ROCK HILL, S.C. – There’s never a dull moment when
Winthrop and Asheville square off. Asheville coach Mike Morrell quickly – and correctly
– assessed after the game the intensity of the rivalry between the schools.
After the first round between the Eagles and Bulldogs went
to Asheville in Asheville’s Kimmel Arena, Winthrop took the floor in its home
arena looking for its getback, all while honoring its six seniors that played
a significant role in Winthrop’s success. The game had no effect on the bracket
– Asheville had already clinched the second seed in the Big South tournament
next week – but it had all the drama one would expect from the rivalry.
Winthrop got a career-high 30 points from K.J. Doucet and
placed four scorers in double figures, trailing just twice in a 103-90 victory
before an announced crowd of 3,085 in Winthrop Coliseum Saturday afternoon.
“I think anytime you put on a uniform at this level, you
have to honor that, and it just so happened that it happened to be (against)
Winthrop,” Morrell said after the game. “I thought Winthrop was terrific today
and I thought exactly what we tried to do for our group last Saturday, which
was to honor them on Senior Day.”
“In some ways, you’re playing for nothing. In some ways, you’re
playing to play. We played better today than we did earlier this week (a 64-59
home loss to Presbyterian), so that’s growth.”
Winthrop (21-10, 11-5 Big South) seized the lead early,
continuing off the momentum it had in Thursday night’s nationally-televised win
over Longwood. The Eagles answered an early 5-3 Asheville advantage by tearing
off an 18-5 burst to grab an 11-point lead at 21-10 after a Bryce Baker three. The
Eagles stretched their lead to 16 at one point, tallying 36 points in the first
11-plus minutes of the game.
“If you look back at all the teams that have had to do the
Thursday-Saturday ESPNU wildcard game, I don’t know that anybody’s won both,”
Winthrop coach Mark Prossser said after the game. “I know other teams have to
travel more than we do, so I’m not complaining. It’s the longest trip of the
year and it is what it is.”
“For us to get back at 2:00 am (Friday) and be locked in
yesterday in scout, then to be able to do what we did just to keep up, it would have been easy for us to hit the wall.”
That 16-point lead was again in place after Nick Johnson hit
a pair of free throws to put Winthrop ahead, 44-28, with 3:42 left in the first
half. Asheville (20-10, 11-5) then snapped off an 11-0 spurt that snipped the Eagle
lead to five. Winthrop answered with a pair of buckets from Doucet and Kelton
Talford to jump the margin back to nine. The Eagles took a seven-point
advantage to the locker room after Jordan Marsh hit a half-court try just
before the horn.
Winthrop led by 12 just over seven minutes into the period
before Asheville again punched back out of its corner. Marsh stuck a jumper.
Toyaz Solomon converted a layup. Kam Taylor splashed a three. Solomon scored
again – this time on a dunk. Taylor added a dunk of his own. Solomon then
converted a layup. When the dust settled, the 13-2 Asheville run brought the
Bulldogs within one.
Doucet responded on the other end, landed what might have
been the staggering blow.
The senior from Austell, Ga., grabbed a pass from fellow
senior Kasen Harrison and canned a triple to put Winthrop ahead, 75-71. Prosser
requested a stoppage, and after an Asheville turnover on the next trip down the
floor, Harrison made a layup on the other end. The sequence largely put the
game away for the Eagles, as Asheville never again drew closer than a
two-possession deficit.
“I thought the three (Doucet) made was one of the most cold-blooded
threes I’ve seen in a long time,” Prosser said. “It’s just such a momentum
drain when you cut it to one possession and bang, you go right back down by
five. It was a huge shot in that game.”
“Today, I just wanted to see them compete,” Morrell said. “I
just did not like how – and again, I say this with all due respect to PC,
because I think PC took us there – I did not like how we honored winning and
honored what goes into winning. Even though we lost today, I think we honored
what goes into winning.”
“If you’re going to try to put together three games in three
days, that’s the only chance you have, because adversity’s coming for you. The
adversity today was the fact that (Winthrop) brought what they shot in Virginia
with them on the bus and hit nine threes in the first half. I think this will
be the toughest Big South tournament that I’ve been in in seven years. You can
literally say that any team (could win it) and I’d say I could see that.”
Doucet scored 30 on the day, eclipsing his prior career-best
of 28 against Charleston Southern during the 2023-24 season. The senior canned
all 11 free throw tries and hit 8-of-14 from the deck (3-of-6 from distance).
“I had the most fun with my guys tonight,” Doucet said. “It
was the last home game for me. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. We
were just trying to make key plays at the end. I think we did that and I did
that. I thank my teammates for putting me in position to do that.”
Johnson tallied 18, hitting 6-of-14 from the floor and
2-of-4 from three. Bryce Baker added 13 off the bench while Talford added 14
and boarded seven misses. The native of nearby Great Falls, S.C., was honored
along with his fellow seniors with a rousing ovation before his final game in
the Coliseum. As the teams shook hands, Morrell shared a moment with Talford in
a show of respect.
“I don’t know Kelton personally, but I pulled him aside
(after the game),” Morrell said. “I’ve not respected a player more in this
league than him in my seven years and he is – if I could choose any one player
to pull off another team and put him on mine, it’d be him. He’s been a problem
for a long time, even when he was playing for Pat (Kelsey) as a freshman.”
Winthrop shot 54.8 percent (34-for-62) from the boards, with
12-of-22 triples (54.5 percent) finding the net. The Eagles hit 23-of-30 (76.7
percent) from the charity stripe on the day.
Winthrop’s six seniors – Harrison, Talford, Doucet, Johnson,
Tommy Kamarad, and Ryan Jolly – left the floor as winners. Last year’s Senior
Day ended in a loss for the Eagles, which stuck with Prosser.
“The way last Senior Day went, I haven’t forgotten that.
Those kids deserved better,” Prosser said. “(This group) deserved to leave here as
winners. I’m happy for them. I’m proud of their teammates for helping afford
them that opportunity.”
Marsh led Asheville with 27 points, connecting on 11 of his
21 field goal attempts. Solomon added 20 on a 9-for-11 effort. Josh Banks added
17, while freshman Kam Taylor added 17 on a 7-for-10 day with multiple
highlight-reel dunks.
“He’s the best freshman we’ve had here,” Morrell said of
Taylor. “That being said, he had some freshman-like mistakes on defense. I
coach him really hard and he’s way better than we thought he was going to be.
He was terrific today. When he makes shots, he’s a really tough close-out,
because he’s going to get to the rim. He’s very strong. I was very proud of
Kam.”
The teams next take the floor in the Big South tournament
quarterfinals. Though the teams tied during the regular season, Asheville
earned the second seed by virtue of having beaten top-seeded High Point during
the season. The Bulldogs will square off with seventh-seeded Charleston
Southern inside Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tenn., at 6:00 (Eastern) Friday
night.
Winthrop earned the third seed and will battle sixth-seeded
Longwood. The Lancers tied for fifth to close the season, but earned its seed
by virtue of Presbyterian having swept Longwood during regular-season play. The
Eagles and Lancers are set to tip off at approximately 8:30 Friday night. ESPN+
will have streaming coverage of both contests.
WINTHROP 103, ASHEVILLE 90
ASHEVILLE (20-10, 11-5 BIG SOUTH)
Solomon 9-11 2-3 20, Gantt 0-0 0-0 0, Marsh 11-21 2-5 27,
Banks 6-11 1-2 17, Abee 2-5 0-0 6, Taylor 7-10 1-1 17, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Dubsky
1-5 0-0 3, Clarke 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-63 6-11 90.
WINTHROP (21-10, 11-5)
Talford 5-9 4-5 14, Doucet 8-14 11-11 30, Kamarad 2-2 0-0
4, Johnson 6-14 4-7 18, Harrison 5-7 1-3 12, Wilson 1-2 0-0 3, Jones 0-2 0-0 0,
Baker 4-8 1-2 13, Duncomb 2-3 0-0 4, Jolly 1-1 2-2 5, Diallo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-62
23-30 103.
Halftime: Winthrop 51-44. 3-Point
goals: Winthrop 12-22 (Doucey 3-6, Johnson 2-4, Harrison 1-1, Wilson
1-1, Jones 0-2, Baker 4-7, Jolly 1-1), Asheville 12-31 (Marsh 3-9, Banks 4-9,
Abee 2-5, Taylor 2-3, Dubsky 1-5). Fouled out: Johnson (WU). Rebounds: Winthrop 37 (Talford/Doucet
7), Asheville 25 (Marsh 5). Total fouls: Asheville 21, Winthrop 15.
Technicals: Banks (AVL).
Points off turnovers: Winthrop 22, Asheville 19. Points in the paint: Asheville 46, Winthrop 44. Second-chance points: Asheville 18, Winthrop 15. Fast-break points: Winthrop 19, Asheville 14. Bench points: Winthrop 25, Asheville 20.
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