Georgia Southern fends off late Winthrop flurry in Rock Hill Classic

 

Adante' Holiman led Georgia Southern with 23 points in Saturday's Eagle victory. (Photo:  Georgia Southern Athletics)

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ROCK HILL, S.C. – There are few more frustrating words in the dictionary than “almost”. For Winthrop, though, it was the word of the day Saturday in the Rock Hill Classic.

Not even 24 hours after the Eagles scored a wild comeback victory on a Bryce Baker corner three, Winthrop found itself in a spot to pull out another. Lightning would not strike twice, though, leaving Winthrop one bucket shy in an 89-87 Georgia Southern victory at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center.

“(This was) really disappointing,” Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said. “We were poor in assist-to-turnover ratio yesterday and awful today. We didn’t shoot the ball well yesterday and didn’t shoot well again today. You can’t continue to play with fire and hope that you can get a random bounce here and there. That’s just not reality in Division I basketball. We put ourselves in that situation.”

Winthrop (3-2) enjoyed a strong defensive sequence to start the game. The Eagles held Georgia Southern without a bucket for the first five minutes of the contest, though they could only claim a 6-0 lead through that sequence. Georgia Southern (4-1) used an 11-4 run over the next 2:20 to take an 11-10 advantage. The rest of the first half proved to be a back-and-forth affair that saw neither side claim a lead larger than five points. Georgia Southern took one of those five-point advantages to the interval, holding a 39-34 halftime lead.

The predatory bird battle gained steam in the second 20. Georgia Southern scored nine of the first 13 points of the second half, stretching its lead to 10. Winthrop continued to battle and make shots, but struggled to draw closer than eight points. The homestanding Eagles used a 9-4 surge capped by a K.J. Doucet three to snip the Georgia Southern lead to five. Doucet was assessed a technical, however, for making a gesture toward the Georgia Southern bench.

“Every play matters,” Prosser said. “We talk about it all the time. You lose the game by two in a game where you get a technical foul and you give them two points. Every play matters.”

The Georgia Southern lead again swelled to 13 with six minutes remaining before Winthrop went on a somewhat glacial burst in which it scored 12 of the next 17 to narrow the Georgia Southern margin to six with 2:15 remaining. As Winthrop ratcheted the pressure, star guard Kasen Harrison guided the Eagle comeback. Harrison was responsible for 11 of 14 Winthrop points in a late stretch that helped fuel the frenetic pace.

“He’s an elite paint toucher,” Prosser said of Harrison. “He’s unselfish to a fault. He’s just such a team-first kid. He was really good today and very good defensively. Especially at the defensive end of the floor, we need more to join him.”

The agonizing drain of Georgia Southern’s lead continued. Following two Harrison free throws, Winthrop forward Yoro Diallo pilfered an inbounds pass and threw home a dunk, cutting the Georgia Southern lead to just three. Nate Brafford hit two free throws for Georgia Southern with 40 seconds to play, followed by two Doucet free throws for Winthrop that again reduced the lead to just three.

Harrison would then convert a layup that would bring Winthrop within a point. After Adante’ Holiman made a free throw, there was a contested play under the Winthrop basket that looked as if it would give the Eagles back the ball with 1.7 seconds remaining. After review, the initial call on the floor awarding the ball to Winthrop was reversed. Georgia Southern then ran off the remaining time.

“Nope,” Prosser said when asked after the game whether or not he received an explanation for the long review delay and reversal. “My understanding is that, if it’s not obvious, you don’t change the call on the court. If you spent 45 minutes over there looking at it, then apparently, it’s not that obvious. At the end of the day, you have no recourse. They just make a decision, and there’s literally nothing you can do.”

“We need more complete efforts,” Prosser continued. “You can’t win games with five assists and 20 turnovers. You can’t. You can’t win games going 3-for-16 from the three-point line. You can’t. We’ve either got to step up and make plays, or we’re going to have to change how we play. We need some dudes to start ringing the bell when the opportunity presents itself.”

Holiman led Georgia Southern’s scorers with 23 points on a 5-for-12 effort from the floor and 10-for-11 from the line. Three Eagles joined Holiman in doubles, led by Nakavieon White’s 15 on 6-for-11 from the deck. Dontae Horne added 11, while Eren Banks contributed 10. The visiting Eagles shot 44.1 percent (30-for-68) from the field and 71.4 percent (20-for-28) from the line. Georgia Southern made just 30 percent (9-for-30) from distance. The Eagles recorded 46 bench points and 42 points in the paint.

Harrison paced Winthrop’s offensive effort with 24 on 6-of-8 shooting and 12-for-13 from the stripe. Doucet and Kelton Talford each added 18, both key components of the Eagles’ 42 paint points. Doucet tallied a double-double with 10 boards, while Talford added six. Winthrop shot 47.1 percent (24-for-51) from the floor, including 61.5 percent (16-for-26) in the second half. The Eagles shot just 18.8 percent (3-for-16) from beyond the arc. Winthrop tied its all-time record for free throws attempted in a game with 49, a mark it last equaled against Methodist University in November of 1986. Winthrop made 36 of its tries (73.5 percent) from the line.

Winthrop and Georgia Southern both return to action Sunday afternoon in the finale of the Rock Hill Classic. Georgia Southern opens play at noon against William & Mary, while Winthrop battles NC Central after the conclusion of the first game. Both games will be streamed via ESPN+.

GEORGIA SOUTHERN 89, WINTHROP 87

GEORGIA SOUTHERN (4-1)

Douglas 3-10 1-2 8, Brown III 3-7 1-2 8, White 6-11 2-2 15, Banks 4-7 0-0 10, Brown 1-4 0-0 2, Horne 3-10 4-6 11, Holiman 5-12 10-11 23, Smith 1-1 2, Brafford 0-1 2-4 2, Parker 4-5 0-1 8. Totals 30-68 20-28 89.

WINTHROP (3-2)

Talford 5-9 8-9 18, Harrison 6-8 12-13 24, Doucet 6-11 4-9 18, Kamarad 0-1 0-0 0, Baker 2-6 0-2 5, Jolly 1-2 0-0 2, Jones 2-5 2-2 6, Diallo 1-2 1-2 3, Johnson 1-6 4-6 6, Hamilton 0-0 2-2 2, Duncomb 0-1 3-4 3. Totals 24-51 36-49 87.

Halftime:  Georgia Southern 39-34. 3-Point goals:  Georgia Southern 9-30 (Douglas 1-4, Brown III 1-4, White 1-4, Banks 2-3, Horne 1-5, Holiman 3-9, Brafford 0-1), Winthrop 3-16 (Talford 0-1, Doucet 2-4, Kamarad 0-1, Baker 1-5, Jolly 0-1, Jones 0-2, Johnson 0-2). Fouled out:  White (GASO), Banks (GASO), Brown (GASO), Parker (GASO), Talford (WU)  Rebounds:  Winthrop 41 (Doucet 10), Georgia Southern 38 (Brown III 8). Total fouls:  Georgia Southern 34, Winthrop 21. Technicals:  Doucet (WU).

Points off turnovers:  Georgia Southern 23, Winthrop 16.  Points in the paint:  Georgia Southern 42, Winthrop 42. Second-chance points:  Georgia Southern 8, Winthrop 4.  Fast-break points:  Winthrop 24, Georgia Southern 4.  Bench points:  Georgia Southern 46, Winthrop 22.