Eagles survive scare from Presbyterian, eye championship redemption

By Josh Noel (@Josh_DDH)

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Despite trailing for less than four minutes of game action, the Winthrop Eagles found themselves with their backs against the wall late against Presbyterian. And once again, the Eagles delivered a closing effort that ultimately propelled them to a 73-71 victory over the Blue Hose. 

“I said yesterday that this team has taken us on an unbelievable ride. Today was no different,” said Winthrop head coach Mark Prosser. “The under-8 media timeout has been our rallying cry. Unfortunately, we keep getting ourselves to the point where we need that to be, but those guys don't accept defeat. They just keep playing.”

Kody Clouet led the Eagles with 17 points and Isaiah Wilson added 12 points. Logan Duncomb contributed 12 points, with eight of those coming at the free throw line, in only 11 minutes as he once again played a reserve role nursing an injured left foot.

Despite it being his first season in Rock Hill, Clouet has embraced the Winthrop way and a new role in his final stop along his collegiate career.

“This system is just fun to play in; it's just so free,” said Clouet. “Coach Prosser just gives you the utmost confidence to be just the player that he knows and recruits.” 

 

Wilson, his teammate, is a longer-tenured Eagle of three years who is looking to make it back to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in his career after beginning his career at Richmond.

 

“Isaiah is the ultimate winner,” said Prosser. “He doesn't care about stats and things like that. He's been here for a long timeand he aspires to do special things here. He already has, no matter what happens tomorrow.”

Clouet and Wilson catalyzed the Eagles to escape the clutches of a feisty Blue Hose comeback. After a Triston Wilson dunk cut the Winthrop lead to 64-63, Wilson was assessed a technical for taunting. The duo of upperclassman Eagles combined to score seven of Winthrop’s final nine points to establish enough cushion to prevail. Still, it took a Carl Parrish 3-pointer that missed wide as time expired for Winthrop to punch its ticket to Sunday’s championship game at noon. 

“I was having flash back to the game last night, especially when Parrish got the ball at the top,” said Prosser. “These have been unbelievable basketball games the last couple of days, so we probably need to take a breath to settle the heart rate down a little bit.”

Though the loss certainly stung, Presbyterian coach Quinton Ferrell exited Freedom Hall grateful for the season his Blue Hose shared with him.

“In my seven seasons at PC as the head coach, it was one of my more enjoyable teams,” said Ferrell. “We have the youngest roster to pick south and had a lot of adversity early with injuries. Our guys got shuffled around in different positions, but no matter how hard I came at them, I always knew they were trying the best.”

The Blue Hose’s semifinal appearance marked a first for the program in its history. It won just its second official Big South tournament game with Friday’s victory over Radford. Ferrell has his eyes set on greater things in seasons to come. 

“I came back to PC to get it to the NCAA Tournament, and I always told myself there's no timetable,” said Ferrell. “I'm going to fight the fight for as long as it takes, because I truly believe it will happen.”

 

That coveted spot in the NCAA Tournament is on the line Sunday for Winthrop, who will look to return to the big dance for the first time since 2021. The Eagles will face High Point in a rematch from last season’s Big South championship at noon on ESPN2. 

 

“A lot of guys were either in that locker room or are new to locker room and understand how close we were a year ago,” said Prosser. “It feels like it has been an eternity, but here we are.”

Clouet will play in his first Big South Tournament Championship game, but he fully understands how significant a conference-leading 13th championship would be. 

“Winthrop is a place where you expect to hang banners,” he said. “I wouldn't have it any other way. This is my last shot I need to get to the tournament. I'm just going out there, leaving everything I have, just trying to prove to everybody that doubted me along the way.”