Presbyterian takes the fight to Winthrop behind Teel's big night

Point guard Samage Teel paced the Blue Hose with 22 points in a big win over Winthrop Wednesday. (Photo:  Presbyterian Athletics)

 

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ROCK HILL, S.C. – It’s been over 25 years since Mike Tyson had one of the more memorable quotes in sport.

“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

Winthrop and Presbyterian were locked in a game that never gained separation past two buckets, before a 7-0 Eagles run put the home side ahead by nine just inside the seven-minute mark of the first half. Presbyterian wasted little time in landing a staggering blow, however.

Carl Parrish had a layup. Kobe Stewart drained a three. Kaleb Scott had a bucket. Marquis Barnett scored four points. Trevon Reddish-Rhone hit a free throw.

When the dust cleared, Presbyterian had finished off a 12-0 run – and the Eagles. The Blue Hose never again trailed, getting 22 points from guard Samage Teel and shooting 52.5 percent from the deck in a 78-55 victory over Winthrop before an announced crowd of 2,272 at Winthrop Coliseum.

“That was (a full 40 minutes),” Presbyterian coach Quinton Ferrell said after the game. “It started out as not ideal in the first 10 minutes, because we just gave up too many layups. I thought after about the first 10 minutes, we settled in.”

“I thought last Wednesday at Asheville, when we were up 17 at the half, that was our best 20 minutes of the year on offense and defense. I think we had a tough week last week and we felt we should have at least won one game. To come back this week with our only game (being this one) and be really focused – I thought it was the best 40 minutes we’ve played all year.”

The seesaw battle dominated much of the first half. Winthrop (16-12, 7-6 Big South) claimed the first two buckets of the game before the visiting Blue Hose responded with a Scott bucket to get on the board. Presbyterian (13-16, 5-9) stayed within four before Winthrop’s run and its counter-run. The Blue Hose landed another strong volley over the final 1:21 of the first half, outscoring the homestanding Eagles, 8-2, in the run-up to the interval behind five Scott points and a Teel triple to take a 43-35 lead at the break.

After a 6-0 Presbyterian run to start the second half and stretch the Blue Hose lead to 13, Winthrop got back-to-back buckets from Mike Anumba and Alex Timmerman to take a chunk out of the advantage and force it to nine. The Eagles again chipped it to nine on back-to-back buckets from Sin’Cere McMahon and Kelton Talford.

Presbyterian then threw another punch in the form of an 11-4 burst that stretched the lead to 16. Teel then fueled his scoring binge, putting home 10 of the final 12 Blue Hose points and helping to turn away any possible Winthrop challenge.

“We wanted to go get a veteran point guard,” Ferrell said. “When we had a scholarship open up in the spring, we felt we could get even better. I felt (freshman point guard) Kory (Mincy) was good enough to play early on – which he has, and he’s played well for us – but I wanted to go out and find a veteran point guard to mentor him. (Teel) won a lot at (Winston-Salem State), had the ball in his hands a lot, and made big plays for them. I think tonight, people got to see that, in terms of his ability to control the game, make shots, and run the team.”

“It’s been a beautiful journey watching him grow. He’s experienced some adversity in getting used to me and trying to fulfill the role how I see it and how I need it. I think, now, he’s starting to turn the corner to be more consistent with what I want. I think his reward is the way he’s been playing lately.”

The victory was the first for Presbyterian in Winthrop Coliseum since a 48-45 result on Valentine’s Day of 2012, and just the second all-time for the Hose in the building. Winthrop coach Mark Prosser seemed to struggle to find words to describe what took place after the game.

“(It was) effort, care, and want-to,” Prosser said, through hesitation. “You lose every hustle play, every category that you could possibly think of, and it’s just the culmination of – I think – several things.  You could see it happen, and today was about the worst version of that.”

Teel’s 22 led Presbyterian and all scorers. The Greenville, N.C., native put home 9-of-15 shots on the night. Barnett booked 19 and hauled in seven boards, putting home 7-of-11 tries and 4-of-5 from the line. Scott finished two boards shy of a double-double, finding the net six times in 11 tries and hitting his lone free throw to tally 13 points. The Blue Hose bolstered their 50-plus percent shooting effort for the game with a 57.7 percent effort (15-for-26) in the second half.

Presbyterian outrebounded Winthrop, 35-29, including 14 offensive rebounds on their 29 misses that helped lead to 50 points in the paint and 13 second-chance points. Ferrell acknowledged the interior effort helped provide a key boost to his team.

“Rebounding, I believe, wins championships,” Ferrell said. “It’s something we emphasize and something we stress. It’s been our Achilles’ heel at times. Tonight, against a really physical team – a long, athletic, and tough team – to come in their building and rebound the way that we did played a big part in the outcome of the game.”

Talford had a strong rebounding night of his own, gobbling up 10 caroms to go with his 15-point effort to pace the Eagles. The Great Falls, S.C., native also drew 10 fouls from Presbyterian defenders, hitting 3-of-4 tries from the line to go with his 6-of-9 night from the field. Anumba added 13 to join Talford in double figures. The Eagles shot 43.1 percent (22-for-51), despite an icy 8-for-29 (27.6 percent) in the second stanza. Winthrop hit 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from distance and 6-of-12 (50 percent) from the stripe.

Winthrop resumes Big South play Saturday afternoon as it welcomes USC Upstate to Winthrop Coliseum. Tip time is set for 2 p.m., with streaming coverage over ESPN+. Presbyterian will be off until next Wednesday, when it travels to Spartanburg to visit the same Upstate team for the penultimate game of Big South play. The ball will go in the air in the Hodge Center in Spartanburg, S.C., at 7 p.m. ESPN+ will also stream that contest.

PRESBYTERIAN 78, WINTHROP 55

PRESBYTERIAN (13-16, 5-9 BIG SOUTH)

Scott 6-11 1-1 13, Barnett 7-11 4-5 19, Teel 9-15 1-3 22, Stewart 2-8 0-0 5, Reddish-Rhone 4-6 1-3 9, James 0-2 0-0 0, Pierce 1-2 1-1 3, Mincy 0-3 0-0 0, Parrish 3-3 0-0 7. Totals 32-61 8-13 78.

WINTHROP (16-12, 7-6)

Talford 6-9 3-4 15, Doucet 4-10 0-0 9, Anumba 4-8 3-4 13, Johnson 1-3 0-2 3, Harrison 2-7 0-0 4, McMahon 2-8 0-0 5, Claxton 0-0 0-0 0, Timmerman 3-6 0-0 6, Diallo 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 22-51 6-12 55.

Halftime:  Presbyterian 43-36. 3-Point goals:  Presbyterian 6-19 (Barnett 1-4, Teel 3-7, Stewart 1-5, James 0-1, Mincy 0-1, Parrish 1-1), Winthrop 5-19 (Doucet 1-6, Anumba 2-4, Johnson 1-2, Harrison 0-2, McMahon 1-5). Fouled out:  NA.  Rebounds:  Presbyterian 35 (Scott 8), Winthrop 29 (Talford 10). Total fouls:  Presbyterian 17, Winthrop 15. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  Presbyterian 17, Winthrop 11.  Points in the paint:  Presbyterian 50, Winthrop 34.  Second-chance points:  Presbyterian 13, Winthrop 13.  Fast-break points:  Presbyterian 11, Winthrop 5.  Bench points:  Winthrop 11, Presbyterian 10.