Birmingham, AL–Winthrop connected on a blistering 75 percent of its shots in the second half and Ivan Jenkins and Pierre Wooten combined for 43 points as the Eagles rallied for a 74-67 victory Sunday afternoon over Birmingham-Southern
The Winthrop win brought an end to the Panther’s eight-game home winning streak and marked only the second home loss for Birmingham-Southern in their last 18 home games–both to the Eagles. Even with the loss, the Panthers have still won 66 of their last 72 games in the Bill Battle Coliseum.
"I can’t explain the way we play here (Bill Battle Coliseum). It’s more indicative of the way our teams have played in the past. It’s gritty, ratty, coming up with loose balls and getting easy baskets in transition because of our defense," said Winthrop head coach Gregg Marshall. "The guys really wanted to play better here today. This team certainly had the energy and passion that we need early on.
With the Eagles sporting new road uniforms and Jenkins and Wooten hitting 14 of 20 field goals, including 11 from behind the 3-point line, the Eagles finished the game connecting on a season-high 60 percent (25-42). Jenkins scored a career-high 19 points and Wooten finished with 24 as Winthrop improved its season record to 8-7 while BSC dropped to 8-6. The game does not count in the Big South Conference standings since the Panthers are a provisional member of the conference and are not eligible for the league championship.
‘The new maroon uniforms certainly had a little magic in them today," said Marshall. "Pierre and Ivan were really dynamite in the backcourt and Josh Grant played really big and Gabe Leventis came in and gave us some real quality minutes. We are really please with this win. Not too many Big South teams are going to come in here and get a win."
After trailing 33-27 at halftime, Winthrop came out smoking in the second period. After a Grant Davis gave the Panthers a 35-27 lead just 23 seconds into the second half, Wooten helped lead a 11-0 run over the next two minutes that gave the Eagles a 38-35 lead. Wooten scored nine of the 11 during that run. Jenkins then went to work as he followed a Gabe Leventis basket with a 3-pointer and a layup to give Winthrop a 45-37 lead at the 14:21 mark. He then delivered a pass that led to a James Shuler three-point play as the Eagles took their largest lead of the game at 48-37 with 13:49 left to play.
Birmingham-Southern bounced back following a timeout and quickly retook the lead at 52-51 on two free throws by Josiah James. BSC went up 54-51 on a steal and dunk by James with 9:22 on the clock. Jenkins knotted the game at 54-54 seconds. After the lead exchanged hands two more times, Wooten gave the Eagles the advantage with a jumper with 6:16 remaining that put Winthrop up 59-58. The game was tied one final time at 60-60 before Marcus Cooke converted two free throws and followed that with a 17-footer to give Winthrop a 64-60 lead with 3:26 left to play. Jenkins gave the Eagles a six-point lead on a layup with 3:06 remaining and BSC could get no closer than five in the final 2:35.
