Winthrop leads wire-to-wire, puts away Charleston Southern

 Winthrop guard Sin'Cere McMahon tallied 13 off the bench and hit a trio of threes in Winthrop's Wednesday win. (Photo:  Winthrop Athletics)

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ROCK HILL, S.C. – In its 40-plus years of existence, Winthrop Coliseum has played host to many classic games and fantastic finishes.

Wednesday night was not one of those.

Still, nothing turns a crayon drawing into a Picasso like a victory, and Winthrop took away something to proudly display on its refrigerator. Winthrop held Charleston Southern to 6-for-35 shooting in the first half and got 14 from Nick Johnson to pace three double-digit Eagle scorers in a 67-46 decision before an announced crowd of 1,894.

“It was a necessary response,” Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said. “They’ve been playing really well. They had a couple big wins. They came in with a lot of confidence. We knew it was going to be a dogfight. It may have been, honestly, the most physical game I’ve seen all year.”

“Our effort in the first half, I think, carried us throughout. We needed it.”

Winthrop (15-10, 6-4 Big South) led wire-to-wire against the short-handed Bucs, but the Eagles did not get off to a dazzling start. Winthrop hit just one of its first 10 shots against the visitors, while the game stayed knotted at four seven minutes into the contest. The Eagles quickly heated up, though, unfurling a 17-2 run over the next six-and-a-half minutes to take a 21-6 lead. The more the Eagles scored, the more their defense forced the Bucs into tough shots. The Bucs missed 11 in a row and 17-of-18 as Winthrop built its lead.

Charleston Southern (8-15, 4-6) canned just two of its final 10 first-half shots, while Winthrop hit five of its final six. This allowed the Eagles to take a 35-13 advantage to the interval. Though Winthrop shot just 38.7 percent (12-for-31) in the opening stanza and 30.8 percent (4-for-13) from three, its defense limited Charleston Southern to just 6.3 percent (1-for-16) from distance in the period and allowed zero trips to the line by the visitors.

Prosser was matter-of-fact in his assessment of Charleston Southern, despite the numbers.

“They have good players,” Prosser said. “They’re good.”

The deep first-half deficit would prove too much for Charleston Southern to overcome. The Bucs clipped the Winthrop margin to 21 to start the second period, but Winthrop quickly opened a 10-2 run and expanded its lead to 29. Charleston Southern trailed by as many as 31 before putting together a 15-2 burst that slowly drained the Winthrop lead to 18. CSU could advance no further, though, as Winthrop ran out the clock and put the finishing touches on the victory.

Prosser credited Charleston Southern’s physicality and continued battling through having just eight available players.

“They were physical at the point of attack on ball screens. They were physical in the post,” Prosser said. “I thought we responded well. I thought our pace and our depth really kept them from getting back in the game. I’m proud of our guys and I’m proud of their effort, especially coming out of our last couple weeks.”

The win, combined with other results around the Big South, firmly placed the Eagles in fourth place in the league and one-half game behind Gardner-Webb. Winthrop now finds itself two games ahead of the Bucs, who are in fifth place. Winthrop now heads to the Old Dominion for a pair of league road games, starting with league rival Longwood Saturday afternoon.

“They’re all difficult,” Prosser said. “It’s going to be difficult on the road, like it always is. It’s going to be one or two possessions, like it always is. We better be ready for another physical game. It was a great game here (earlier this season) that could have gone either way, so we better make sure we have our antennas up.”

Johnson’s 14 points came in 23 minutes of reserve duty. The transfer guard dropped 6-of-10 attempts from the deck, providing a spark to a Winthrop side that needed the boost. K.J. Doucet and Sin’Cere McMahon each contributed 13, putting home five combined threes and helping key Winthrop offensive bursts. Winthrop finished the game 25-for-59 (42.4 percent) from the field but managed just two threes outside of Doucet and McMahon’s output.

The Eagles contributed 38 bench points – 27 from Johnson and McMahon – to their total. Winthrop doubled Charleston Southern’s 18-point paint output.

Quentin Bolton tallied 13 to top the Buccaneers’ ledger. Taje Kelly added 11. Both CSU players hit 5-of-15 tries from the field and collected double-doubles. Kelly vacuumed 13 caroms, while Bolton snared 10. CSU also attempted 59 shots but put home just 17 of them in a 28.8 percent shooting effort. The Bucs hit 21.7 percent (5-for-23) from deep.

Winthrop next travels to the Joan Perry Brock Center in Farmville, Va., to square off with Longwood. Tip time is set for 3:00 (Eastern) Saturday, with streaming coverage over ESPN+. Charleston Southern is off Saturday before hosting Gardner-Webb next Wednesday. That contest in the Buc Dome is set for a 7:00 tip, with streaming also available on ESPN+.

WINTHROP 67, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 46

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (8-15, 4-6 BIG SOUTH)

Clinton 1-8 1-2 3, Kelly 5-15 1-2 11, Thompson 4-6 0-0, Duhart 0-1 0-0 0, Bolton 5-15 1-2 13, Patrick 2-11 0-0 6, Days 0-3 4-4 4. Totals 17-59 7-10 46.

WINTHROP (15-10, 6-4)

Anumba 2-4 2-3 6, Talford 3-7 0-1 6, Harrison 0-3 0-0 0, Doucet 5-13 1-2, Claxton 1-2 1-2 4, McMahon 4-9 2-2 13, Diallo 0-3 0-0 0, Johnson 6-10 2-2 14, Howard 0-0 0-0 0, Van Bibber 1-2 0-0 3, Harrison 0-0 0-0 0, Timmerman 3-6 2-2 8. Totals 25-59 10-14 67.

Halftime:  Winthrop 35-13. 3-Point goals:  Winthrop 7-24 (Anumba 0-1, Harrison 0-1, Doucet 2-6, Claxton 1-2, McMahon 3-8, Diallo 0-1, Johnson 0-3, Van Bibber 1-2), Charleston Southern 5-23 (Clinton 0-1, Kelly 0-1, Thompson 1-2, Duhart 0-1, Bolton 2-9, Patrick 2-8, Days 0-1). Fouled out:  NA.  Rebounds:  Charleston Southern 42 (Kelly 13), Winthrop 39 (Doucet 8). Assists: Winthrop 14 (Harrison 5), Charleston Southern 6 (Kelly 2). Total fouls:  Charleston Southern 17, Winthrop 12. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  Winthrop 13, Charleston Southern 6.  Points in the paint:  Winthrop 36, Charleston Southern 18.  Second-chance points:  Charleston Southern 14, Winthrop 9.  Fast-break points:  Winthrop 12, Charleston Southern 7.  Bench points:  Winthrop 38, Charleston Southern 10.