High Point holds off Winthrop, earns share of Big South crown

By Josh Noel (@Josh_DDH)

HIGH POINT, N.C. — The Big South’s most anticipated regular season game in recent memory lived up to its billing, and then some. 

High Point (26-4, 14-1 Big South) started fast and closed effectively in an 89-87 win to split the season series with Winthrop (20-9, 12-2 Big South), earning at least a share of the Big South regular season championship for a third straight season.

“This game was crazy, I haven’t even fully processed it yet,” High Point head coach Flynn Clayman said. “Until you get in a game like this for something at stake, you wonder if your team has what it takes. Our guys stuck together and we made the necessary plays.”

Terry Anderson led High Point with 23 points and 11 rebounds in his fourth double-double of the season. Four other Panthers reached double figures, including Owen Aquino and Vincent Brady II (12 points each), Braden Hausen (11) and Rob Martin (10).

Despite being ahead or tied for all but 53 seconds of game time, the Panthers needed a full 40 minutes to put away the Eagles. A 16-0 second half Winthrop run, punctuated by a Kody Clouet 3-pointer from the top of the arc, briefly gave High Point a 71-70 deficit.

“We had a little meltdown there, but earlier in the year we would have lost that game,” said Clayman.

A notable difference for High Point from earlier in the year came from the availability of Cam’Ron Fletcher, who missed the previous Winthrop game amid a six-game absence. Fletcher made his presence known Saturday by drilling consecutive 3-pointers to re-establish the Panthers’ lead for good.

“I’m proud of Cam; he’s been through a lot this season and in his college career,” said Clayman. “He really wants HPU to be a champion. I couldn’t be happier that he stepped up.”

Martin echoed his coach’s comments about Fletcher from their days in the St. Louis area prior to being teammates.

“With Cam, I’ve known him for 15-plus years, so I’m just always encouraging him to stay ready,” Martin said.

It took another five points at the free throw line from Anderson and a Hausen corner three to officially give the Panthers an 87-80 lead and enough breathing room to ultimately hold off the Eagles.

Saturday afternoon’s contest largely felt like an inverse of what transpired in Rock Hill just over a month ago. After a Logan Duncomb layup began the scoring, the Panthers rattled off a 12-0 run to seize early control. High Point students were largely absent given their spring break began on Friday, but a raucous sellout crowd of 5,165 filled the Qubein Center with plenty of noise and electricity.

A flurry of tough layups and timely three-pointers kept the Panther advantage at double digits for much of the first half. High Point’s lead peaked at 33-16, following six straight points by Brady.

Despite the sizable scoreboard advantage, the Panthers struggled to contain Duncomb, the frontrunner for Big South Player of the Year honors. High Point committed five fouls in the opening stanza, and even saw true freshman Caden Miller foul out in just five minutes of game action.

“My message to our team was whatever’s going on, we have to overcome it,” said Clayman. “Our defense was great in the first half. It got to that point where it was better to give up a layup (than foul).”

Foul trouble for the Panthers allowed the Eagles to get within single digits and close the first half trailing 42-35. The fireworks continued into the second half, leading to offsetting technical fouls issued to Martin and Winthrop’s Daylen Berry. Despite the chippy game atmosphere, Clayman reiterated his appreciation for Winthrop.

“These games have been fantastic because they’re well-coached,” said Clayman. “Before the Furman game, they let us shoot around together. The Big South is competitive, but we’re trying to raise each other up. I commend them for the competition, and if we’re fortunate enough, we’ll see each other again.”

Duncomb recorded his twelfth double-double of the season (23 points, 14 rebounds) for Winthrop. Kody Clouet added 20 points (4-for-8 3-point shooting). A pair of Eagles recorded career highs, as Seifeldin Hendawy tallied a career-high 14 points off the bench while Tommy Kamarad pulled down 10 rebounds.

The Panthers’ recent success marked a significant achievement as the first Big South school to win 25 or more games in three straight seasons. High Point ranks behind only Houston, Duke, and UConn for winningest teams in this same time span. With the victory over Winthrop setting the stage for the Panthers to win their third consecutive outright Big South regular season championship, Clayman reflected about the program’s metamorphosis from his inception on staff.

“Just to think where we were three years ago, picked seventh in the preseason poll, it’s a true team effort with alignment from the top down,” Clayman said. “I’m grateful for Coach (Alan) Huss for giving me the opportunity to be an offensive coordinator and associate head coach. The job’s not finished, though, we have bigger goals in mind.”

High Point will conclude its regular season by traveling to Presbyterian for a nationally televised matchup on ESPNU Thursday. With a win, the Panthers secure the outright Big South regular season championship and No. 1 seed in the Big South tournament. High Point can retain the top seed with a loss, but would need Winthrop to lose one of its remaining contests versus Charleston Southern and Presbyterian. Winthrop can take the top seed and earn a share of the regular season title if High Point falls at Presbyterian and the Eagles win both of their final two games.

With both teams unable to fall below the No. 2 seed, the only possible scenario in which they could meet again is in the Big South championship. Should that occur, there is no telling what may happen in the next chapter of the conference’s premier bidding rivalry.