Box Score
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CONWAY, SC— James Bourne's baseline jumper with four seconds to play in overtime gave Winthrop a 73-72 victory at Coastal Carolina, Saturday evening in Big South Conference men's basketball action.
Coastal Carolina had a chance to either tie or win the game with 2.5 seconds to play following the Bourne jumper but
Larry Brown stole the inbound pass to give the Eagles their second straight conference road win. The victory pushes the Eagles to 9-7 on the year overall and gives them their first 3-1 start in the Big South since 2007-08. Coastal Carolina falls to 9-9 overall and 2-2 in the league.
Elijah Wilson gave Coastal a 72-71 lead with 1:44 left in overtime and Winthrop wasn't able to respond right away as it missed two threes on the ensuing possession. That gave Coastal the ball back with just over a minute left. Michel Enanga drove the lane with just over 40 seconds left but
Joab Jerome stole the ball and then found Bourne on the other end for the game-winning basket.
"For our kids to bounce back and really, really have two phenomenal days of practice we're looking forward to a very, very high energy and excited bus ride back to Rock Hill," said Winthrop head coach
Pat Kelsey. "To James' credit that's the biggest shot of his Winthrop career. He doesn't make a living off making 15-footers. He got a wide open one and stepped up in a really, really big moment and he made it and I'm really happy and proud of James. I'm proud of all those guys. It was a hard fought win. It's tough to win on the road in a hostile environment. They made a big run and the crowd got into it. It got crazy in here and our kids responded."
Winthrop led 67-65 with 44 seconds left in regulation after
Andre Smith went 1-for-2 at the foul line and Coastal's Warren Gillis tied the game to force overtime on a tough turn-around jumper. The Eagles had trailed 61-55 after two free throws from Gillis with 6:18 left, but fought back with an 11-4 run over five and a half minutes to take a 66-65 lead with 1:09 to play after
Keon Johnson banked in a straight away three as the shot clock neared zero.
Out of the half, Winthrop scored the first five points and eventually worked its way to a 47-39 lead behind a couple of threes from
Keon Moore. The first came at the 14:53 mark when Moore buried a three in front of the Winthrop bench and then on the Eagles next possession he buried another from the same spot.
Coastal used a 13-2 run to take a 52-49 lead with around nine minutes left in regulation. After the Chanticleers took the three-point lead, Smith nailed a three to tie the game at 52-52.
Winthrop was slow out of the gate as it made just one of its first 10 field goal attempts and trailed 10-4. Even though the Eagles couldn't get shots to fall they were able to keep the Chanticleers within reach. With just over nine minutes to play in the half, Winthrop forced a turnover and Smith connected on a three to make it a two-point deficit at 14-12. Coastal responded with a Enanga three and Elijah Wilson made two free throws following a Winthrop turnover to make it 18-12.
Following Wilson's two free throws with 8:26 left, the momentum shifted in favor of the Eagles as they started to knock down shots. It started with a 9-0 run as Moore was responsible for all the points as he hit a straight on three and then drained two threes from the wing as Bourne found Moore open on both plays. The third three by Moore gave Winthrop its first lead at 21-19 with 6:18 left. Winthrop pushed the lead to 24-19 after
Keon Johnson drained a three from the wing with just under four minutes to play in the half.
A tough jumper around the elbow by Josh Cameron sparked an 8-1 run by Coastal as it regained the lead at 27-25 following a basket inside by Wilson as he followed his own miss. A baseline jumper by Smith tied the game at 27-27 where it remained at the break.
After shooting 41 percent in the first half the Eagles shot 57 in the second and finished the game at 48 percent and 12-for-27 behind the arc (44 percent). The Eagles held Coastal to 37 percent shooting for the game, but the Chanticleers were solid at the foul line going 21-for-27.
Moore led all scorers with a career-high 26 points as he was 9-for-17 from the field and 5-for-9 from three as he also had three rebounds and two steals. Johnson added 19 points while Smith chipped in with 12 points.
Gillis led three Chanticleers in double-figures with 19 points while Josh Cameron and Wilson added 17 points.
