A-to-B approach has been most instrumental in St. Joe’s turnaround

Dasear Haskins (7) drives inside during Saint Joseph’s win over Loyola Saturday. Haskins has helped engineer resurgence that places Hawks in contention for top-four finish in Atlantic 10. (Photo by Saint Joseph’s University Athletics)

By Jake Copestick (@JakeCopestick)

PHILADELPHIA — Saturday afternoon’s matinee at Hagan Arena was a microcosm of the team that the Saint Joseph’s Hawks have become.

The Hawks, now 17-10 overall, and 9-5 in Atlantic 10 play, can have lulls at times offensively, but Steve Donahue’s team picks up the slack in other areas. 

When the scoring wasn’t there, the Hawks found ways to pull away from Loyola-Chicago, winning 75-61 at Hagan Arena to remain in fourth place in the conference, still holding on to a double-bye spot in the A-10 tournament that tips off in Pittsburgh in a little over two weeks. 

St. Joe’s defended, kept the Ramblers off the offensive glass, and didn’t turn the ball over. In a season that started off rocky, this is what the Hawks have molded themselves into.

“This is kind of our DNA right now,” Donahue proudly said. “We struggle sometimes on the offensive end, not from an execution point, but the ability to be consistent with our shotmaking. We don’t turn the ball over, we don’t give up offensive rebounds, and we really compete on the defensive end.”

Most importantly, St. Joe’s was unfazed by a mid-second-half run by the Ramblers, who cut a Hawk lead that was as high as 17 points down to four with ten minutes left, thanks to a barrage of threes after going 0-for-10 in the first half. When the Ramblers got hot, and St. Joe’s went cold shooting the ball, the Hawks found other ways to cruise to a double-digit victory.

The “A to B” mentality that Donahue has preached that turned their season around is a part of this team now: A mentality that emphasizes getting from one play to the next one, and one objective to another, without being rattled by what came before.

“Before we started our A-to-B campaign, that buried us, those runs,” Donahue recalled. “(We) did it in the first semester. I love that we don’t hang our heads when someone makes a run. We answered (Loyola’s) punch.”

After going the entire first half without a three, Loyola-Chicago would go 9-for-16 from deep in the second half. What looked like an easy victory for the Hawks suddenly became a game that was in jeopardy. When a hook shot by the Ramblers’ Miles Rubin went down, the score was 46-42. 

The Hawks wouldn’t hang their heads like they would have two months ago. They answered with a quick 9-2 run over the next three minutes, led by Jaiden Glover-Toscano, who had 23 points, and Dasear Haskins, who had a career-high 24 points and has been on a tear lately.

A pair of free throws, followed by a broken play from Glover-Toscano, got the run started. He drove to the basket, and was turned away by Rubin. The ball was knocked around, right into the arms of Glover-Toscano, who made a tough layup, despite being fouled by Loyola’s Alexander Richardson. 

On a day where Saint Joseph’s honored its 1981 team coached by Jim Lynam, one that made the Elite Eight before losing to eventual national champion Indiana, led by Isiah Thomas and Bob Knight, Glover-Toscano’s broken play, and-one, was worthy of a “turning garbage into gold” call from Lynam’s old broadcasting partner Marc Zumoff. 

It helped spark a stretch where the Hawks would pull away from the Ramblers. It was capped off by a two-handed dunk by Haskins, who made a great cut from the left baseline. Derek Simpson drove to his left and found the cutting Haskins, one of Simpson’s ten assists on the day. Simpson continued to play like an all-league player, as those ten dimes the Rutgers transfer dished out came with just one turnover. 

The cut by Haskins was one he had done all season. He has been great at cutting from the corners, when there is a floor general like Simpson who can find you. Donahue has credited his cutting ability, which he attributes to Haskins’ IQ and awareness, as the best on the team. The funny thing is Haskins had never been told to cut before Donahue arrived on campus in the summer. 

“Believe it or not, no coach has ever told me to cut,” Haskins explained. “I just listen and do what’s asked of me. Cutting off instincts, I just realized I was good at it. I appreciate Coach for expanding my game.”

Donahue, who constantly refers to Haskins as an “everyday guy,” attributes Haskins’ newfound strength as a product of how he was brought up playing basketball, as well as playing for a loaded high school team at Camden, where he played with former Hawk teammate Rasheer Fleming, now with the Phoenix Suns. 

“Kids don’t really learn how to cut,” Donahue said. “I think that’s something we should do more of at the grassroots level,” said Donahue. “This group probably does the best job of cutting off penetration. I’m used to guys cutting and wanting a three. Guys like Dasear and Austin (Williford) really cut off those drives, which is much harder for the defense to guard. Dasear is excellent at it.”

It was a pair of steals on back-to-back possessions by Haskins and Glover-Toscano that really slammed the door shut on the Ramblers, and one that got the crowd at Hagan Arena on its feet. Haskins, who is averaging over 14 points per game and shooting over 48 percent from three over his last eight games, picked the pocket of Rubin, and threw down a thunderous two-handed slam.

“You hung on the rim long enough,” Donahue joked. 

“He could have done better,” added Glover-Toscano. “I’ve seen him do way better.”

Haskins was seemingly upstaged by Glover-Toscano, who picked off an errant over-the-top pass from Loyola freshman Caleb Reese. Glover-Toscano raced down the court, shaking off Reese with a nifty behind-the-back dribble, and finished a left-handed layup over the outstretched arms of the Ramblers’ Nic Anderson. 

“I don’t know if you guys have seen Nas Reid do a move like that in the NBA, but that’s what it was like,” said Haskins. “It was tough, though.”

“A good bucket,” he added with a smile. 

The two guys who scored nearly 50 points between them on Saturday afternoon finished off the game with an exclamation point with their defense. Haskins and Glover-Toscano feed off each other’s energy. The chemistry that the team has developed under Donahue’s tutelage has grown so much in a short time, a big reason why St. Joe’s continues to stack wins in the A-10. 

“(Haskins) is an energy guy. He brings it every day,” said Glover-Toscano. 

“I heard the bench having energy with us,” Haskins added. “I just wanted to keep feeding off of that and wanted to keep winning.”

With the win, St. Joe’s remains in a top four spot in the A-10, and with that, a coveted double bye that means that the Hawks’ first postseason game would come in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. 

A gargantuan matchup looms on Wednesday night, when the Hawks host George Mason, who they lost to in Fairfax at the beginning of the month. The Hawks and Patriots are currently tied for third in the A-10, along with Dayton. Wednesday could provide St. Joe’s the opportunity to have a leg up in the hunt to finish in the top end of the league. 

That means nothing to Donahue, Haskins, or Glover-Toscano. It is not something discussed internally, even if it is a spot the Hawks were in this time last year, that they ultimately missed out on, heading to the conference tournament as the fifth seed. St. Joe’s is focused on its own growth and trajectory as the regular season winds down, and as March is on the horizon.

“I think we still have a lot to improve on,” said Glover-Toscano. “I think it’s very promising.”

“We don’t look at rankings, or where we’re at. Coach doesn’t ever mention it to us,” said Haskins. “We’re only focused on how we can get better, and our next opponent. We’re focused on us and how we can get better in the game and in practice.” 

UConn’s “ugly” turnover issues must be kept in check in order for Huskies to survive St. John’s

As UConn works to limit its turnovers through Big East stretch drive, Silas Demary, Jr. seeks to improve off seven miscues against Villanova last Saturday and nine giveaways against St. John’s, who Huskies host in Hartford Wednesday. (Photo by Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)

PHILADELPHIA — At 25-3 and ranked sixth in the country, not much has gone wrong for the University of Connecticut this season.

One of the few vulnerabilities among this year’s Huskies, however, has been an inability to secure the basketball at times in games, either through rebounding or turnovers.

The latter was revisited Saturday, when even in a 73-63 win over Villanova, UConn registered 14 giveaways, a higher number than head coach Dan Hurley would have preferred as his team dominated the Wildcats in the second half, leading by as many as 21 points before a late Villanova rally trimmed the deficit.

“When we didn’t turn the ball over, we played elite-level defense,” Hurley admitted. “We were pretty sharp on offense when we got shots on goal. Obviously, the turnover situation reared its ugly head. At halftime, we were up two, I think we shot 57 percent at the half or something crazy, but we had like, eight or nine turnovers.”

Many of the Huskies’ miscues have come by way of the live-ball variety, unforced errors that are simply created in the wrong place at the wrong time. The 14 turnovers against Villanova were the highest total forced against UConn since St. John’s recorded 15 takeaways in its 81-72 win at Madison Square Garden on February 6. Coincidentally, the Red Storm is next up on UConn’s schedule, making the trek to Hartford for perhaps the most anticipated game of the season in the Big East given the first result between the two just over two weeks ago.

St. John’s forces 14 turnovers per game on average against its opposition this season, a number that drops slightly to just over 13 per contest in conference play. While the Red Storm’s vigorous ball pressure has a lot to do with the aggressiveness teams face against the Johnnies, there is also a mental component attached to the challenge as well.

“I don’t think that we turned it over because of their pressure,” Hurley said the night of the loss to St. John’s. “I think we turned it over because we lost our fucking mind a little bit, and they have great defense. That’s a Top 20 defense, easy. They’re hard to beat.”

Wednesday’s clash against St. John’s will be a chance for Silas Demary, Jr. to redeem himself and slay the proverbial dragon that is Rick Pitino’s defense, a unit that ranks 15th-best in the nation per KenPom and third-most efficient in the Big East, trailing only UConn and Seton Hall. Against the Red Storm earlier this month, Demary committed nine of UConn’s 15 turnovers, and was rendered into ten giveaways last season against the Johnnies while at Georgia.

The junior point guard comes into the matchup on the heels of a seven-turnover night against Villanova, which underscores the importance of handling the basketball. However, five of those seven miscues came in the first half, giving credence to improvement on the fly and prompting his coach to cite the cleanup down the stretch.

“I just think they’re so avoidable for him,” Hurley said. “They’re a little bit casual. Every dribble that you take as a guard, you’ve gotta change angles, you’ve gotta change the cadence of your dribble, you’ve gotta change speeds. Some of his turnovers come when he’s gotta try to get the ball to a spot and spray it to someone coming off a screen. He’s gotta get better at that. The best players, you watch an NBA game, they don’t turn the ball over. They get shots every time down the court.”

Although Hurley has abstained from further comparisons to his past teams after admitting earlier in the season that drawing those parallels would ultimately do this year’s outfit no good, there is a connection to be made to the 2022-23 UConn team that won the first of the program’s two most recent national championships. That Husky unit picked up the pieces after a rough month of January, losing only twice more by a grand total of just five points after January 25 before dominating the NCAA Tournament. The ceiling for this roster is still undefined, but Hurley knows the one factor that could stunt any further growth before March, and is cognizant of doing whatever is in his power to neutralize it before it gets too late.

“It would suck if this team doesn’t get to its potential because we just turn the ball over too much,” he said. “We do all types of things in practice to try to fix it.”

UConn’s renewed faith and confidence in each other will be biggest key to Huskies’ stretch run

Jaylin Stewart (3) and Jayden Ross (23) defend Villanova’s Matt Hodge in UConn’s win over Wildcats Saturday. The junior reserves are integral parts of a Husky bench that is gaining confidence at an opportune time. (Photo by Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)

PHILADELPHIA — With March now less than a week away and the sense of urgency ramping up across college basketball, the time for each part of the roster to step up becomes more crucial.

That is why UConn’s win Saturday, a comfortable yet dominant 73-63 victory at Villanova, was so resonant. Prior to this past weekend, the fifth-ranked Huskies had played with fire enough to the point where their bench production had stagnated, leaving head coach Dan Hurley searching for answers to fix what had historically been a strong suit of his. Against the Wildcats, all nine UConn players to see the floor scored, balancing the offense with each husky tallying between four and twelve points at the most opportune time.

“I feel like that’s what we’ve been looking for as a group, just playing to our strengths to play into our depth as a team,” Solo Ball said of the harmony on the scoreboard. “We know how capable we are as a group, and we also know that we’ve got way more stuff to work on in practice, and outside of practice in the film room. We’ve just gotta keep getting better on that side.”

“More importantly, I’m glad we all stepped up. It’s great to see everyone contributing because this is exactly what Coach was talking about, just play to our strengths and play to the strength of the group.”

As UConn has gone through Big East play, its rotation has shortened, not uncommon for most teams as the season runs its course. However, the lack of bench production and its apparent stagnation had become a cause for concern among Husky fans, and by extension, the coaching staff as well. Hurley had intimated previously that he did not want to play Silas Demary, Jr. or Alex Karaban extended minutes, but with the lack of production from the likes of Malachi Smith, Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross, was forced to ride the hands of his starters longer. Following Wednesday’s loss to Creighton, the coach addressed the apparent lack of confidence that he and his staff began to remedy before the Villanova game.

“We got into a funk,” Hurley said of the lull among the second unit. “There’s two sides to it. I think there’s definitely a player’s responsibility, but there’s also the coach’s responsibility to say things to the bench players, get in their ear before the game, have some moments where you tell a player you believe in him and we can’t do it without you.”

“Sometimes, I think my reaction to the bench guys, unfortunately — we’re not perfect coaches — just being mad at them about not producing, and I thought in the leadup to this game, we did a better job of trying to build up their confidence. I know I did. Hey, you’re gonna get back on track tonight, we can’t do this without you, I’m gonna play you, I’m not gonna bury you on one mistake. But there’s two sides of it.”

Ross and Stewart, considered two of the top reserves behind Eric Reibe, only combined for 10 points Saturday, but were impactful beyond their point totals. Ross’ defense on Tyler Perkins in the first half after the Villanova guard scored the Wildcats’ first eight points, and Stewart’s two transition triples helped rally and later sustain the Huskies.

“It was great seeing Stew do his thing,” Ball proclaimed. “He’s a tremendous player and incredibly talented. We go to the bench, and Stew stepped up tremendously, so did the guys on the rest of the bench. It was good to see.”

Ross’ maturation drew plaudits from his most senior teammate, who bestowed a heartfelt superlative upon the junior.

“He’s a special player,” Karaban said. “He’s gaining more and more confidence every single night. We need him if we want to win and achieve our goals this year.”

Ross is not the only one gaining confidence as UConn heads into its three remaining regular season matchups, beginning first with Wednesday’s hotly anticipated rematch against Big East leader St. John’s. The Red Storm defeated the Huskies at Madison Square Garden on February 6 and has won 13 straight contests, but Hurley seems encouraged after the championship-level response his outfit displayed Saturday.

“We have a lot of confidence,” he intimated. “We’ve let each other down a couple times. You just want to be able to leave these games where you don’t have any regrets about how you showed up, with the force you play with and the effort that you give, and the desperation you play with in terms of doing everything you can to win games. But we’re 25-3. We’ve made it clear to our guys that the sky is not completely falling. In ’23, we didn’t even make that Top 16 reveal. We weren’t even on it and we ran through the tournament.”

“We can’t let each other down anymore. We have to show up like this. We basically, for the rest of the way here, we can’t afford to lose another game in the regular season if we want to win the league. These guys gotta show up consistently. When Jaylin Stewart shows up like that and J-Ross, Big Eric, Malachi…with what we’ve got with the starters, we’re formidable.”

Sha Sounds Off: Georgetown

On winning despite only scoring 51 points:

“You know what? We just dug deep, right? We just dug deep and kind of found a way to win, made some plays when we needed to make them. I thought Trey Parker was really good down the stretch for us, I thought going to the two was good for us. It kind of got them off balance, their two got us off balance, they didn’t Budd and a couple guys get in the lane, their two and our two. I think what it says about our team is after the disappointing loss we had the other day, guys were just trying to figure a way, no matter what, how to win a game. They’re trying to win a game, and I thought that having 16-17 offensive rebounds was a big part of it. It gave us those second chance points, and then making your free throws down the stretch.”

On adjusting to Georgetown’s zone:

“Obviously a short turnaround, but we kind of had a quick practice (Friday) and we went through it. We knew they were gonna play it, but give them credit. They did a really good job of keeping our guys out of the lane, then they kept going after the third pass, after the fourth pass, going to man. And our guys didn’t make the adjustment like we were supposed to, because we knew they were gonna do that, and we got complacent. I think that’s kind of what got us in the first half. The second half, I thought we did a better job moving the basketball and trying to get some driving lanes.”

On reverting to his old starting lineup:

“It’s part of basketball, big dawg. Twin, to be honest, he came to me, he feels more comfortable coming off the bench. That was big of him to say that, but what am I gonna say? I’m gonna start you? It don’t matter, he’s still playing starting minutes, but it was good. I thought Mike gave us some juice, so that was good for Mike to give us some juice. I’ll be honest with you guys: This team is just mentally and physically exhausted. Like, I went in the locker room after the game and you would think we lost. This bye week is very crucial right now. It came for us even though we had three games in a week, which I think is insane.”

On the tenor of Saturday’s game and his message to the team:

“Big East basketball, man. Old-school Big East basketball. This is what it used to be like when I played. Just stick with it, just keep doing the things you’re doing. We gotta get a couple runouts, I thought the second half, we got some runouts. We have to push the basketball, pass it…I thought we had some good looks, like, our shooters had some really good looks. We just didn’t hit them, and then Najai was real good down the stretch getting some offensive rebounds and tips and stuff like that. And I thought Trey and a couple guys got in there and made some passes, made some easy buckets. I thought that was the difference.”

On Najai Hines:

“I thought his spurts were good. His spurts were good because it wasn’t a running game. It’s different when we play against Creighton and all these teams that want to run, score 90, 80 points. Us and (Georgetown), we just grind it out, so it was good that there wasn’t a lot of running, to be honest with you. It was good. Listen, I told you guys before: We need him to play like this for us to be successful. Like, we need this juice. I’m happy that I stuck with him even though he got three fouls. I thought he was giving us something that Steph wasn’t giving us, so I think this will be good for Steph once he gets his ankle back to 100 percent this week.”

On something to gain from a game like this:

“I’m gonna be honest with you, Jerry, man. Obviously like I said the other day, people don’t understand how good DePaul is, especially on the defensive end. But this is a team that’s got 19 wins, and we’re fighting for something. It’s always good to get a win, it’s always good to come and take care of home, right? You lose one the other day, it hurts, and you come back and get a win like this…the narrative out there is so crazy. I see a lot of teams that have 19 wins and they’re locks, like, 17 wins, they’re locks. We got 19 wins and they’re talking about how bad the league is. The league is really good, it’s just very competitive. Some of the other leagues, the top is good, the bottom is not. That’s another story for another day. I’m going all over the place right now. I just want to make sure the narrative is crazy about how the league is down. The league’s not down, the teams are just good.”

On whether or not he has an NCAA Tournament team:

“I ain’t…I’m just worried about getting through this bye week and…who do we play? Xavier? That’s our prize for winning (Saturday). I’m just trying to get through this bye week and trying to get rest, and rest is the most important thing. Do I think we have a tournament team? Yeah, I do. I thought we went out and challenged ourselves in the non-conference, I thought we won some games. Like I said, this conference is really good. Teams are equal. Creighton goes and wins at UConn, right? Things happen. There are very good coaches in this league.”

On earning Ed Cooley’s vote as Big East Coach of the Year:

“Thank you. I’m worried about winning some games, but thanks. Ed is really good, he’s always been supportive of me, I’m very supportive of him as well. Nice words by him, but we’ll see.”

On his appreciation for Big East basketball then and now:

“It’s just different. Everything is different. The players are different, the league (then) was different, the players were tougher. It’s just a different brand of basketball right now. I don’t know how many fouls were called, but that’s what it is. Sometimes you just gotta adjust to the officiating crew, but it’s tough to ref games like this when two teams play so hard and play so physical. I’m not gonna compare the two. It’s just different, it’s just a different brand of basketball. Now everybody wants to score. Everybody wants to see scoring, nobody wants to see defense. That’s what it comes down to.”

Furman recovers from late Wofford run, downs Terriers for road win

By Justin Mathis (@J_Math23)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — “There’s two ways you can look at life: you can look behind you or look in front of you.”

 

His team having dropped four of its last five Southern Conference games, Furman head coach Bob Richey shared that perspective with the media following Saturday night’s rivalry showdown with Wofford.

 

The Paladins (18-11, 9-7 SoCon) built a double-digit lead, saw a massive Terrier run erase it, and then responded with timely execution and tenacious defense to secure a 76-67 victory over Wofford (18-11, 10-6).

 

Cayden Vasko and Brian Sumpter helped Wofford to an early 7-7 tie, but Furman answered quickly. A Charles Johnston three-point play, Ben Vander Wal tip-in and back-to-back Asa Thomas triples sparked an 18-11 advantage less than eight minutes into the game.

 

Vasko and Nils Machowski connected from deep on consecutive possessions to trim the margin to 25-21. Furman countered with a flurry as Abijah Franklin buried back-to-back three-pointers, and Thomas knocked down two more from beyond the arc — his fifth and sixth straight makes to open the game — stretching the lead to 43-27 with 2:53 remaining in the half.

 

“I’ve been doing this my whole life,” Thomas said. “Seeing a couple go down as a shooter is probably one of the best feelings in the world. It builds confidence for our whole team. Everyone started hitting shots and getting stops, and it was a good win for us. Obviously, there’s bad blood between these schools. It’s my first year here (at Furman), but I’m already feeling it. I’m glad we came out, fought for the victory and were the tougher team tonight.”

 

Machowski ignited Wofford’s response with a driving layup, and Vasko, Rex Stirling and Kahmare Holmes added baskets in a 9-0 run to close the half, cutting Furman’s lead to 43-36 at the intermission.

 

That push carried into the second half. Holmes scored five straight points in the opening minutes, and a pair of Brendan Rigsbee free throws, followed by a Holmes triple, capped a 22-4 surge that gave Wofford a 48-44 lead with 17 minutes remaining.

 

Furman answered again. Alex Wilkins drilled a three-pointer, and Tom House converted an old-fashioned three-point play to reclaim a 50-49 advantage. Vasko and Holmes combined for five straight to put Wofford back on top, but Cooper Bowser finished an alley-oop from Wilkins to restore a one-point Furman lead with 9:48 to play.

 

“I haven’t been able to play Wofford since the (SoCon) championship game last year,” Bowser said, referencing an injury that sidelined him in the teams’ January meeting. “Seeing them win on our home floor definitely lit a fire inside of me. We were challenged to play a complete game, especially defensively. I’m happy we were able to come out here and get a win.”

 

Chace Watley converted a three-point play to pull Wofford within 60-59, but baskets from Eddrin Bronson and Johnston pushed the lead back to six. Though Machowski and Holmes later earned trips to the free throw line, Furman’s defense stiffened when it mattered most.

 

Over the final seven minutes, the Paladins held Wofford to just 2-of-15 shooting from the field. They disrupted passing lanes, contested shots, and controlled the defensive glass down the stretch. Wilkins and Vander Wal extended the lead to 69-61, and while Stirling’s layup cut the margin to five with 1:10 remaining, Furman never relinquished control.

 

“I don’t think we played fast enough in certain areas,” Wofford head coach Kevin Giltner said. “We started playing slow in half-court basketball and they were able to be really, physical. Our shot selection and shot creation during that lull were not very good. I’ve got a group of guys that are fired up to continue to get better in practice and dive in on film and scouting reports. We will be ready.”

 

Wofford added two late baskets, but Furman sealed the win by converting eight consecutive free throws in the final minute.

 

“We just wanted to be Furman,” Richey said. “We wanted to get back to our identity and play with toughness. The game honors toughness. Everybody thinks we have a shooting problem. This is not a shooting problem. It’s an intensity, connection, and toughness problem. We’re going to be known by our resolve and how tough we are in critical moments. Tonight, our defense fueled our offense.”

 

Richey also praised Thomas’ hot start.

 

“That guy is a great shooter, man,” he said. “All I told him was if you can see the rim and land on two feet, shoot it. He took great ones and got on fire there. We ran a couple of actions to free him up a little bit. I thought his ability to space the floor was a huge thing that allowed Coop to play how he played.”

 

Thomas led Furman with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Wilkins added 15 points and five assists, while Bowser recorded 13 points and seven rebounds. Johnston chipped in 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks.

 

Furman shot almost 52 percent from the floor, and 9-of-17 from three-point range. The Paladins held advantages in points off turnovers (11-7), points in the paint (36-32) and bench scoring (13-8).

 

Holmes paced Wofford with 20 points, while Vasko posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Stirling finished with 10 points, and Machowski added nine. The Terriers shot nearly 44 percent overall and 7-of-26 from beyond the arc.

 

Furman returns home Wednesday to host The Citadel at 6 p.m., while Wofford travels to face ETSU at 7 p.m.

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.

Balanced offense, championship defense join forces as UConn gets back on track

Alex Karaban led UConn with 12 points as Huskies erased bitter loss to Creighton with win over Villanova. (Photo by Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)

PHILADELPHIA — After surrendering a season-high 91 points in a loss to Creighton Wednesday, Dan Hurley was critical of his UConn team’s defense, or lack thereof.

Hurley called the Huskies’ escapades on that side of the basketball a “joke” in the wake of the loss to the Bluejays, intimating that a showing of that nature was on the horizon after UConn had appeared to be a shell of its former self over the past two weeks.

Saturday’s response was more akin to the Huskies of old.

Shooting almost 55 percent from the floor, fifth-ranked UConn allowed its defense to buoy the offense, particularly after halftime. The Huskies limited Villanova’s dynamic perimeter attack to just 6-for-24 from behind the three-point arc, and fired a 13-2 salvo to open the second half to punctuate a 73-63 victory whose final score is much closer than the final stanza let on.

“That’s kind of like bulletproof basketball right there,” Hurley said as UConn (25-3, 15-2 Big East) saw each of its nine players score at least four points, led by a dozen from Alex Karaban. “You shoot 55 percent from the field, you hold them to 40, you go plus-13 on the glass, and your depth shows up.”

“The only way you’re able to sleep at night this time of year is if you’re playing as close to bulletproof basketball as possible…you shoot a high percentage, you don’t turn the ball over, you guard, you rebound the ball and you’ve got depth on the bench. That’s the only way you could avoid being vulnerable this time of year. It all showed up for us tonight, except the last two minutes.”

UConn actually spotted Villanova an 8-4 head start in the opening minutes as Tarris Reed, Jr. and Tyler Perkins accounted for all the initial offense, with Perkins draining a pair of threes and exploiting Solo Ball on the defensive end. Hurley quickly inserted Jayden Ross to plug the hole on the perimeter, and the junior paid dividends.

“J-Ross came in and immediately fixed our defense,” Hurley raved. “Perkins was destroying us to start the game. We made some mistakes. I thought J-Ross came in and did a good job of trying to get him under control.”

“Big-time spark for us,” Ball added with regard to Ross. “I think we really played off his defensive energy in that first half. We were starting to get stops, and he came in and did what he does best, and that’s just defend. He provides so much for us, just the way he’s able to shoot the three and defend.”

Villanova would hold a 30-27 lead in the final stages of the first half, but seven straight Husky points gave the visitors the lead for good. The Wildcats pulled within two points going to halftime, but were no match for UConn out of the locker room as a Mullins three ignited a 13-2 run that head coach Kevin Willard chalked up to veteran experience and a myriad of weapons.

“They’re an older team,” he said of the Huskies. “They can impose their will on you at times. I think the biggest thing is that you’re so worried about Mullins and Karaban, and then, oh, by the way, you’ve got Solo Ball. They’re a veteran team, they’ve been together. You have to give UConn credit for playing really good, really physical and hard. We went some stretches that we had some lineups that probably were self-inflicted by me, to be honest with you.”

UConn ballooned its advantage to as many as 21 points with just under five minutes to play, and kept the margin at 17 before Villanova scored the game’s last seven points to make the final score more cosmetically pleasing.

The Huskies now await a titanic showdown on Wednesday, when Big East leader St. John’s makes its way to Hartford eyeing a fourth straight win over its archrival. But regardless of whether it is the Johnnies or anyone else standing before them, the elder statesman among the UConn players recognized this effort for the importance of showing up and doing what they do best.

“I think we were just able to play our style of basketball,” Karaban said. “We definitely suffered a loss that was hard on everybody, but the only way to respond is (by) playing the basketball that we know how to play. We just want to take it one step at a time and really just hold each other accountable to the level that we can play to.”