Quinnipiac rests stars, ends regular season with loss at Fairfield

With Quinnipiac resting its star players for regular season finale, Richie Springs posted 22 points and 14 rebounds as Bobcats fell short against Fairfield. (Photo by Quinnipiac Athletics)

By Ethan Hurwitz (@HurwitzSports)

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Once the Quinnipiac Bobcats clinched the MAAC regular season title, their second in as many years, the decision was made to rest their best players.

Saturday’s finale, an 83-74 loss to the Fairfield Stags, was a fairly competitive game between two teams that were in dramatically different spots. The Stags needed a win to punch their ticket to the conference tournament, while the Bobcats’ Amarri Monroe, Savion Lewis and Paul Otieno all watched the game from the bench.

All three of them were inactive for rest, according to a team source. But head coach Tom Pecora made note of the fact that all three of them were banged up in some capacity.

“They're banged up, you know? They’ve been playing hurt,” Pecora said. “Amarri has got a back (injury), and Sav’s got two thumb injuries, and Paul’s just beat up because you know, he's in the mix every night. So I have no worries about them bouncing back and being fresher.”

In their stead, the team got an extended look at some of its reserves. Graduate forward Richie Springs had a super day replacing Otieno, recording a career-high 22 points and 14 rebounds in the most minutes (30) he’s played all year. Freshman Grant Randall also played a larger role on the wing, sometimes slotting in as the Bobcats’ primary big man.

“I thought the guys really rose to the occasion,” Pecora said. “Guys who never played that many minutes, Grant Randall played 30 minutes, you know? Richie Springs obviously rose to the occasion, (he) played at a very high level.”

The Bobcats also got 14 points from junior Ryan Mabrey, whose shaky season from beyond the arc seemed to turn a corner against the Stags. Without Otieno and Monroe running the court, Mabrey’s three-point shooting became a focal point in the first half, something not seen since the second game of the season at St. John’s.

“Ryan Mabrey shot the ball well, so now we have an opportunity where we can play Richie and Ryan more in the tournament,” Pecora said. “When you go into a tournament, you gotta play three games in four days. The more depth you have, obviously the better.”

Without having to face Monroe—a frontrunner for MAAC Player of the Year honors—and Otieno, the Stags were able to slowly grind their way into the game, and ultimately sneak into the postseason as the No. 10 seed.

“None of these games are instant coffee,” Fairfield head coach Chris Casey said. “(You) just gotta keep grinding them out. We made some plays offensively and got some stops on the other end.”

And while Fairfield celebrates moving onto the conference tournament, Saint Peter’s will miss out on the chance to repeat as MAAC champions. With a Quinnipiac win, the Peacocks would have snuck into the bracket ahead of the Stags. Though the game didn’t mean much to Pecora’s squad, the Bobcats still came out firing.

“I think they played their balls off,” Pecora said. “You got three all-conference players that didn't play.”

All three of those players will be ready for the games that do matter next week in Atlantic City. The Bobcats are set to face the winner of Tuesday’s game between No. 8 Rider and No. 9 Siena at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. So how will the team prepare for a matchup where the opponent isn’t known yet?

“We're gonna go hard on Monday,” Pecora said. “We'll go short, but hard on Tuesday, and then we take our show down the road. Then you see what we can do on Wednesday. This is the most competitive league in the country when you look at point differential, night in and night out, so it's going to be a great tournament.”

CCSU clips FDU in OT, advances to NEC title game for first time since 2007

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — The Central Connecticut State lead hit its largest point of 21 after Devin Haid connected on a nifty three-point play.

The Blue Devils were up 47-26 with 17:39 left in the second half, cruising towards their 14th consecutive win and a trip to the Northeast Conference championship game for the first time in nearly two decades. 

Then, that 47-26 lead turned to 55-46 over the next nine minutes or so. Even when it hit single digits, it didn’t have the vibes of a game in which the visiting FDU Knights would fully complete the comeback in front of a sellout crowd at Detrick Gymnasium.

“We got out to a 21-point lead and I thought we played one of our better defensive halves of the year in the first half,” head coach Patrick Sellers said.

Later, 55-46 turned into 62-59 with 2:12 remaining. For the first time all half, the Knights made it a one-possession game. The crowd in New Britain was starting to realize what felt impossible was actually happening right in front of it. After being in the same spot last season as the No. 1 seed with the benefit of homecourt advantage the entire tournament, CCSU lost to Wagner in the semis and had its dreams squashed. It looked like it was happening again.

“We have older guys, so we try not to get rattled,” Jordan Jones said. “It’s normal for us to get rattled sometimes, but we don’t let it happen continuously and just keep playing.”

Haid connected on a layup to secure a new career-high 27 points to push the lead back to five, but FDU’s Jameel Morris connected on a three to make it a two-point game. Central responded quickly, as Joe Ostrowsky connected on a tough mid-range jumper to extend the lead back to four. The Blue Devils played phenomenal defense on the other end, but the Knights got a putback layup from Bismark Nsiah, a tip that the FDU forward maybe got one fingertip on and stuck in to make it 66-64 with 40 seconds left.

While bringing the ball up through the press, Jones was called for an offensive foul when he extended his right arm into Terrence Brown, knocking him to the ground. FDU picked up a big stop and had a chance to tie, a chance the Knights didn’t waste, as Brown connected on a baseline deuce to tie things up with 16 seconds to play. Sellers drew up a play to win it, tagging Ostrowsky with the task to be the hero.

Ostrowsky was in isolation before driving, stopping in the paint and pivoting back for a fadeaway jumper that rolled around the rim and fell out, sending a game that CCSU had a 99.6 percent chance to win early in the second half to overtime.

“It’s human to be a little disappointed,” Jones said in reaction to Ostrowsky’s game winner falling short. “There’s going to be ups and downs, but we have shirts that read, ‘Nothing Easy,’ so we know that.”

In overtime, the Blue Devils were able to take care of business thanks to some clutch free throw shooting from Jones and Abdul Momoh to pick up a 76-72 victory and advance to their first NEC title game since the program’s most recent NCAA Tournament appearance in 2007.

“That game was what March Madness is all about,” Sellers said in a relieved tone after his team pulled off the victory.

The story of the game early on was Haid, who ended up with 29 points on a very efficient 12-of-16 shooting from the field. CCSU went on a 10-0 run out of the gate to set the tempo, with Haid accounting for eight in that stretch.

“Just staying aggressive on offense,” Haid said on what was the key to his big day. “We’ve been getting a lot of shots up in practice, so I just stuck with it and kept shooting.”

“He has the ultimate confidence,” FDU head coach Castleberry said of Haid. “I don’t think that guy thinks he’s missing a shot at any point in any game. Between him and Jordan Jones, they have enough guys to score on a regular basis.”

The early offense overall was key as well. The Blue Devils, fresh off burying 11 first-half triples in their quarterfinal win over Le Moyne, knocked down nine in the first 20 minutes against the Knights. This goes against the norm for Sellers’ squad. One of its weaknesses, if you can even call it that, has been streaky perimeter shooting all season long. With how they’ve shot in the postseason, it’s been hard to stop them.

One way you can stop Central, or at least contain them, is with full court pressure. FDU put on a full-court press in what Castleberry called “desperation time,” and it gave the Blue Devils some fits. Overall, they had 17 turnovers, with many of them being unforced errors or live-ball mistakes. 

“We did not handle the pressure well, but did a decent job of finishing the game off,” Sellers said.

At the end of the day, even if they turned the ball over a bunch and blew a big lead, all that matters is that the Blue Devils pulled out the win. In March, you don’t get a reward or benefit for winning pretty. Whether you blow a team out by 35 or squeak one out in overtime, all wins count the same in the postseason in college basketball.

“We had an early lead and lost it, but had another chance to finish the job,” Jones said. “We knew in those five minutes that we had what we needed to do to handle business.”

The Blue Devils will now host the NEC Championship game on Tuesday against No. 3 seed Saint Francis University. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. with the winner advancing to the NCA Tournament next week.

Winthrop flips script on Asheville, will meet High Point for Big South title

By Jordan Ferrell (@FerrellonFM983)

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — UNC Asheville is a team that is capable of being a terror to its opposition when clicking in all facets. There is no better example of that than the absolute defensive clinic the Bulldogs put on Friday night in the Big South Conference tournament quarterfinals in an 80-60 drubbing of Charleston Southern.

On the other hand, given how the regular season ended for the Bulldogs, it is evident that when they are off, things can be extra frustrating. That is exemplified in how they dropped three of their last four regular season contests, two by double digits.

After Saturday’s Big South semifinal, you can add another tally to the number of disappointments for the Bulldogs on a short turnaround from success, as second-seed Asheville was unable to win its second game in as many days, falling to Winthrop in an 86-67 final. 

Greg Gantt got things started for Asheville by putting up a jumper after securing the opening tip and driving. From that point, offense was hard to come by, with both teams going scoreless for over two minutes. Not long after the first media timeout, Gantt struck again to snap the streak with a layup that gave Asheville a 6-3 lead. Josh Banks took over the scoring from there for the Bulldogs, hitting back-to-back threes to help keep them in front despite Winthrop also hitting back-to-back triples from Bryce Baker. 

Things quickly unraveled for Mike Morrell’s squad from that point on. The Eagles went on a 7-0 run, jumping ahead 23-17 two minutes later. That run was eventually snapped by a layup from Toyaz Solomon, but it failed to spark any kind of run for the Bulldogs. Instead, Winthrop answered with yet another spurt, this one being a 15-2 push that would finally be broken by a couple of Josh Banks free throws. 

The waiting for a Bulldog run while the game simultaneously slipped further and further away continued in the second half. Winthrop was shooting 52 percent from the floor while Asheville was 19-for-45. The Eagles had ballooned their lead as large as 22 and essentially cruised to victory behind double digit performances from Nick Johnson (15), Kasen Harrison and Kelton Talford (14 each), Paul Jones III (13), and Baker (10). 

“That was a very good, very well-coached team we played today”, said Winthrop head coach Mark Prosser. “Asheville has a potent offense. I think they were 16th in the country in scoring offense coming into today. They have multiple guys that can score even when you guard well. We are very fortunate to be able to play again and move on in the tournament.”

“We were anxious to get back to work today. Even at midnight last night, they were locked in on the scouting report. Their effort and connectedness on such a quick turnaround after a long game last night was terrific. You have to have that and be prepared against a team like Asheville because they have potential all-league players all over the place. We certainly were prepared. These guys are taking us to some really cool places.” 

Asheville, who was led by Solomon with 15 points and eight rebounds, shot just 38.5 percent on the day and 6-for-24 from beyond the arc. Winthrop was not too much better in the paint, going 28-for-62, but shot 13-for-26 from deep, which combined with 30 points off turnovers and 20 second-chance points made the difference in the end.

“It was just a tough day,” a very emotional Morrell said. “I give a lot of credit to Winthrop. They were just the better team today. For the first eight minutes, we were really good and got off to the start we needed to. But we just made some uncharacteristic plays. We were emotional today and did not respond well enough. Winthrop had a lot to do with that. I heard Griff Aldrich say this and it is true for us: I never thought there would be a day where I would sit up here with 20-plus wins and be this disappointed. That is me right now.” 

As Morrell stated, the loss ends a season where Asheville ended up 21-11 overall. That is in spite of so many things the Bulldogs had to overcome. Aside from the complications and inconveniences of being displaced by Hurricane Helene, Morrell said that this season could be summarized by responding to things that beyond their control. 

“A lot has been made about what our whole area went through at the end of September,” he said. “But it wasn’t just that. We lost two guys for the year, including Justin Wright, who we thought at the time was our best player. It was a lot of things you can’t control and this group just kept responding. In December, we started to hit our stride. Our first home game was not until December 7. That alone would have broken a lot of teams. This group was resilient. As much as this stinks, we will get over it. And those guys have me for life.” 

With the semifinals in the books, all attention turns to Sunday’s showdown for a spot in the NCAA Tournament between Winthrop and top seed High Point Panthers, a matchup in which the game may very well be decided by how Winthrop competes in the first 4-minute segment. 

“The games leading into these games don’t matter,” Prosser deadpanned. “I don’t think when that ball goes in the air that anyone is going to say, ‘hey, remember the last game?’ It doesn’t matter.” “We will have to be better than we have been against them. We haven’t played High Point in a while, but we have to be better versions of ourselves than we were the first two times we saw them. There were teachable moments and things we need to do better, especially when you look at the results of the first two games. I know that’s easier said than done, but these guys are connected and locked in. Our goal will be to win the first four minutes tomorrow and then we’ll go from there.” 

High Point survives fierce Radford challenge, advances to Big South title game for first time since 2004

High Point's Kimani Hamilton (5) and Kezza Giffa (1) celebrate during Saturday's semifinal win.  (Photo:  Big South Conference)

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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Alan Huss cuts a sizable figure. He showed equally sizable signs of relief when taking the podium after Saturday’s semifinal.

Huss’s top-seeded Panthers had just staved off a strong challenge from fourth-seeded Radford. Had Jarvis Moss not slipped at midcourt when advancing the ball, the win may have been even less comfortable – or might not have happened at all.

Instead, Huss could say this about his team advancing to its first Big South championship contest of his tenure.

“We did enough.”

“Enough” for the Panthers meant placing four scorers in double figures – three with ten apiece – and making free throws late to slither past the Highlanders, 76-73, in Freedom Hall Saturday afternoon.

“We recognize that, at this time of the year, enough is all it takes,” Huss said. “We were in a very similar situation a year ago and did just enough to get beat. I’m proud of our guys for finding a way. We had some adversity and some things that didn’t go our way. We kept fighting.”

The game had a very similar feel to the contest between the two just over a month ago in Radford’s Dedmon Center, a 78-75 High Point victory. Radford (20-13) snapped off a 7-0 run to turn an early one-point deficit into a six-point lead at 15-9. After the Highlanders seized a seven-point advantage, High Point (28-5) tore off a 10-0 burst of its own to jump back ahead by three. The game remained within two possessions for the rest of the first half, with High Point taking a 36-34 advantage to the break.

The constant push-and-pull persisted into the second half. The sides traded buckets – and the lead – for the first five minutes of the period. High Point finally wrestled away the lead with a four-minute swath, using a 12-2 run to seize a 61-51 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game. After Radford cut it to five on a pair of free throws, High Point again expanded the lead back to double figures in a 22-second burst.

Radford had one final salvo to fire.

David Early – just as he had the day prior – knocked down a pair of key free throws, then converted a bucket. Jarvis Moss then ripped a triple in front of the bench that snipped the difference to just three with 4:37 remaining. High Point’s Juslin Bodo Bodo banked home a layup for the only Panther basket over the final 6:37, putting the Panthers back ahead by five at the 3:10 mark.

TJ NeSmith and Truth Harris would convert back-to-back buckets for the Highlanders to slice the Panther lead to a perilous point at 72-71 with 2:03 remaining. After Radford forced a turnover it had the chance to grab the lead off a forced turnover, but Early’s jumper spun off and Josiah Harris was assessed a foul. Bobby Pettiford made both free throws and put High Point back ahead, 74-71, with 23 seconds to play.

The Highlanders inched closer on the ensuing possession via a Josiah Harris layup, but the clock achingly drained to nine seconds in the process. Radford then fouled on the inbounds play after allowing six more seconds to elapse. Kezza Giffa drained both free throw attempts to again give High Point a three-point lead with just over three seconds left. Radford inbounded the ball for one more try to tie it, but Moss hit a slick spot near center court and crumbled to the deck.

“This is my fourth year as a head coach and this doesn’t get easier,” Radford coach Darris Nichols said after the game. “The last game, when you’ve got guys who’ve exhausted eligibility, this group is really special. When you bring in 11 newcomers in this climate – some of them last year during this time were sitting beside a water cooler and then they come in and have new roles where they embrace, they step up, and they execute these roles. It’s a really special group just to work with every day.”

“Yeah, we’re upset that we lost. I’m more upset that this group will not be around each other every day again.”

High Point forward Kimani Hamilton led all scorers with 18 on the day, despite playing just over 27 minutes after collecting a third foul early in the second half.

“I kind of like to play aggressively,” Hamilton said. “Coach Huss always has to remind me to stay disciplined. I just try to take that in.”

“I would also say that we couldn’t have left him in there with three a season ago. I think that shows his growth,” Huss added.

Hamilton and Pettiford were among the many Panthers who hit key free throws late in the game. High Point hit 13-of-19 from the stripe, with 10 of those makes coming in 14 second-half tries.

“Pressure is just what humans make it,” Hamilton said. “You can’t think about what you’re doing. You’ve just got to know the work you put in and shoot the ball.”

The Highlanders finish with their second 20-win regular season in Nichols’ four at the helm. The roster turnover for Nichols’ squad from year to year was significant but paid clear dividends.

“It’s our evaluating those guys, having honest conversations with them, and setting clear-cut expectations,” Nichols said. “I’m not in the business of telling guys what they want to hear just to get them to come here, because it’s not going to work out. By December, they’re going to be checked out. Every year is different, but we’ve got the right guys.”

The Panthers were paced by Hamilton’s 18 on a 6-for-9 effort from the field. Bodo Bodo, Giffa, and Pettiford all booked 10 each. The Panthers shot 53.8 percent (28-for-52) and hit 46.7 percent (7-for-15) from distance.

Radford had the duo of Truth Harris and Moss score 15 apiece. The pair combined to hit 14-of-21 from the floor. Early tallied 14 with Josiah Harris adding 12. The Highlanders shot 57.1 percent (28-for-49) from the deck and hit 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc. Radford hit 78.6 percent (11-for-14) of its free throws.

High Point now turns its attention to third-seeded Winthrop. The Panthers and Eagles will square off for the first time in a Big South conference championship for the first time since 2002. High Point has also reached the 28-win plateau in a season for the first time in its 26 seasons at the Division I level.

“This is what I came here for,” Pettiford said. “I came here to join (Huss and Hamilton) and the rest of the guys. We’ve been talking about this for a long time. We knew the team we had. Now all we’ve got to do is finish it up.”

High Point fell last season on its home floor in the conference semifinals. The Panthers enter Sunday with a different purpose.

“I would say just remembering the losses and turning the losses into lessons learned,” Hamilton said. “We never want to feel like that again. We’re going to leave it all (on the floor).”

The top-seeded Panthers and third-seeded Eagles square off Sunday with a 12:02 (Eastern) tip time. Coverage of the game is slated for ESPN2.

#1 HIGH POINT 76, #4 RADFORD 73

RADFORD (20-13)

J. Harris 6-8 0-0 12, Gaines 1-2 0-0 2, T. Harris 5-13 3-4 15, Moss 6-8 0-0 15, Early 5-9 4-5 14, Maclin 1-2 0-0 2, NeSmith 3-3 2-3 8, Yamazaki 1-4 2-2 5, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Sirtautas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-49 11-14 73.

HIGH POINT (28-5)

Hamilton 6-9 4-6 18, Bodo Bodo 4-6 2-4 10, Giffa 3-11 4-5 10, Johnston 1-3 0-0 3, Williams 2-5 1-2 6, Hildebrandt 0-0 0-0 0, Pettiford 4-8 2-2 10, Anderson 2-2 0-0 5, Thiam 3-4 0-0 7, Benham 2-3 0-0 5, Ibukunoluwa 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-52 13-19 76.

Halftime:  High Point 36-34. 3-Point goals:  High Point 7-15 (Hamilton 2-3, Giffa 0-3, Johnston 1-2, Williams 1-3, Anderson 1-1, Thiam 1-1, Benham 1-2), Radford 6-18 (T. Harris 2-7, Moss 3-5, Early 0-2, Maclin 0-1, Yamazaki 1-3). Fouled out:  NA.  Rebounds:  High Point 29 (Bodo Bodo 9), Radford 21 (J. Harris/NeSmith 5). Total fouls:  High Point 17, Radford 16. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  Radford 16, High Point 14.  Points in the paint:  Radford 36, High Point 36. Second-chance points:  High Point 14, Radford 11.  Fast-break points:  High Point 3, Radford 2.  Bench points:  High Point 29, Radford 15.

 

 

Princeton clinches final spot in Ivy Madness with dominant showing against Penn

By Andrew Hefner (@Ahef_NJ)

PRINCETON, N.J. — To hunt or be hunted.

That was the theme Saturday following Princeton’s dominant 95-71 win over Penn. 

With the win, the Tigers clinched the last spot in the Ivy League tournament, but unlike previous years, will be on the bottom end of the bracket. 

“I'm happy about it,” said junior Xaivian Lee following the game. “I like to be the hunter and not the hunted, if you will, so I think coming in as underdogs, I think it takes a lot of pressure off. We can just go out there and hoop.”

Lee had an outstanding performance in the matchup against the Quakers, even going so far as to have the second triple-double in his career, and in Princeton’s history, as both belong to the Canadian.

Although he did not score until 12 minutes into the first, Lee was already having an excellent performance, with four assists to open the game. When he did start scoring, however, he made it known with 14 points in the last eight minutes of the first half. In the second, he kept it going, ending with a stat line of 23 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. 

Blake Peters matched Lee’s impact, as the senior put up ten points of his own before ten minutes had even passed off the game clock on the way to a career-high 25 points in his final game at Jadwin Gymnasium, connecting on seven 3-pointers and reaching a milestone with his 200th career triple in the process. 

“He's had to deal with a lot this season, and he’s always been consistent,” head coach Mitch Henderson said of Peters. “I benched him to start the season, brought him into the game, started him, he had 25 tonight. I'm just so humbled and honored to be his coach, and I'm really glad that we got the win tonight.”

“I had three dream schools growing up: Princeton, Michigan, Stanford, and only one of them wanted me,” Peters reflected. “I’ve told so many people, this place has changed my life,
 the program has changed my life. It’s the greatest honor ever to represent Princeton and I hope the way I play is a direct reflection of how I feel about this place.”

Although Penn seemed out of the game just as quickly as it began, Sam Brown—coming off an impressive 42 points again against Columbia last week—did his best to keep the Quakers in it, scoring all 10 of Penn’s points in the last six minutes of the first half. He would end with 19 points while playing a game-high 37 minutes. Even though Brown attempted to win the game himself for Penn, career nights from Peters and Lee led to an impressive and dominant showing from the Tigers. More importantly, Penn and Princeton, a rivalry that began more than 120 years ago, is now tied once again at 126 wins for each side, and the Tigers specifically have won the last 13 straight matchups between the two. The series was last tied in 1905.

“I lost to them four times,” said Henderson about his time playing for the Tigers. “(Lee and Peters) have never lost to them. I think rivalries are really important to acknowledge and talk about.”

Princeton will now look ahead to facing a tough Yale squad next week at Ivy Madness in Providence next Saturday. Princeton fell to Yale on the road last month, 84-57, and 77-70 at home on January 31.

“Penn was Coach's rival and Penn is still our rival,” said Peters. “But as players, we think Yale is our rival and that's always how we approach the games.”

Yale, the regular season Ivy champs and top seed in the tournament, went 13-1 in the Ivy this year and will be a tough competitor for Princeton. Despite the mountainous challenges ahead, the Tigers are ready to take on the Bulldogs for a chance at a second March Madness berth in three seasons.

“We know very well what it's like to be the one seed in this tournament,” Henderson said. “We're gonna have a great week of practice while we're on spring break. We're looking forward to getting up there.”

“We won’t back down from a challenge despite what the scores have been the past couple of weeks,” Peters declared. “We're fully locked in and we’re ready to embrace it.”

Swish Gilyard leading Manhattan resurgence as Jaspers head to MAAC tournament with top 5 seed

Swish Gilyard flushes dunk as Manhattan wraps up win over Sacred Heart Thursday. Jaspers have won seven of nine entering MAAC tournament. (Photo by Vincent Dusovic/Manhattan Athletics)

NEW YORK — When he returned to the college basketball fraternity after a self-imposed gap year, John Gallagher extolled the potential of Manhattan College—now Manhattan University—among the mid-major landscape.

The Jasper program, whether under the direction of Steve Lappas, Fran Fraschilla, Bobby Gonzalez or Steve Masiello, had historically been among the better teams in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and in the New York area. The success was not lost on Gallagher, who believed in the potential even after essentially being hired sight unseen in March of 2023.

Two years later, Gallagher has taken Manhattan to its best performance in a decade. At 17-12, and 12-8 in the MAAC, the Jaspers are in the midst of their most successful campaign since 2014-15, when they repeated as MAAC tournament champions, overachieving to an extent thanks to the tireless work ethic of their ebullient coach.

“I’m just thankful for this place,” Gallagher gushed after Manhattan’s victory over Sacred Heart last Thursday, one that secured a first-round bye in the upcoming MAAC tournament. “This place feels like home to me. It just has a great feeling. I really believe in the place, it’s a big-time mid-major job. I believe that, and now I think the energy behind the alums and the fans, you could feel the energy building.”

“Less is more. When you’re good, you don’t have to tweak things, you just gotta go play. I just felt the energy in that second half, so for us, we just have great confidence in how our approach is. We’re not adding things, we just have to work on our mental approach. We’re not a team that thinks this is an anomaly. These guys really, really study game plans and understand them.”

With five players averaging 10 points or more a game, including the likely MAAC Rookie of the Year in Will Sydnor and Sixth Man of the Year Devin Dinkins, the Jaspers make up for a short rotation with a relentless style on both ends of the floor and the best offense in the conference.

However, the player who does most of the work may just be the player mentioned the least, junior guard Masiah (Swish) Gilyard, who Gallagher plucked from Blinn College in Texas, a junior college whose most notorious alumnus is former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL MVP Cam Newton. So how did a player like Gilyard, whose nose for the basketball and Brooklyn roots would normally give him a chance to ply his wares at a higher level, end up in Riverdale? According to Gallagher, the oversight just proves that good things truly do come in small packages.

“He flew under the radar for one reason: 6-foot-3,” the coach said of Gilyard. “If he’s 6’6, 6’7, he’s playing in the SEC or ACC. That’s just the facts. His body, what he does physically, he just comes up with balls and he’s on the floor, he’s stealing it, he’s deflecting it. He just disrupts the game in such a way. He’s been the one difference maker for us in this turn to feeling like you can win games.”

“Swish has just been Swish all year. When I recruited him, his JUCO coach who I talked to a lot, Scott Schumacher, said, ‘look, you’re gonna have to keep him on the floor, I’m just telling you. And there’s no truer words. You just have to have him out there. He’s just indispensable for us in everything we do. I think he’s the most under-talked about player in the conference. No one even mentions his name in any conversations. We flipped this thing in two years because of him. He deserves a lot of credit.”

Manhattan is still unsure of who it will face to begin the MAAC tournament next week, but is arguably the hottest team in the conference at the right time, having won seven of its last nine to conclude the regular season. In the Jaspers’ last two games, 11 players have registered a double-figure scoring game, only underscoring the firepower that comes from multiple sources.

“All of us are super dangerous,” Gilyard assessed. “If one of us is not hitting, we could all be hitting. You just can’t stop it.”

“Quite frankly, we’re probably a year ahead of schedule,” Gallagher reiterated. “It’s hard in mid-major basketball, flipping it. We don’t have any NIL budget. We’re doing it the old-school way and it’s very rewarding to see these guys keep growing. I think we have a lot in our tank, and you can’t rest on your achievements. What we have now is we have guys that are finding each other. That’s exciting.”

Winthrop continues its hot stretch, dispatches Longwood in Big South quarterfinals

Winthrop guard Kasen Harrison was one of two Eagles to notch a double-double in Friday's Big South quarterfinal win. (Photo:  Winthrop Athletics/Professional Photography Group)

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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Griff Aldrich is, without question, one of the top coaches in mid-major college basketball. He is also known to be a bit of a philosopher.

Aldrich’s Longwood team had just fallen, 88-79, to Winthrop in the quarterfinal round of the Big South tournament and he wanted to say some things about his Lancers and their season. What unfolded was a bit of a sermon on the state of college basketball.

More on that in a bit, though.

Winthrop built a gigantic lead early Friday night, then withstood a frenetic Longwood run in the second half. The win marked the Eagles’ ninth in their last ten contests.

“We count ourselves very fortunate to get the opportunity to play again. That’s a really good basketball team,” Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said after the game. “Our upper-classmen really sort of guided us through that, including (guard Kasen Harrison and forward Kelton Talford). It’s a good group. They were locked in and ready to go.”

Prosser’s words were an understatement.

Longwood (18-14) started well enough, jumping out 8-4 early and leading by as many as five. The Eagles quickly – and decisively – dropped the hammer. Winthrop (22-10) unfurled an 11-0 burst that flipped the Lancer lead upside down and put the Eagles ahead by seven. The Lancers would bounce back with a 9-2 run of their own to level the contest at 17.

Then, all hell broke loose.

Kasen Harrison cashed a pair of triples. Bryce Baker hit one of his own. Nick Johnson added a couple baskets. KJ Doucet had a thunderous dunk and a three. Johnson and Baker hit a couple more buckets apiece.

When the dust settled, Winthrop had scored 24 of the final 31 points of the half. The Eagles had staggered the Lancers and taken a 45-24 lead to the interval.

“Tonight was obviously a frustrating night for us,” Aldrich said. “It was a little bit of a microcosm of our entire season. Our season has been full of stretches where we show that we can be a really good team, and then stretches of a lack of discipline, lack of playing with team focus, and a lack of effort. That’s something we’ve been working on all year.”

That inconsistency – while maddening in the first half – proved to be a bit more interesting in the second.

Winthrop seized a 24-point lead on the opening possession, then maintained a lead as high as 23 for the first seven minutes of the period. Longwood began to punch out of its corner a bit, scoring 12 of 16 points in a run of the half that snipped the deficit to 15. Another 7-0 burst later knifed the Winthrop lead to 10. As soon as Longwood worked the lead down to three possessions, though, star forward Kelton Talford took over. The Great Falls, S.C., native scored seven straight Eagle points to grow the lead back to 13. Longwood could never again draw closer than nine.

“It was just about being able to go out there and give that little ‘umph’ for my teammates,” Talford said. “You’ve just got to be ready when your name is called or when it’s your game. It’s just like they would do for me. Somebody else would pick up the slack. That’s what makes us so special. We’ve got nine guys who can get it done on any given night.”

“Every game tells its own story and every season tells its own story,” Prosser said. “I’m really proud of them. They have a next play mentality, and they had it again today. That’s a terrific team. They’re terrific this time of year. We knew it was going to be a battle. They did exactly what we knew they would do. That’s what good teams do. Our kids stuck together. There was no blinking in the face of adversity. They stuck together and made a lot of big plays down the stretch.”

After the game, Aldrich reflected a bit on the Lancers’ season and how things ended.

“It’s the job of a coach to recruit pieces and to put those pieces together. The reality is that I wasn’t able to do that this year. 18 wins is a good thing, but I think we always try to measure ourselves at Longwood by whether we reach our potential. This group – unfortunately – I don’t think it did reach its potential. That’s certainly on me and the staff. We just weren’t able to press the right buttons this year and get them to play the way that I believe they could have played.”

“It’s a hard part of coaching. It’s a hard part of sports. It’s almost like parenting. You see the potential in the group. We saw flashes – we even saw elongated stretches – but we were just never able to get that to gel. That’ll be a big disappointment – not only for me, but I think for everybody in our locker room for a while.”

Aldrich then commented on the state of college athletics.

“Whether your team is at the top or whether your team is struggling, you’re always trying to evaluate how the organization is working. Is the vibe right? Are there any gaps that we need to plug? I think one of the hard parts in the current state of college athletics is you’re trying to – at Longwood, we do want to transform. It’s harder to do that in the current environment. Some guys you only have for ten months, for eight months.”

“God bless the kids. With the transfer portal and the money, it’s hard to – the Big South is a great example. I don’t know how some of these kids can stay focused when they think, ‘Man, I could be making six figures next year if I’ – how can you be selfless in that moment? That’s a tall order. I don’t know many adults who can do that, much less 18-to-22-year-old kids.”

“College athletics is transforming. We have to transform with it. We never will sacrifice our values. We’ll never not be about trying to positively impact our guys. My hope is that, for these guys, they do learn. I don’t think anybody in that locker room thinks we met expectations. Hopefully, this is something they will learn from and it will be able to help them in a future season of their life.”

Five Winthrop scorers finished in double figures. Talford and Harrison both turned in double-doubles. Talford scored 16 points and snatched 10 boards. Harrison scored 15 and dished 11 of Winthrop’s 19 helpers. Doucet tallied 17, while Baker contributed 15 and Johnson 12. The Eagles shot 56.9 percent (29-for-51) from the deck, adding 13 triples on 31 tries (41.9 percent). Winthrop got to the line 32 times, but sank just 17 (53.1 percent).

Longwood booked three double-figure scorers. Guard Colby Garland registered 24 points, bolstered by a 13-for-14 performance from the line. Senior Michael Christmas missed a double-double by one rebound, scoring 15 points and boarding nine misses. Forward Elijah Tucker added 10 points and seven boards. The Lancers shot 36.1 percent (22-for-61) from the field and 25 percent (5-of-20) from beyond the arc. Longwood attempted a season-high 42 free throws, hitting 30 (71.4 percent).

Winthrop advances to Saturday’s second semifinal against Asheville. The teams split the season series, with the Eagles taking the most recent affair just a week ago. Winthrop turned away Asheville, 103-90, in that game.

“I don’t think anybody’s going to apologize for having to turn around and play tomorrow,” Prosser said. “We’ll do the proper preparation in the time we have. I’m sure they have the same familiarity with us that we have with them. It was a great college basketball game up there. It was a great college basketball game at our place. I’ve got a feeling it’ll be a great college basketball game again on Saturday.”

The third-seeded Eagles and second-seeded Bulldogs are set for a tip time of approximately 2:30 (Eastern) Saturday afternoon. ESPN+ will provide streaming coverage.