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ROCK HILL, S.C. – Longwood coach Griff Aldrich –understandably
-- didn’t have much to say after Saturday’s Big South Conference game at
Winthrop. What he did say, though, told the story.
“We got out-competed. We got out-toughed,” Aldrich said. “We
had a group who just showed up, but didn’t show up to try to win the game. We were
lethargic. Credit Winthrop. They came with energy and juice, and not only were
we not trying to match it, we weren’t close.”
Winthrop controlled the contest wire-to-wire Saturday,
leading by as many as 26 points in a dominant, 95-76 victory before an
announced crowd of 2,004 at Winthrop Coliseum.
“I thought, as a collective, we were ready to go today,”
Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said. “A lot of that comes from (guard) Kasen
(Harrison), (forward Kelton Talford), (guard) Nick (Johnson), K.J. (Doucet),
and those guys as leaders over the last couple of days. Our readiness and the
things that we talked about pre-game or we talked about post-game (Wednesday,
after a loss at Gardner-Webb) – we had a different look in our eyes today. They
want to be special – all of them. They played with a different sense of
desperation today. We competed, and that’s the biggest thing.”
Winthrop (12-7, 2-2 Big South) fittingly took the lead it
would never relinquish on an early three by the player who would dominate the
first half. Freshman Paul Jones splashed a triple just over a minute into the
game, marking the first three of the 22 points he would score in the opening
stanza. The Eagles and Lancers embarked on their customary battle, with the
next 10-plus minutes a tug-of-war that allowed the Eagles a lead of between
three and five for much of that stretch.
Winthrop then let loose the run that arguably broke the
Lancers. Nick Johnson dropped a pair of free throws and put home a layup, then
a Jones three capped a 7-0 burst that put Winthrop ahead 12 with 8:32 to play
in the period and induced an Aldrich timeout. The onslaught continued despite
the respite, with the Eagles closing the first half on a 30-12 burst that gave
the home side a 53-30 advantage at the interval.
“If some of Mike (Christmas)’s shots and Angelo (Brizzi)’s
shots had gone in early, maybe we get some juice or something,” Aldrich said. “Their
approach was that they were coming out hungry trying to win a game. We were
not. That’s what happens in this conference. If you don’t come ready to compete
and battle, you’re going to get popped.”
Longwood (13-6, 2-2) responded with a burst of its own as
the second half got underway. Colby Garland booked a pair of buckets, Kyrell
Luc hit a pair of threes, and Brizzi was good on a layup that sparked a 17-6
Lancer run which sliced the Eagle margin to 15 with 15:47 to play.
That run, though, proved to be a bit of a mirage.
K.J. Doucet splashed a three, Kelton Talford threw down a
forceful dunk, and Jones converted a layup to push the lead back to 22. The
lead would eventually stretch back to 24 on a Nick Johnson three. Longwood could never again draw closer than
16, as Winthrop shot 55.6 percent in the second stanza and prevented the
Lancers from gaining much ground.
“I thought we played harder in the second half,” Aldrich
said. “I thought we were more aggressive and more attacking. We were just out
there playing in the first half. There wasn’t a whole lot of physicality to our
game. We were very low-urgency.”
“You better play and be ready to go against that team,”
Prosser said. “They’re experienced. They’re very well-coached. Our attention to
detail over the last couple of days, our sufficient aggravation and
disappointment from the last calendar week leading into today has been present.
They were ready to go. Hopefully, that’s a sign of things to come.”
Jones finished with 24, just one off his career-high from
earlier this season against Averett. The freshman from Suffolk, Va., found the
net on 9-of-14 tries Saturday, including 6-of-11 from beyond the arc.
“It’s been such a high growth curve for him, especially at
the defensive end of the floor,” Prosser said of Jones. “He’s wired to score.
He scores like he breathes. He’s really – and this started before the season –
is committed to the defensive end of the floor. He loves basketball. He’s got such
a huge career ahead of him. He’s been terrific and he was terrific today.”
Three other members of Winthrop’s “leadership council”
joined Jones in double figures. Talford tallied 17 points and finished one
rebound shy of a double-double, while Johnson registered 16 and boarded seven
misses. Harrison also narrowly missed a double-double, scoring 14 points and
dishing nine of Winthrop’s 14 helpers – a career-high in assists for the Texas
native.
“To me, it’s just all about making my teammates better and
getting wins,” Harrison said. “I don’t care if I have zero points and we win.
It’s a win for everybody. The win is more important than points and stuff like
that.”
Winthrop shot 56.7 percent (34-for-60) on the day, with a
48.3 effort (14-for-29) from distance. The Eagles scored 40 of their points in
the paint and added 16 points on second chances.
Luc paced the Lancers with 18, knocking down 5-of-9 from the
deck and 6-of-9 from the stripe. Garland made 6-of-14 to add 15 points to his
team-leading six boards, while Brizzi connected on 5-of-9 to total 13. Longwood
shot 41.4 percent (24-of-58) from the field, adding 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) from
distance. The Lancers hit 14-of-30 (46.7 percent) in the second stanza.
The sides return to conference action later in the week.
Winthrop hosts Charleston Southern Wednesday evening in a 6:30 (Eastern) tip.
Streaming coverage will be available over ESPN+. Longwood welcomes High Point
to the Joan Perry Brock Center in Farmville, Va., for the league’s Thursday
night Wildcard game. Tip time is set for 7:00, with coverage on ESPNU.
WINTHROP 95, LONGWOOD 76
LONGWOOD (13-6, 2-2 BIG SOUTH)
Christmas 2-7 2-2 8, Tucker 0-1 0-0 0, Luc 5-9 6-9 18,
Garland 6-14 2-2 15, Brizzi 5-9 2-4 13, Nziemi 2-3 4-4 8, McClurg 2-6 0-0 6,
Jefferson 1-2 0-0 3, Benard 1-3 3-3 5, Hicks 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-58 19-24 76.
WINTHROP (12-7, 2-2)
Talford 7-10 3-4 17, Doucet 2-3 0-0 6, Jolly 2-3 0-0 6
Jones 9-14 0-0 24, Harrison 6-12 2-3 14, Wilson 2-2 0-1 5, Johnson 4-8 6-8 16,
Hamilton 0-1 0-2 0, Baker 2-6 0-0 5, Duncomb 0-1 2-2 2, Diallo 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 34-60 13-20 95.
Halftime: Winthrop 53-30. 3-Point
goals: Winthrop 14-29 (Doucet 2-3, Jolly 2-3, Jones 6-11, Harrison
0-2, Wilson 1-1, Johnson 2-5, Baker 1-4), Longwood 9-21 (Christmas 2-5, Luc
2-3, Garland 1-4, Brizzi 1-2, McClurg 2-3, Jefferson 1-1, Benard 0-3). Fouled
out: Doucet (WU). Rebounds: Winthrop 38
(Talford 9), Longwood 29 (Garland 6). Total fouls: Winthrop 20,
Longwood 19. Technicals: NA
Points off turnovers: Winthrop 16, Longwood 11. Points
in the paint: Winthrop 40, Longwood 28. Second-chance
points: Winthrop 16, Longwood 7. Fast-break
points: Winthrop 9, Longwood 5. Bench points: Winthrop
28, Longwood 22.
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