Inside the Numbers: Winthrop at USC Upstate

Winthrop guard Kareem Rozier scored 24 to help pace the Eagles in a Saturday win at USC Upstate.  (Photo:  Winthrop Athletics)

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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Following a knock-down, drag-out battle Winthrop won Wednesday night against Charleston Southern, it may have been easy to wonder what the Eagles’ energy level would be Saturday at USC Upstate. For the first half, at least, there was no reason to worry whatsoever.

Winthrop (11-8, 2-1 Big South) blitzed Upstate with seven first-half threes and got a season-high 24 from senior guard Kareem Rozier, as the Eagles withstood a second-half rally from the Spartans to take a comfortable, 71-50 victory at the G.B. Hodge Center.

You know what happened – now, let’s go…Inside the Numbers!

• The first half told the story of the game, in many respects. Upstate decided to front and double Winthrop’s star senior center Logan Duncomb – more on that in a bit – which freed up the Eagles to knock down shots from the perimeter at a 41.7 percent clip in the opening 20.

Rozier led much of that effort, booking 13 in the opening stanza.

“There’s no question (Rozier played a big role),” Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said. “He’s just too good of a player. It was just a matter of time. Whether it was today, Wednesday, Saturday, or whatever it was – it’s imminent. It’s coming.”

“I thought we were a good version of ourselves. We were hard to play against, especially on the defensive end of the floor – certainly in the first half, and a little less so in the second half. I was really pleased with our effort and our carry-over.”

• Conversely, effort was a much more significant struggle for Upstate (8-10, 0-3). Upstate coach Marty Richter implored his players, “GET ON THE FLOOR!,” after one loose ball wound up back in Winthrop’s hands. The effort – particularly on 50-50 balls and rebounds – stuck out to Richter. Winthrop held a 30-11 rebounding advantage at the interval, with the Eagles pulling in as many offensive rebounds as the Spartans had total caroms.

“(The effort gap was) a 19-point difference,” Richter said, regarding the first half Winthrop won, 38-19. “You could see it, then you could feel it. You can’t have that. You can’t have your game dictated on whether you make or miss. That dictates your effort.”

“(Winthrop) played desperate today. You’ve got to give them a lot of credit. You’ve got a choice to make when you put your jersey on. You can play really hard and desperate, or you can play cool. We played cool until the second half, when I put in five guys that I thought were going to play hard. Those five guys played hard. You can’t win at college basketball and play cool. You cannot. You see it every night – the cool team gets beat.”

• One of the players Richter cited as playing hard, senior forward Breylin Garcia, had a significant impact on the second half of the game. Garcia was a perfect 7-for-7 off the bench and poured in 16 points to go with his six rebounds before fouling out. Garcia was a plus-10 on the stat sheet, but his intangibles stood out just as much to Richter.

“We have three guys that are energy givers naturally. Two of them are elite at it,” Richter said. “(Junior wing) Learic Davis and Breylin are elite. (Sophomore guard) Chico (Johnson) is an energy giver because he plays hard.”

“What we have to have is total buy-in and total connectivity. Our (playing) hard has to be harder than everybody else’s. We have to shock them with how hard we play, and we didn’t do that until the second half. I was proud of those guys that played in that second half. I was really proud of how hard they played.”

Garcia also stood out to Prosser.

“As (Garcia) continues to get healthy, he becomes even more of a problem,” Prosser said. “He’s missed a little time with injuries, but he’s a very good player and obviously gave them a huge bump today.”

• Duncomb was limited to just eight points against 13 rebounds, as the Spartans chose to put significant effort into denying the post. Teams have largely been left with the choice of denying the post or running Winthrop’s shooters off their line. Richter went into detail about the strategy behind defending the Eagles.

“They hit their threes off pick-and-roll,” Richter said. “I don’t think you have to pick your poison. We were going to trap and we were going to rotate and get to a shooter. (Winthrop senior guard) Isaiah Wilson’s hit four threes on the year. One of them was from 50 feet in the last game. You have to make him make it.”

“He’s a 17 percent three-point shooter. He’s a really good player. Let me say that right now. He has life, energy, and leadership. He does a really good job. You’ve got to help off, though. You’ve got to be able to clog it up, which we did. We made it ugly. It’s a double-whammy, because their guards are really good and their big is really good. You have to be able to keep the ball out of the post, because Logan is so good at getting to his left shoulder. I thought (junior center) Coen (Collier) did a terrific job of guarding him.”

“You have to be able to do both. You have to be able to run them off the line and you have to be able to take their post away. You’re not going to be able to do both every second, but what you can’t have is mistakes – the discipline mistakes of straight-line drives to get them going. I thought their pace and speed at the beginning of the game shocked my guys. By shocking my guys, we were then playing catch-up.”

Prosser noted Duncomb’s effort despite not having as big of a scoring day.

“We’ve always been the same way,” Prosser said. “We’ve always been fortunate to have really good post players, but they were all very unselfish. We feel like when we’re right, you have to pick your poison. If they want to trap the post, you want to make shots. We have guys who can do that. If they’re going to take away the arc, we have guys that can score around the rim. When we’re good, that’s the recipe. When you have a lot of unselfish players not worrying about who gets the credit, you have a chance to do some special things offensively.”

• Richter hinted at potential lineup changes after Saturday’s game.

“We have to do a better job as a program of playing desperate and playing energetic, and I’m going to find guys who are going to do that,” Richter said. “Some guys are going to play. Some guys aren’t. That’s just part of life.”

Rozier led Winthrop and all scorers with 24 on 9-for-15 shooting, including 6-of-9 from distance. Wilson and Kody Clouet added 10 apiece on a combined 7-for-15 from the deck (4-for-11 from three). Winthrop shot 38.7 percent (24-for-62) from the floor, hitting 12-of-31 threes (38.7 percent). The Eagles knocked down 57.9 percent (11-for-18) from the stripe.

Garcia's 16 led Upstate, coming in 19 minutes of reserve duty. Carmelo Adkins added 14 on 4-for-12 shooting and 6-of-6 from the line. The Spartans shot 34.5 percent (19-for-55) from the field, with 18.2 percent (2-for-11) of their threes finding the net. Upstate shot 71.4 percent (10-for-14) from the line.

Next up:  Winthrop returns home to battle league-leader High Point at Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, S.C. Game time Wednesday is set for 6:30 (Eastern), with coverage over ESPN+. Upstate travels to Charleston Southern Wednesday night. Tip time is 7:00, with streaming over ESPN+.

Hustle Stats:

Points off turnovers:  Winthrop 15, Upstate 15

Points in the paint:  Upstate 34, Winthrop 24

Second-chance points:  Winthrop 14, Upstate 10

Fast-break points:  Winthrop 12, Upstate 8

Bench points:  Upstate 39, Winthrop 12

WINTHROP 71, UPSTATE 50

WINTHROP (10-8, 2-1 BIG SOUTH)

Kamarad 3-6 1-2 7, Duncomb 2-6 4-6 8, Wilson 4-6 0-1 10, Rozier 9-15 0-0 24, Clouet 3-9 2-2 10, Berry 0-1 3-4 3, Hendawy 0-8 0-0 0, Meo 2-7 0-2 6, Nnamoko 1-4 1-2 3, Christy 0-0 0-0 0, Harrison 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-62 11-19 71.

UPSTATE (8-10, 0-3)

Davis 1-5 0-0 2, Collier 0-2 0-0 0, Smith 1-6 2-2 4, Gregory 0-7 0-0 0, Bendinger 2-5 0-0 5, Adkins 4-12 6-6 14, Skinner 1-5 0-0 2, Martinez 1-2 0-2 2, Johnson 2-4 0-1 5, Garcia 7-7 2-3 16. Totals 19-55 10-14 50.

Halftime:  Winthrop 38-19. 3-Point goals:  Winthrop 12-31 (Kamarad 0-2, Wilson 2-4, Rozier 6-9, Clouet 2-7, Berry 0-1, Hendawy 0-3, Meo 2-5), Upstate 2-11 (Davis 0-1, Collier 0-1, Smith 0-1, Bendinger 1-2, Adkins 0-4, Skinner 0-1, Johnson 1-1). Fouled out:  Garcia (UPST).  Rebounds:  Winthrop 49 (Duncomb 13), Upstate 31 (Garcia 6). Total fouls:  Upstate 18, Winthrop 15. Technicals:  NA.

 

Gardner-Webb puts all the pieces together in opening-round Big South tournament victory

 

Gardner-Webb forward Isaiah Richards (24) logged a double-double in the Runnin' Bulldogs' opening-round win Wednesday.  (Photo:  Gardner-Webb Athletics)

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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Coaching college basketball is an incredibly tough business.

Nobody feels that more than Gardner-Webb’s Jeremy Luther and USC Upstate’s Marty Richter. The two newest head coaches in the Big South battled in the conference tournament’s play-in game Wednesday, with their teams looking to close challenging seasons on high notes.

Gardner-Webb got four double-figure scorers and turned a tense halftime battle into a decisive victory, taking down Upstate, 83-63, at Freedom Hall. Richter and Upstate got something, too – more on that in a bit.

“I love this team that we have,” Luther said after the game. “We have shown a lot of spurts of good basketball, especially early in the year. We kind of lost our way a little bit, had some injuries, had to deal with some stuff off the floor with some of these guys. The last few weeks haven't been too fun. I know the type of team they can be. We've shown it.”

Gardner-Webb (11-19) got to work early. After Upstate broke the seal with a Carmelo Adkins bucket 50 seconds into the game, the Runnin’ Bulldogs trailed for just one more minute. Anthony Selden converted a layup to give Gardner-Webb a lead it would not surrender – though not without some tense moments – to key a nearly seven-minute burst that put the eighth-seeded Runnin’ Bulldogs up by 12.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs grew their lead to 13 at the 7:34 mark before one of those tense moments unfolded. Upstate (6-26) keyed a charge bookended by guard Karmani Gregory. Gregory started the run with a pair of free throws and closed it with a layup that knifed the lead in half. Brit Harris drained a triple and Mister Dean hit a jumper to continue to whittle away at the margin. After Selden made a bucket with 1:52 remaining in the first half, Nic Book closed the first half with a jumper to send Upstate to the locker room down just three at 31-28.

“I’ve got to give credit to Gardner-Webb,” Richter said. “They did an unbelievable job that second half. They got up 28-13 in the first half. My guys fought back. They did an awesome job of fighting back. We got it to 31-28 at the half, so we closed the half the way we needed to.”

The second half proved to be a different story.

Gardner-Webb quickly neutralized the Upstate threat, getting back-to-back makes from Pharrell Boyogueno and Buddy Simmons to push the lead back to eight. Shahar Lazar again created a double-digit lead for the eighth seed with a layup.

Upstate continued to fight. The Spartans got two Dean baskets and two from Harris that snipped the deficit to four. Gardner-Webb would then stagger the lower seed with a quick 6-0 flurry that again extended the lead back to double digits. Upstate tried to return serve and reduced the distance to seven points, but Gardner-Webb countered with a knockout blow in a 6-0 run over 1:34 that put the Runnin’ Bulldogs ahead by double digits to stay.

“Their physicality wore us down. Their being fifth and sixth-year seniors, their body types wore our first-year guys down,” Richter said. “We're the youngest team in college basketball this year on KenPom, so that just wore us down in the second half and that's why --  I mean, their second chance points -- they had 19 and then we had five offensive rebounds in the first half. They ended up with 16, so they got 11 in that second half. They got in the paint and they lived in the paint.”

Selden and forward Isaiah Richards helped key Gardner-Webb’s success inside.

“They don't have a lot of shot blockers, not a lot of size,” Luther said. “So we were just trying to get paint touches, and we'd get in the paint, get off two (feet), and just go finish strong.”

Richards noted the team’s strategy in stemming the tide during the Upstate run.

“So (our) being who we are, a bunch of vets, you know, guys that listen to us and buy into what we want to do and what we want to accomplish, (we) just keep doing what we're doing,”Richards said. “There's really no conversation or change to be made -- just keep pressuring them, keep pounding them. At some point, they're going to break, and they broke.”

Richter’s first season came to an end with Wednesday’s loss, but he displayed his trademark optimism in his postgame remarks.

“(Other league coaches) helped change this league to a league that is respected by basketball coaches. And that is one thing that is so great about our league, I think,” Richter said. “I've got to improve as a head coach. Players have to improve. My assistants have to improve. My strength coach has to get better.”

“We've got to get better as an organization, because we've got a spot at Spartanburg, USC Upstate, that is special. And you guys are looking at me like, right now, Coach, you only won six games. Just trust me, it's a special place.”

Richter left the dais with a funny – and truthful – parting shot.

“I'm going to remember this score for the rest of my life. My kids won't let me forget, either.”

Selden paced Gardner-Webb and all scorers with 18 points, buoyed by a 10-of-13 mark from the free throw stripe. Simmons  added 16, hitting 7-of-16 tries. Boyogueno contributed 14 to the Gardner-Webb effort, while Richards booked a double-double while scoring 11 points and boarding 12 misses. The Runnin’ Bulldogs shot 46.3 percent (31-of-67) from the deck and knocked down 16-of-20 attempts from the line.

Gregory and Dean logged 17 apiece for the Spartans. The duo hit 13 combined tries from the field, with Gregory finishing 6-for-8 from the line. Harris added 12 in reserve duty, hitting 4-of-8 field goal tries. The Spartans shot 37.1 percent (23-for-62) from the field and converted 12-of-19 from the line (63.2 percent).

The eighth-seeded Runnin’ Bulldogs advance to Friday’s quarterfinal round, where they will square off with regular-season champion High Point in a noon contest streamed over ESPN+. Luther knows the task his team faces but does not lack confidence.

“These guys right here, you know, when you're down to your last possible game, it's like that all across the country,” Luther said. “I'll take these guys fighting because I've seen what they can do, and I really believe that if we go out there and we fight and we compete and we don't back down -- which I know these guys aren't -- anything can happen, and I feel great. I feel really confident that we can, you know, shock the world.”

“We're going to go out and fight. We're going to make some shots. We're going to shock the world.”

GARDNER-WEBB 83, USC UPSTATE 63

USC UPSTATE (6-26)

Helterhoff 1-4 1-2 3, Skinner 1-6 2-2 5, Adkins 1-8 0-0 2, Gregory 5-14 6-8 17, Johnson 1-5 0-0 3, Book 2-3 0-0 4, Harris 4-8 2-2 12, McConnell 0-0 0-0 0, Dean 8-13 1-5 17, Rich 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-62 12-19 63.

GARDNER-WEBB (11-19)

Boyogueno 6-9 0-0 14, Richards 4-5 1-1 11, Selden 4-16 10-13 18, Mann 2-7 2-2 6, Simmons 7-18 1-1 16, Badmus 1-1 0-0 2, Lazar 3-4 1-2 7, Mykalcio 0-1 0-0 0, Hudson 4-7 1-1 9. Totals 31-677 16-20 83.

Halftime:  Gardner-Webb 31-28. 3-Point goals:  Gardner-Webb 5-16 (Boygueno 2-4, Richards 2-2, Selden 0-3, Simmons 1-6, Lazar 0-1), USC Upstate 6-25 (Helterhoff 0-1, Skinner 1-5, Adkins 0-5, Gregory 1-6, Johnson 1-3, Harris 2-4, Dean 0-1). Fouled out:  Adkins (UPST).  Rebounds: Gardner-Webb 45 (Richards 12), USC Upstate 34 (Book 7). Total fouls:  USC Upstate 17, Gardner-Webb 15. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  Gardner-Webb 22, Upstate 10.  Points in the paint:  Gardner-Webb 46, USC Upstate 34. Second-chance points:  Gardner-Webb 19, USC Upstate 8.  Fast-break points:  Gardner-Webb 9, USC Upstate 5.  Bench points:  USC Upstate 33, Gardner-Webb 18.