner-Webb and then at home versus UNC Asheville.
“I think I had just missed a three in the second half, late in the game (with 36 seconds left in regulation),” Anumba recalled. “The bench always tells me to shoot every open shot and Coach (Mark Prosser) always tells me to shoot every open shot, so that gives me confidence. There is no better feeling than when your teammates and coach want you to shoot. I was ready to shoot with my feet set and let it fly. It felt good.”
Trailing by double digits midway through the second half, Upstate pieced together a rally to force the extra frame. Layups from Ahmir Langlais and Jalen Breazeale, coupled with a Miguel Ayesa triple, cut Winthrop’s lead down to two, at 60-58, with 7:52 left in regulation.
Sin’Cere McMahon countered with a triple, followed by a pair of Kelton Talford free throws, extending the Eagle lead back out to six points. Trae Broadnax buried a triple that cut the deficit down to two points, before K.J. Doucet's runner in the lane created another two-score advantage for Winthrop with 4:30 to go.
“League play is one or two possessions all the time,” Winthrop head coach Mark Prosser said. “We talked about it in the timeout before overtime started and certainly in the locker room. Ever seen one of those shows where anything that can go wrong, will go wrong? Down the stretch of regulation, it was a litany of things, but at the end of the day, we were resilient and made the necessary plays down the stretch. It is a lot for us to go back, wade through, and correct, but it is a whole lot more fun to do it after a win.”
A Nick Alves layup pulled Upstate within a 69-68 margin before Anumba answered with a basket of his own, which made for a 71-68 Eagle lead. On the Spartans’ penultimate possession of regulation, Justin Bailey quickly dribbled around the perimeter and found Ayesa, who swished the game-tying triple and sent the game to overtime.
“I knew our guys would bounce back from the Asheville game on Wednesday night,” Upstate head coach Dave Dickerson stated. “We showed a lot of resolve, resiliency, and played with a lot of toughness. We got off to a great start in the game and got up by a sizable lead, but just could not put the ball in the basket (and) could not make our free throws tonight.”
The back-and-forth affair continued in overtime as Langlais and Alves combined for Upstate’s first six points, which also saw the Spartans fail to convert on a three-point play opportunity. Down by one with just over three minutes left, Harrison drove the lane and kicked out to Anumba for the go-ahead three, giving Winthrop a 75-73 lead at that juncture of the contest.
Over the final 25 minutes of the game, the Spartans only made six of 16 attempts from the charity stripe. Winthrop knocked down five of its last six shots at the line to help secure the win.
“Nick is playing at a good clip,” Dickerson added. “We need him to be consistently playing well, but we also need this team to be able to make the plays we need to make, when we need to make them. A big play in this game was going 9-for-20 from the free throw line. They call them free throws for a reason, so we have to make those things, especially when you’re at home.”
Talford led all scorers with 18 points and nine rebounds for Winthrop, narrowly missing a double-double, followed by Doucet (15), Anumba (14), Nick Johnson (13), and Harrison (11). The Eagles scored 26 points off turnovers and made 25 out of 49 shots from the field (51 percent).
During the game, Harrison also surpassed the 1,000 career points milestone.
Alves posted a team-high 16 points for the Spartans, while Langlais notched his third double-double with 14 points and 11 boards. Ayesa (14), Broadnax (13), and Bailey (12) also recorded double-digit point totals.
The Spartans outscored the Eagles 38-34 in the paint and 30-23 in bench points. Upstate made 30 of 64 shots from the floor (46.9 percent).
Both teams continue in conference play next week as Winthrop (11-6, 2-0 Big South) will visit Presbyterian on Wednesday at 7 p.m. USC Upstate (5-10, 0-2 Big South) will travel down I-26 to Ladson, South Carolina for a clash with Charleston Southern on Saturday, January 13 at 2 p.m.
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