Gardner-Webb squeaks past Winthrop on dramatic, late shot

 Gardner-Webb's Lucas Stieber hit the game-winner Saturday afternoon in Winthrop Coliseum. (Photo:  Gardner-Webb Athletics)

Follow @sportsmatters

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Thanks to Asheville’s 71-62 victory over Radford before the final horn in Rock Hill, Saturday’s game between Gardner-Webb and Winthrop technically had no meaning.

Don’t tell that to either team.

After a Nick Johnson jumper that would likely have been the decisive bucket for the Eagles, Gardner-Webb’s Julien Soumaoro frantically raced up the floor, knifed through traffic, and fired up an errant attempt. The ball wildly caromed above the basket into a crowd, where Gardner-Webb forward Ademide Badmus snatched his sixth rebound of the game, then tossed a perfect pass to guard Lucas Stieber. Stieber measured his look from behind the three-point line, released his shot, and put his side ahead, 65-64.

“We had just gotten the rebound with 13 seconds (remaining),” Gardner-Webb coach Tim Craft said after the game. “I had timeouts, but just wanted to try to go before they could set their defense up. We were struggling to score against their half-court defense. They were doing a great job.”

“We were just trying to see if we could get one in transition. If we got bottled up, I was going to call a timeout. He had a pretty good look. He got a floater out of it, and Ademide tipped it out. Sometimes, the best thing – to me – you can do is just try to let those guys play in transition.”

What was going through Craft’s mind as the shot left Stieber’s hand?

“The way that guy has shot it here the last few weeks, I definitely thought it was going in,” Craft said. “He’s over 52 percent in league play. The last couple weeks, the guy’s shooting 60 percent from three. I definitely felt good about (Stieber) letting it fly.”

“You’ve got to have that ball. There’s no two ways about it,” Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said. “I wish it hadn’t bounced out right into his hands right at the top of the key with a week and a half to tee it up. He’s been shooting it really well.”

“It came down to one ball. They got it and we didn’t.”

As exhilarating — or heartbreaking, depending on your leanings — as that shot was, more drama remained.

Winthrop advanced the ball across the mid-court stripe, then called time with 1.9 seconds remaining. The Eagles inbounded the ball and found Micheal Anumba from one of his favorite spots, just beyond the arc on the right side of the floor. Anumba had a clean look, but the shot refused to cooperate, giving Gardner-Webb the 65-64 victory.

“We were in our defense where we just make it hard for them to run a set play,” Craft said. “I’m not sure what they were trying to get. I think they skipped it because the other things weren’t open. They ended up skipping it and actually got a decent look.”

With Saturday’s win, the Runnin’ Bulldogs swept Winthrop for the first time since Craft’s first season at the helm, 2013-14. Additionally, the last three games between the sides at Winthrop have been decided by a combined three points.

For those who follow Gardner-Webb, every season almost seems like a script. Every year, the Runnin’ Bulldogs struggle out of the gate after playing a tremendously tough non-conference schedule. Then – as if like clockwork – Gardner-Webb hits its stride in conference play. Craft’s teams have won fewer than 10 conference games one time in 11 seasons. In that instance, the ’Dogs went 9-9 over the league slate. This year’s edition finished the season 16-15, booking 11 more league victories. 

“We’re just trying to continue to coach guys,” Craft said. “We have good kids. We have great character. We’re just trying to keep a big picture when we’re going through the non-conference schedule. When you look at our non-conference – I looked at it today. It was ranked 28^th in the country. We were – counting the teams in our league, High Point and Asheville – at something like 13 games against teams that have 20 wins or are going to get 20 wins.”

“We went through a ridiculous gauntlet. It was hard. I do think the hard parts help you – going through that adversity – if you’ve got good character. Our guys do. It just helps pull you together and learn how to fight through some things, because you’re going to face it out there in the games.”

Returning the focus to Saturday’s game, Gardner-Webb enjoyed a series of statistical advantages. The Runnin’ Bulldogs outscored Winthrop in the paint, 34-24. Gardner-Webb offensively rebounded at a 41.7 percent clip, getting back 15 of their 36 misses. The visitors also tallied 19 second-chance points to Winthrop’s eight, including the three that provided the final margin.

“It was just a culmination of 15 offensive rebounds. Their second-chance points were substantial,” Prosser said. “You get what you deserve when it comes to that stuff. At the end of the day, we got what we wanted. We got back and we got a stop. We just had to have that ball. That’s how games are won and lost, and unfortunately, that’s what happened.”

Soumaoro led three double-figure scorers for the Runnin’ Bulldogs, tallying 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Caleb Robinson and Isaiah Richards booked 11 apiece in reserve duty, hitting a combined 7-of-14 tries. The Runnin’ Bulldogs finished the day shooting 40 percent (24-for-60), hitting 30.4 percent (7-of-23) from the field and 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from the line.

Anumba led Winthrop and all scorers, collecting 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting and hitting both of his three-point tries to go along with six caroms. Kelton Talford scored 15 while boarding eight misses. Kasen Harrison added 10, shooting 3-for-6 and grabbing three boards. The Eagles shot 40.4 percent (21-for-52) on the day, hitting 36.4 percent (8-for-22) of their threes and 66.7 percent (14-for-21) from the line.

Both teams now advance to the Big South tournament in the Qubein Center in High Point, N.C., to begin play on Friday. Winthrop (17-14, 8-8 Big South) earned the fourth seed in the tourney and will battle fifth-seeded Longwood. Tip time is set for approximately 2:30 (Eastern), with streaming coverage available over ESPN+. Gardner-Webb (16-15, 11-5) earned the third seed, and will square off with sixth-seeded Presbyterian. That game will tip at approximately 8:30 Friday night, with streaming coverage on ESPN+.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧.

The stage is officially set for the 2024 @HerculesTires Big South Basketball Championship! 🏀

📰: https://t.co/Pc4EEzvaGD#BigSouthMBB pic.twitter.com/NZ36WjiWgs

— Big South Conference (@BigSouthSports) March 3, 2024

GARDNER-WEBB 65, WINTHROP 64

GARDNER-WEBB (16-15, 11-5 BIG SOUTH)

Badmus 1-3 1-2 3, Soumaoro 5-10 0-0 13, Aldridge 3-11 0-0 7, Nicholas 3-10 1-4 7, Stieber 2-6 0-0 6, Robinson 3-7 4-8 11, Richards 4-7 3-3 11, Simmons 1-2 1-1 3, Sissoko 2-4 0-1 4. Totals 24-60 10-19 65.

WINTHROP (17-14, 8-8)

Talford 5-8 5-6 15, Claxton 1-2 0-1 3, Timmerman 4-10 0-0 9, Anumba 5-7 4-4 16, Harrison 3-6 2-4 10, McMahon 0-6 0-0 0, Johnson 2-6 1-2 7, Doucet 1-7 2-4 4, Van Bibber 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-52 14-21 64.

Halftime:  Gardner-Webb 36-31. 3-Point goals:  Winthrop 8-22 (Claxton 1-2, Timmerman 1-4, Anumba 2-2, Harrison 2-4, McMahon 0-3, Johnson 2-4, Doucet 0-4), Gardner-Webb 7-23 (Soumaoro 3-6, Aldridge 1-5, Nicholas 0-3, Stieber 2-5, Robinson 1-2, Richards 0-1, Simmons 0-1). Fouled out:  N/A.  Rebounds:  Gardner-Webb 41 (Robinson 7), Winthrop 36 (Talford 8). Total fouls:  Gardner-Webb 21, Winthrop 16. Technicals:  N/A.

Points off turnovers:  Gardner-Webb 13, Winthrop 9.  Points in the paint:  Gardner-Webb 34, Winthrop 24.  Second-chance points:  Gardner-Webb 19, Winthrop 8.  Fast-break points:  Gardner-Webb 4, Winthrop 0.  Bench points:  Gardner-Webb 29, Winthrop 11.