Duncomb and Winthrop defy the odds in quarterfinal victory

 

Winthrop center Logan Duncomb booked another double-double in Friday's quarterfinal win. (Photo:  Big South Conference)

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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The comparison in the press room was made to Wilt Chamberlain. Given the circumstances, maybe a Willis Reed mention would be more apt.

Either way, Winthrop center and Big South Player of the Year Logan Duncomb powered through the pain of a foot injury and almost seemingly carried his team to victory.

Winthrop will again make it to semifinal Saturday in Johnson City, and the 20-point, 11-rebound performance from Duncomb – in 16 minutes! – will go down as one of the most memorable performances in this tournament’s history, especially given that the last time anyone saw the Eagles less than a week ago, Duncomb was in a boot and pushing himself along on a scooter.

“I definitely wanted to come back,” Duncomb said. “I’ve been waiting – I took a shot today to try to get through it. I really wanted to get out here and have a good finish to the season. I don’t think it would be really complete unless we made it to March Madness, because we missed out on it last year. I was there in the championship game, and that really, really sucked. It really wouldn’t be finished for me unless we get to the tournament.”

Duncomb’s story is well-chronicled and almost missed anything even close to this type of ending. The former Indiana and Xavier big man walked away from the game after his stint with the Musketeers before landing in Rock Hill. The stopover in the Palmetto State led to a final season in which Duncomb logged 13 double-doubles – including Friday – and was the runaway pick for the best player in the Big South.

“I think I’ve grown a lot since my time at Xavier. That was a challenging time for me,” Duncomb said. “I used that time (after the departure) to grow as a person and as a basketball player, and to figure myself out. During that time, I just really, truly fell in love with the game. I wanted nothing more than to be playing basketball. When I looked out there and saw we were down, I was just like, ‘I can’t go out like that.’ It just would have killed me.”

Nobody understands the – let’s just call it a renaissance – of the Eagle big man better than his coach, Mark Prosser.

“What Logan is doing is unique,” Prosser said. “With the future he has, our student-athletes’ health and future will always be at the forefront of everything we do. I think it would be easy not to do what he just did, and nobody would blame him for it. Being a part of his career – he’s done this. We’ve been a satellite part of his couple years at Winthrop, and it’s what we want for our student-athletes.”

“We have this thing, if you come to our arena, that right by the locker room, it says ‘Culture of Joy’ and – you know, it sounds great. Sometimes it’s difficult. We want our kids to find the joy of playing the game and play because they love it. What he’s doing is special, and we have a lot of guys that have – whether it’s a special thing they’re doing right now or had a very special journey to this point to get together, where they’re fighting, clawing, and playing for one another – it’s just unique. They’re taking us on an unbelievable ride, and we’d like to keep it going for a little while.”

Seventh-seeded Charleston Southern was ready for Duncomb, both out of familiarity and respect. The Bucs and Eagles faced off just eight days ago in North Charleston, in the game in which Duncomb got hurt.

“Our game plan stayed the same,” Charleston Southern coach Saah Nimley said. “We had a game plan for when he was on the court and a game plan for when he was off the court. We just stuck true to that today. He’s a good player. He’s hard to deal with in the middle of the floor, because you can’t send a double-team.”

“He was able to get some things. They posted him up in the middle over and over because they knew we were going to bring that double. Good coaching by them and a really good player. I thought we executed (the plan) great, to be honest with you. They shot 38 percent from the field and 24 percent from three. I thought we had a heck of a game defensively, but they got 15 offensive rebounds and shot 30 free throws.”

Duncomb’s resilience embodies that of his program. The Eagles trailed by seven points late in the contest and closed on a 12-0 run over the final 28 seconds of the game to get the 86-81 win.

“That’s something we’ve been doing all year,” Duncomb said. “This team has just done a great job of not blinking when adversity hits. When a team goes on a run, we just hit them right back. I feel like no one on our team ever gets worried. No one ever gets nervous, thinking that we’re out of it. It’s just tunnel vision. Personally, I was never worried for our team, just because I know that’s what we do.”

Prosser immediately offered a joking retort.

“I was kind of worried there for a little while,” Prosser said with a laugh.

Now that the Eagles can take a bit of a breath, they can get back to whatever Saturday brings.

“At Winthrop, you expect to keep playing,” Prosser said. “You come up here expecting to play three games in three days. We have several that were in that locker room last year, and obviously, the final locker room was not something we enjoyed very much.”

The Eagles will await either third-seeded Radford or sixth-seeded Presbyterian in a 2:30 (Eastern) start Saturday afternoon. Winthrop – and its star – expect number 51 to be out there in a white jersey.

“I’m going to rest and ice (my foot) and do whatever my trainer tells me,” Duncomb said. “I can’t get injured more. It’s just whether I can play through the pain.”

Duncomb overcomes foul trouble, leads Winthrop past Charleston Southern

Winthrop's Logan Duncomb paced the Eagles with 26 points in Wednesday's win over Charleston Southern.  (Photo:  Winthrop Athletics)

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ROCK HILL, S.C. – Winthrop and Charleston Southern squared off for 40 minutes on the court Wednesday night at Winthrop Coliseum. They nearly squared off again afterwards.

Cooler heads eventually prevailed, but not before Logan Duncomb scored 26 points and hauled in seven boards, helping Winthrop fend off a tough Charleston Southern team, 81-77, before an announced crowd of just over 1,000 for a Big South tilt.

“That was a battle, man,” Charleston Southern coach Saah Nimley said. “Logan Duncomb is a really good player. He did what really good players do. He carried them to a win. Credit to him, and credit to them for weathering the storm in the first half without him.”

Duncomb collected two fouls in the first two minutes of the game, rendering him a non-factor for much of the first half. Charleston Southern (11-7, 2-1 Big South) took advantage of the Winthrop post’s absence, ripping off a 10-2 burst over a four-minute stretch to take a seven-point lead eight minutes into the period. The Bucs stretched the lead as high as nine at the 7:02 mark following a Brycen Blaine triple to make it 30-21.

Winthrop (10-8, 2-1) weathered the storm and punched back. The Eagles responded to the Blaine three with an 11-0 run of their own, punctuated by a Tommy Kamarad three that induced a Nimley timeout. The lead changed hands twice in the final six seconds of the period, with CSU’s A’Lahn Sumler knocking down a jumper to break a 34-all tie with six seconds remaining and Winthrop’s Isaiah Wilson banking in a 55-footer to put the Eagles ahead, 37-36, at the interval.

“I’m really proud of our guys for finding a way to win the first half with Logan playing such limited minutes,” Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said. “You’re playing the entire game without a starter that’s been a terrific player for us.”

The single-possession duel persisted through much of the second half. Jesse Hafemeister ripped a right-side triple with 10:59 left that put the visiting Bucs ahead, 57-52. Winthrop leveled it again at 57 with just inside 11 minutes left, only for CSU to use a 7-1 sequence to surge back ahead, 64-58.

The complexion of the game significantly changed around the six-minute mark. CSU center Lase Olalere fouled out with roughly six-and-a-half minutes remaining, followed a half-minute later by starting center Reis Jones. The disqualifications allowed Duncomb to flex his muscle that much more in the paint.

“I do think that if our bigs wouldn't have fouled out, we probably would have had a chance to win that game,” Nimley said. “Again, that’s what (Duncomb) does. He puts foul pressure on you.”

“Once you take the two big bruisers out – both of them are good players,” Duncomb said. “Once you can get them out of the game and they have to go to the younger guys – they just don’t have as much experience, and it’s going to be tough for them.”

Winthrop erased the six-point lead CSU had when Jones fouled out, with Duncomb scoring all six of those points.

“I made my first two shots (of the second half), and my shot felt good,” Duncomb said. “I knew these guys from last year. I knew what I could do. I just wanted that ball in my hand so I could go put it in the basket.”

The one-possession game on either side continued until just inside the one-minute mark.

The Eagles held a shaky 78-75 advantage when Duncomb’s hook shot late in the shot clock missed its mark. Kamarad soared to snatch the rebound, after which Winthrop called a timeout. Prosser excitedly congratulated Kamarad as the team came to the bench.

“Tommy Kamarad had a huge (rebound) at the end of the game,” Prosser said. “That’s a huge play in a one-possession game to get us another possession. Obviously, Logan took it from there when we got the ball back.”

Fourteen seconds later, Duncomb put away the game.

Duncomb tried another hook shot – this one falling – that put the Eagles ahead, 80-75. Sumler made a stepback jumper that cut it to three, but Duncomb sank the decisive free throw. Sumler tried another three that did not fall on the ensuing possession.

“It’s fun to have home games the first time through league play,” Prosser said. “Then you realize you’ve got to go back on the road and go back down to their place. They’re good and obviously talented. That’s going to be a tough one for us.”

There appeared to be words exchanged as the teams shook hands, but the real fireworks took place in the hallway. Players and coaches from both sides yelled back and forth down the hall before the two squads were summoned into their respective locker rooms. Nothing physical took place, but the exchange made an impression on Nimley.

“I’m thankful that in conference play you get to play people twice, because of how they acted and what they said,” Nimley said. “I’ll be very excited to get those guys in Charleston.”

Duncomb led Winthrop and all scorers with 26 on 10-for-15 shooting and 6-for-10 from the line. The Eagle big man also boarded seven misses.  Kareem Rozier and Kody Clouet added 12 apiece, knocking down a combined 6-of-25 from the floor and 10-of-14 from the line. Winthrop shot 39.7 percent (29-of-73) from the field, hitting 18.2 percent (4-for-22) of its three-point tries. The Eagles sank 19-of-31 (61.3 percent) from the stripe.

Sumler paced Charleston Southern with 22, hitting 9-of-15 field goal tries and 3-of-3 from the line. Jones scored 15 and pulled down five boards, knocking down 6-of-9 attempts. Luke Williams contributed 12 on 4-for-11 shooting, while Blaine converted 3-of-15 tries and added 11. CSU shot 40.6 percent (28-for-69) from the field, including 25.8 percent (8-for-31) from distance. The Bucs hit 56.5 percent (13-for-23) of their free throws.

Both sides continue Big South play Saturday. Winthrop travels to the Hodge Center in Spartanburg, S.C., to take on USC Upstate. Game time is set for 2:00 (Eastern), with ESPN+ handling the streaming coverage. Charleston Southern returns home to the Buc Dome to take on defending conference champion High Point. The Bucs and Panthers will also tip at 2:00 on ESPN+.

WINTHROP 81, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 77

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (11-7, 2-1 BIG SOUTH)

Hafemeister 2-7 3-4 8, Jones 6-9 3-7 15, Sumler 9-15 3-3 22, Taylor 0-3 0-0 0, Williams 4-11 1-2 12, Blaine 3-15 3-5 11, Olalere 1-3 0-0 2, N. Brafford 1-2 0-0 3, Franklin 0-1 0-0 0, D. Brafford 2-3 0-2 4. Totals 28-69 13-23 77.

WINTHROP (10-8, 2-1)

Duncomb 10-15 6-10 26, Wilson 2-6 0-0 5, Rozier 4-14 3-7 12, Clouet 2-11 7-7 12, Hendawy 2-6 0-2 4, Nnamoko 1-2 1-1 3, Meo 3-8 0-0 6, Kamarad 3-8 0-0 7, Hamilton 1-1 2-4 4, Boyogueno 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 29-73 19-31 81.

Halftime:  Winthrop 37-36. 3-Point goals:  Charleston Southern 8-31 (Hafemeister 1-4, Sumler 1-4, Taylor 0-1, Williams 3-8, Blaine 2-10, N. Brafford 1-2, Franklin 0-1, D. Braffod 0-1), Winthrop 4-22 (Duncomb 0-1, Wilson 1-2, Rozier 1-6, Clouet 1-6, Hendawy 0-1, Meo 0-2, Kamarad 1-3, Boyogueno 0-1). Fouled out:  Jones (CSU), Olalere (CSU).  Rebounds:  Winthrop 51 (Clouet 8), Charleston Southern 46 (Williams 8). Total fouls:  Charleston Southern 29, Winthrop 20. Technicals:  Blaine (CSU).

 

Inside the Numbers: #7 Charleston Southern vs. #2 Asheville, Big South Quarterfinals

 

Asheville forward Kam Taylor is captured in the middle of a windmill dunk in Friday's quarterfinal victory. (Photo:  Big South Conference)

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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Charleston Southern coach Saah Nimley – himself a legend as a Buc player and now their coach – walked onto the podium after Friday’s quarterfinal against Asheville, looked at the table, and spoke volumes in three words.

“That was tough.”

Asheville reversed course Friday night. Its prior largest win in conference play was nine points – until the Big South quarterfinals. The Bulldogs turned a once-close contest into a 20-point blowout on the strength of ball security, great shooting, and suffocating defense.

You now know that Asheville claimed an 80-60 victory – now, let’s find out how they did so as we go…Inside the Numbers!

• To call Asheville’s big victory uncharacteristic would be quite the understatement. The Bulldogs led by just six at the interval as Charleston Southern shot 48.3 percent in the opening 20. After Daylen Berry snipped the CSU deficit to four with a bucket to start the second half, Asheville went on a nearly immediate, 10-0 run that helped put away the game. More on that run in a minute, but first, some words from Asheville coach Mike Morrell on the result.

“I thought we had the three best days of practice that we've had all year,” Morrell said. “That doesn't guarantee you anything, but if you don't do that, I can guarantee you what the other result will be.”

“We haven't blown anybody out this year and I I don't know that that's as much on us as it is that this is the deepest in the best of league as it’s been in my seven years (at Asheville) and I really don't think it's close.” 

• Regarding that key segment, Morrell commented after the game on its importance. After a brief stoppage, Charleston Southern ran a quick ATO and passed up on its first read – whether this was something Asheville blew up or the design was to go to the second look could not be determined – choosing instead to kick to Berry for a triple. Berry’s look spun away and Asheville boarded the miss, spraying ahead to Fletcher Abee for a deep corner triple that extended the Bulldog lead to 12 and induced a Charleston Southern timeout.

“That was a really good read by (guard Jordan) Marsh,” Morrell said. “That’s something we talk about a lot. I wish we did more of that – getting the ball ahead in transition. One of the reasons we probably can’t do it as much is that I probably play Fletcher too many minutes and he’s so damn tired that he has a hard time getting down the court.”

“That was a big sequence. The other big sequence was when (forward) Toyaz (Solomon) made a really good read off a side out of bounda play that was really an option for him or Fletcher. He decided to give it to Fletch and Fletch hit a big three there.”

• Asheville absolutely suffocated Charleston Southern in the second half, but the defensive effort in the first half also helped tell the story. The Bulldogs logged 25 first-half deflections, which forced the Bucs out of their comfort zone. CSU shot just 33.3 percent (9-for-27) in the closing 20, adding just 25 percent (3-for-12) from deep. The Bucs also missed five free throws in 12 tries in the period.
  
  
• That defense led to one of the more interesting tempo numbers of the night. Asheville cashed 20 points off 16 Buccaneer turnovers but surrendered just three points off its eight miscues. Which number was more important? Let’s ask Solomon and Marsh.

“Definitely the 20 off their turnovers, because we had a season-high of deflections in the first half,” Solomon said. “That’s pretty big. We converted (on those turnovers).”

“Coach Morrell is on us – mainly me and Toyaz – about defense,” Marsh added. “We just want to keep playing. This group is too good. We just have to stay strong and keep playing for each other.”

Leave it to Morrell to finish that response with a joke.

“20 points leads mostly to their points, so obviously they’re going to choose those.”

• The game marked the final in the storied career of Charleston Southern forward and Player of the Year Taje’ Kelly. There are probably few more qualified to comment on Kelly’s legacy at CSU than Nimley. 

“It’s hard to put into words,” Nimley said. “Taje’ – he reminds you of what’s right about college basketball, even with all the changes going on – extra years, money, transferring – he reminds you of what’s right about it. Regardless of how his career went, wins- and losses-wise, there’s not a doubt that he’s one of the best players to ever play here and has had one of the best individual careers. He’ll be cemented in that because of his loyalty. If you track (his career) year-by-year, he’s the definition of development. This is a kid that, moving forward, has set the table for who we’re going to be.”

Morrell also weighed in on Kelly’s legacy.

“I told Taje’ this – I think he’s the best player in the league outside of (Drew) Pember in just how hard he is to guard. I give him so much credit for – I was at Charleston Southern for a year and I obviously know that place really well – I give him so much credit for staying there for four years and being just a great player. I guarantee you when he gets to my age -- which is 42 -- he will remember that way more. He is just a great player. I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that.”

Solomon led all scorers with 21 for Asheville, connecting on 10-of-11 tries from the deck and grabbing five boards. Marsh added 20, hitting nine shots, grabbing six boards, and dishing six helpers. Abee contributed 16, hitting 5-of-7 from deep. Josh Banks finished with 11.

Three Bucs finished in doubles. Kelly and Anthony Gause notched 11 apiece, while RJ Johnson finished with 10. 

Quick tempo numbers:

Asheville:  1.231 PPP (65 trips), 56.9% scores, 12.3% turns, 54.1% shooting (33-61), 43.8% three-point shooting (7-16), 58.3% free throw shooting (7-12)

Charleston Southern:  .923 PPP (65 trips), 41.5% scores, 24.6% turns, 41.1% shooting (23-56), 25% three-point shooting (6-24), 61.5% free throw shooting (8-13)

Asheville improves to 20-10 and will square off with the winner of sixth-seeded Longwood and third-seeded Winthrop in Saturday’s second semifinal. Tip time is approximately 2:30 (Eastern), with streaming coverage over ESPN+. Charleston Southern finishes its season with a 10-22 record.

Johnson takes it to another level in extra time as Winthrop outlasts Charleston Southern

 

Winthrop guard Nick Johnson scored 17 points in extra time to help the Eagles fend off Charleston Southern Wednesday night.  (Photo:  Winthrop Athletics/Professional Photography Group)

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ROCK HILL, S.C. – Of all the people to ever walk into Charleston Southern’s Buc Dome, one would be hard-pressed to find one who hates to lose as much as Saah Nimley. He was a fierce, constant competitor as a player and is every bit the same as a coach.

To know that is to realize how striking it was to see Nimley in the hall outside the Charleston Southern locker room Wednesday night. The Bucs had just fallen, 102-97, to Winthrop in a three-overtime battle that seemed as if it would never end. Nimley stood against the wall, looking equal parts drained and heartbroken. His voice was faint. When he spoke, though, his words were unmistakable.

“I thought it was a heck of an effort by our guys,” Nimley said. “I thought they did everything right, and being super short-handed, they made every effort to win this game. Some days, the ball just doesn’t bounce your way.  They made two spur-of-the-moment threes when they needed it. Sometimes, the ball bounces that way. We’ve got to trust that it’s going to bounce our way soon.”

Charleston Southern (5-14, 1-3 Big South) was, to be sure, challenged. The Bucs dressed eight players, with seven of those players logging 21 or more minutes. Two played over 50, with another nearing that total. Three Bucs fouled out, leaving them with just five available players at the final horn. Two more had four fouls. Nimley spoke after the game almost as if the situation were a positive.

“We’ve got some experience in this. We went through the same thing last year,” Nimley said. “The reality is that we just play. We don’t take down our level of physicality. We don’t take down – we make some adjustments on who’s guarding who, but nothing changes. We go out there and play, and what happens happens. It’s next man up.”

On the other side, there was Winthrop. The Eagles clawed, scratched, and – though arguably Pyrrhic – found victory. Winthrop (13-7, 3-2) trailed by three with 30 seconds left in regulation, only for Bryce Baker to hit a three to tie it. Isaiah Wilson made a free throw late in the first overtime that only allowed RJ Johnson to tie it for Charleston Southern on the other end and force a second extra period. In the second overtime, the Bucs seemed to all but finish in the win column after a Johnson layup, only for the Eagles’ Nick Johnson to can a triple on the other end and force another period.

“The shot that Bryce made at the end of regulation, the shot that Nick made – whenever the heck that was, in one of those overtimes – to keep us alive are just huge basketball plays,” Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said after the game.  “When things aren’t going well and you have to overcome a lot – there was a lot to overcome tonight, and there’s only so much I can say about that – I felt like we had to overcome a lot, and I felt like our kids – it was a resilient win. Good teams do that, and I hope we’re building toward that.”

Nick Johnson and Prosser shared Nimley’s look – in a way – after the game. They wore a smile, though almost out of relief. Their bodies and minds were clearly drained.

“I was convinced that we’d still be playing as that thing went on,” Prosser said, his voice showing clear signs of fatigue. “The dudes that played left it all out there. It’s going to be like this all the time. That’s just life in this league. It’s so talented and so well-coached.”

Johnson led Winthrop’s four double-digit scorers, pouring in 28. Interestingly, though, he outscored every Eagle in just the three overtimes, as he tallied 17 in the three extra periods. Only Kasen Harrison’s 18-point total was higher.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it – we have so many people that can contribute in such large ways,” Johnson said. “People forget about the shot Bryce hit at the end of regulation, since we went into three overtimes. That was a huge shot. Kasen was cramping and still found a way to help us out at the end. We know how big people like K.J. (Doucet) and KT (Kelton Talford) are. As they go, we go.”

“He’s a warrior,” Prosser said of Johnson. “He’s built up to that. He’s a really good basketball player. He’s an all-league caliber player. He shows that. He’s shown it in huge moments.”

There’s more of the story on Harrison, Doucet, and Talford to tell. First, though, we need to address Johnson’s overtime effort.

“It was all will,” Johnson said. “It was not Xs-and-O’s. It was just all will. At that point, it’s who wants it more. Charleston Southern’s a great team, they have a lot of really good players, they’re gritty, and they’re resilient too. They fought us to the very end. We knew it was going to be tough coming in here, and we just found a way to will it out at the end.”

While Johnson spoke, Harrison was feet away. He didn’t wear a headset or field questions from the media. Instead, he stood at the free throw line nearest the Winthrop locker room, taking free throws. He got the ball back after it was rebounded, then did it again. He then moved to the other free throw line and repeated the process.

Doucet and Talford missed time, as Johnson referenced.  First, the story of Talford. The fifth-year senior was hit in the face at some point during the game – Prosser was unsure after the game whether it was a play that was actually reviewed for a possible flagrant foul or during another sequence – and played just eight minutes. Talford has played fewer than eight minutes just twice in his career – both six-minute outings in 2021. No update was provided on his status after the game.

Doucet – along with Charleston Southern all-conference performer Taje’ Kelly and seemingly everybody else in the building – was part of the parade to the bench following disqualification for fouls. Doucet played just 25 of the 55 minutes contested Wednesday night. Kelly logged just 38 minutes before being disqualified, booking a 22-point, 16-board double-double. Nimley never flinched when describing Kelly.

“(He means) everything,” Nimley said. “He understands who we are. He’s our longest-tenured player. It’s crazy that people don’t speak (more) of him, because he’s by far the best player in this league. That’s just the truth. You ask any coach (in this league) when they prepare for him and they prepare for other guys how that preparation looks, and it looks like you’re preparing for the best player in the league. He walks into your gym, he gets his 25-and-10, and he walks out of your gym. I’m sure you’ll respect him when he walks out.”

Johnson – RJ, in CSU’s case – also paced his Bucs. The star guard booked 30 points in almost 48 minutes, carrying the load for much of the time Kelly was off the floor. Guard Daylen Berry also had a big night while playing the most minutes of any player, tallying 23 points in over 53 minutes of game time. The Bucs scored 24 second-chance points while hauling in a dizzying 60 boards.

Doucet scored 15 while snaring three caroms for the Eagles. Freshman guard Paul Jones continued his hot play of late, finishing with 13 points and three boards of his own before fouling out. The Eagles shot 53 percent during the extra sessions, while finishing at 47 percent on the game. The sides combined to try 90 free throws after 66 total fouls were assessed.

It’s perhaps most appropriate to let Prosser sum up what everyone in the building felt, as he verbalized what his face – and voice – had already revealed.

“I feel like I played,” Prosser said. “I’m exhausted. I need to go to bed.”

Both teams return to play Saturday afternoon. Charleston Southern returns home to the Buc Dome to face Radford in Big South play, while Winthrop travels to rival UNC Asheville. Both games are slated to tip at 2:00 (Eastern), with ESPN+ offering streaming coverage for both.

WINTHROP 102, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 97 (3OT)

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (5-14, 1-3 BIG SOUTH)

Kelly 5-15 12-16 22, Olalere 0-1 1-2 1, Oden 1-5 6-7 8, Berry 8-17 5-6 23, Johnson 9-21 9-14 30, Jones 0-2 5-6 5, Gause 3-12 2-2 8, Camara 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-73 40-53 97.

WINTHROP (13-7, 3-2)

Talford 2-2 0-1 4, Jolly 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 5-13 0-0 13, Johnson 8-20 11-16 28, Harrison 8-18 2-6 18, Doucet 6-9 2-5 15, Baker 3-6 1-2 9, Wilson 2-3 1-2 5, Hamilton 1-3 0-0 2, Diallo 1-3 2-2 4, Duncomb 1-2 2-3 4. Totals 37-79 21-37 102.

Halftime:  Winthrop 38-34. 3-Point goals:  Winthrop 7-21 (Jones 3-9, Johnson 1-4, Harrison 0-1, Doucet 1-2, Baker 2-4, Wilson 0-1), Charleston Southern 5-26 (Kelly 0-1, Oden 0-4, Berry 2-6, Johnson 3-6, Gause 0-7). Fouled out:  Kelly (CSU), Olalere (CSU), Jones (CSU), Jones (WU), Doucet (WU), Hamilton (WU).  Rebounds:  Charleston Southern 60 (Kelly 16), Winthrop 48 (Hamilton 6). Total fouls:  Winthrop 36, Charleston Southern 30. Technicals:  NA

Points off turnovers:  Winthrop 18, Charleston Southern 12.  Points in the paint:  Winthrop 54, Charleston Southern 42. Second-chance points:  Charleston Southern 24, Winthrop 7.  Fast-break points:  Winthrop 19, Charleston Southern 7.  Bench points:  Winthrop 39, Charleston Southern 13.