ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop outlasted Coastal Carolina 65-63 in front of the first ever sellout crowd of 6,100 in the Winthrop Coliseum Saturday afternoon.
Trailing by seven with 7:06 to play, Winthrop (17-4, 7-0) began to chip away at the Chanticleers lead and knotted the score at 58 apiece with just over four minutes on the clock. The Eagles would take a brief 60-58 lead on their next possession after Taj McCullough stole a pass from Joshua Mack and slam dunked the Eagles into the lead with a tomahawk jam.
Mack gave Coastal Carolina (11-9, 4-3) the lead at 63-62 when he drained a 3-pointer with 2:51 remaining to set the stage for the final minutes of action.
McCullough would convert one of two free throws to tie the score at 63 and neither team would score over the next two minutes until Craig Bradshaw, who was the hero in last year’s Big South Conference Championship game finals win over Coastal, sank a free throw to put the Eagles ahead for good.
Coastal’s Jack Leasure had an opportunity to put the Chanticleers ahead but missed a jumper with 38 ticks on the clock and Chris Gaynor would make one of two free throws six seconds later to give Winthrop the 65-63 lead, setting up one last chance for the Chanticleers.
Steven Sexton took the inbounds pass and heaved the potential game-winner towards the basket but came up short and Joseph Harris’ putback attempt as time expired was no good and the Eagles extended their home court winning streak to 16 games.
Winthrop led 38-28 at the half, but the visiting Chanticleers stormed out of the locker room with an 18-7 run to take a five point lead with 12:00 minutes remaining.
Bradshaw led the Eagles with 18 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. The double-double was his first of the season and the second of his career. Michael Jenkins added 19 points including a 5-for-8 performance from behind the three-point line while Gaynor chipped in 12 points and a game-high five assists.
Coastal placed four players in double figures and were led by a strong 17 point effort from Leasure. Everage Richardson finished with a career-high 15 points and four assists while Mack and Moses Sonko added 14 and 12, respectively.
The undersized Chanticleers outrebounded the Eagles by four and held a 10-point edge in the paint with a 30-20 advantage in points in the paint. Winthrop forced 13 Coastal turnovers and turned them into 20 points.
Winthrop returns to action Wednesday night with a showdown against the nation’s highest scoring offensive team as it travels to Virginia Military Institute where tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Coastal returns to the hardwood Monday night at Charleston Southern.
