Box Score
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ASHEVILLE, NC— The Winthrop men's basketball team fell 69-56 to UNC Asheville, Wednesday night at Kimmel Arena in Big South Conference men's basketball action.

With the loss, the Eagles fall to 10-12 overall and 4-6 in the Big South. Winthrop has now lost eight straight games on the road in league games. UNC Asheville captures its sixth straight win and is now 14-10 overall and 8-2 in the league.

The Eagles led at the half, but the lead got away from them in the second half as Asheville was relentless going to the basket and getting the ball inside as it finished with a huge advantage at the foul line. The Bulldogs finished 28-for-32 at the line, which included 23-for-24 in the second half. It is the first time an opponent has attempted that many free throws against Winthrop all season. The Eagles struggled at the foul line going 11-for-19.

“I think the difference in the second half was we fouled too much on defense and they were constantly taking the ball out of the net,” said head coach Pat Kelsey. “Instead of us getting stops with the ball clinking off the iron and the ball landing in our hand and us going to get offense on the other end the ball was constantly being taken out of the net either on a made field goal or free throw.”

After a Gideon Gamble runner in the lane cut the lead to 55-49 with 6:50 to play, the Bulldogs responded by outscoring Winthrop 14-7 the rest of the way.
Derrick Henry led the Eagles as he managed 15 points for the third straight game as he also had six rebounds. Larry Brown finished in double-figures with 11 points and also had six rebounds.  

The two teams battled over the course of the first nine minutes of the second half until a 7-0 run by the Bulldogs gave them a 50-41 lead after Jeremy Atkinson scores all seven points. Atkinson started the run by hitting a three-pointer with an Eagle defender in his face and then beat the Eagles down court for an easy lay-in. He completed the run with two free throws.

Winthrop came out defending with a lot of energy and worked its way to an early 8-2 lead at the 15:32 mark after a Henry. The two teams traded baskets for the next few minutes before Asheville pulled within four points after a tip-in by Jon Nwannunu with 9:50 left in the first.

At that point the Eagles responded with a 9-2 run for a 22-11 lead behind five points from Henry and four points from Bourne. After Bourne scored inside on a wide open lay-up off a nice feed from Reggie King, Asheville called a timeout. Then at the 6:28 mark half, Winthrop forced a loose ball that Joab Jerome and Asheville's D.J. Cunningham both chased down and jumped on. Both players started to shove each other after the play and after a crow surrounded the players, the referees issued technical fouls on both players. The stoppage in play put the brakes on the Eagles momentum as the Bulldogs went on a 16-6 run to end the half as the Eagles were able to hold on for a 28-27 lead at the break. Winthrop finished shooting 41 percent from the field in the first half while Asheville shot 39 percent.

“We always preach having a readiness,” said Kelsey. “We were ready to play when the ball went up. We were really defending. We were playing with a great deal of urgency and activity. Every one of their looks were challenged.”

Atkinson finished with 20 points as he was 8-for-9 from the foul line and also had five rebounds. Keith Hornsby finished with a game-high 21 points as he was 4-for-13 from the field, but 10-for-10 at the foul line.  

The Eagles return home for their next two contests beginning with Longwood on Saturday at 4 p.m. The game is part of a doubleheader with the women's basketball team, who is playing Campbell at 1 p.m.