Winthrop overcomes 11-point deficit, outlasts Longwood in overtime

 

Winthrop's Nick Johnson scored nine of his 15 points in overtime, including a key three for the Eagles. (Photo:  Winthrop University Athletics)

ROCK HILL, S.C. – There’s something about the rivalry between Longwood and Winthrop.

Sometimes, the sides are playing for a league title in Charlotte. Others, they’re engaging in a spirited battle before a full house in Farmville.

Then, you have the game that broke the seal on the 2023-24 Big South Conference slate for both teams.

The Eagles and Lancers partook in an often-choppy slugfest of a game that saw Winthrop make more free throws than Longwood attempted and required five extra minutes to settle. A Nick Johnson three with 1:33 remaining in extra time finally offered the separation that had long eluded the Eagles, allowing the home side to finally wrest away a 68-60 result before an announced crowd of 1,426 at Winthrop Coliseum Wednesday night.

“We have a really resilient group,” Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said after the game. “I thought our kids really stuck with it and fought through those moments where it would have been really easy to hang their head. That’s a really, really good team. We feel very fortunate to have the outcome we had.”

“They’re good. They’re well-coached. They’re physical. They’re a lot of the things that we want to be.”

The first half was far from picturesque for either side. Winthrop (10-6, 1-0 Big South) slipped out to an 8-2 lead to open the contest, only for Longwood to go on its own 8-2 run to level the ledger at 10 with 10:45 remaining in the stanza. Longwood (12-4, 0-1) stymied the Eagle offense over the final half of the period, limiting Winthrop to just two of the six shots it made in the opening 20 minutes. Despite the defensive effort, the Lancers could not create much room, as the Eagles compressed the floor on defense and limited Longwood to just 38.5 percent shooting in the half.

Winthrop went the final 7:30 of the period without a made field goal following a Mike Anumba triple. The Eagles hit just 26.1 percent (6-for-23) of their tries in the period, but somehow headed to the locker room trailing by only five at 25-20.

The second half saw the game turn into the much more physical, rough-and-tumble affair that would characterize the night. Longwood turned away an early Winthrop charge and extended its advantage to 11 points on a Johan Nziemi bucket six minutes into the second half. Winthrop slowly took bites out of the deficit, reducing the lead to as little as four. The Lancers got five straight points from Michael Christmas, though, again bumping up the lead to nine.

Winthrop countered with a 6-0 burst of its own, with four of those points coming on free throws. The run sliced the Longwood lead to 48-45 with 4:39 to play in regulation. The Eagles drew within a pair on a K.J. Doucet bucket with 1:46 left, then would draw level on two Doucet free throws with 34 seconds left. Both sides had looks to potentially win the game, but neither fell, sending the game to overtime.

“I thought the second half was pretty challenging,” Longwood coach Griff Aldrich said after the game. “It was 25-to-6 (in Winthrop’s favor) on the free throws. It’s a hard way to win a basketball game if you’re playing against a free throw disparity like that.”

“To be honest with you, the whole game, I thought we got out-competed. I didn’t think we played with great energy and urgency. I thought we just played with them. I thought they out-competed us, which is something within your control. You can handle that. That’s a disappointment.”

Longwood scored the first point of the bonus session on a D.A. Houston free throw, but Winthrop would quickly take over. The Eagles unfurled a 13-4 run after the Houston point, with a putback dunk from Kelton Talford putting Winthrop ahead, 57-56, and a three-pointer from Nick Johnson extending the lead to 62-57 at the 1:33 mark and largely sealing the outcome of the contest.

“Our mindset was to stay aggressive,” Johnson said. “We knew that we had kind of a second life in overtime, where it was a new ball game. We just tried to start the overtime period fast, stay aggressive, and keep getting stops on defense.”

“In overtime, when K.J. fouled out, somebody else had to step up and make plays. I just relied on my hard work and time in the gym, and thankfully, the shot went in.”

As much as time at the line loomed large in the outcome, the Eagles also proved opportunistic late in turning defense into offense. Winthrop at one point trailed Longwood, 18-2, in points off turnovers, only to go on a 16-1 run in the category behind 10 forced miscues in the second half and overtime.

“I think there are a lot of similarities in our teams and how we play at both ends of the floor,” Prosser said. “Anytime you can create some offense from your defense – especially on a day like today – we needed that. It didn’t hurt to have Mike Anumba out there, either, who has that mentality and disposition to defend. That’s just who he is. I think that gives confidence to the rest of the team.”

“I thought we did a pretty good job. I know they got out in the second half to a pretty good (start) and we were giving up some things, but I thought we tightened up as the game went on.”

Winthrop placed four scorers in double figures on the night. Talford, Johnson, and Kasen Harrison all tallied 15 apiece, combining to hit 13-for-22 tries from the field. The trio went 17-for-26 at the line, bolstering the Eagle effort. Doucet contributed 10 and put home 4-of-6 from the stripe. The Eagles shot 38.5 percent (20-for-52) from the field, adding just 16 percent (4-for-25) from distance. Winthrop sank 61.5 percent (24-for-39) of its free throws.

Christmas led Longwood’s four double-figure scorers, booking 16 points and snatching 13 boards. Houston, Szymon Zapala, and Walyn Napper all contributed 10 each, hitting 12-of-26 combined from the floor. The Lancers shot 39 percent (23-for-59) but hit just one triple in 16 tries (6.3 percent) and 72.2 percent (13-for-18) from the line.

Both sides return to action Saturday afternoon. Longwood hosts Charleston Southern in the Joan Perry Brock Center in Farmville, Va., with tip time set for 3:00 (Eastern) and streaming coverage over ESPN+. Winthrop makes the trek to Spartanburg, S.C., to battle USC Upstate in a 4:00 tip inside the Hodge Center. ESPN+ will also stream that contest.

WINTHROP 68, LONGWOOD 60 (OT)

LONGWOOD (12-4, 0-1 BIG SOUTH)

Christmas 6-16 4-5 16, Granlund 0-4 0-0 0, Zapala 5-9 0-1 10, Napper 5-12 0-1 10, Massie 1-7 4-5 6, Houston 2-5 54-6 10, Tucker 2-3 0-0 4, Richards 0-1 0-0 0, Sunderland 0-0 0-0 0, Nziemi 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 23-59 13-18 60.

WINTHROP (10-6, 1-0)

Talford 5-6 5-9 15, Doucet 3-8 4-6 10, Claxton 1-3 0-0 2, Johnson 4-8 6-9 15, Harrison 4-8 6-8 15, McMahon 1-8 0-0 3, Diallo 0-1 0-0 0, Timmerman 0-2 2-2 2, Anumba 2-8 1-3 6, McKelvy 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 20-52 24-39 68.

Halftime:  Longwood 25-20. 3-Point goals:  Winthrop 4-25 (Doucet 0-3, Claxton 0-2, Johnson 1-3, Harrison 1-4, McMahon 1-8, Timmerman 0-1, Anumba 1-4), Longwood 1-16 (Christmas 0-4, Granlund 0-4, Zapala 0-1, Napper 0-1, Houston 1-4). Fouled out:  Granlund (LU), Doucet (WU). Rebounds:  Winthrop 43 (Doucet/Johnson 7), Longwood 36 (Christmas 13). Assists:  Winthrop 7 (Harrison 2), Longwood 6 (Napper 2). Total fouls:  Longwood 28, Winthrop 20. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  Longwood 19, Winthrop 18  Points in the paint:  Longwood 44, Winthrop 32.  Second-chance points:  Winthrop 15, Longwood 12.  Fast-break points:  Longwood 10, Winthrop 6.  Bench points:  Longwood 18, Winthrop 11.