BUIES CREEK, NC— Xavier Cooks and
Jimmy Gavin each scored 23 points to lead second-seeded Winthrop to an 82-69 victory over #6 Gardner-Webb, Saturday afternoon to advance to its third straight Big South Conference Championship game.
The victory pushes the Eagles to 23-8 on the year as the win total matches the third most in the history of the program. Gardner-Webb falls to 17-16 on the year. Winthrop will face fourth-seeded UNC Asheville in the conference championship game on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Cooks and Gavin had a hand in Winthrop's 12-4 run that opened up the first double-figure lead for either team with 12:04 to play.
Keon Johnson started the run with a three and then Gavin and Cooks knocked down two free throws each for a 49-42 lead. Dylan Poston knocked down a jumper to cut it back to five before Gavin scored five straight for the 10-point advantage.
From that point the Eagles were able to hold off the Runnin' Bulldog as they did make it a four-point game with 3:30 left but Cooks stepped up and draught a straight away three to make it a three possession game.
Cooks and Gavin were joined in double-figures by Johnson with 14 points and
Duby Okeke with 11 points. Okeke also finished with eight rebounds and five blocks as he set a new single-season record in blocks with 70. Okeke passed Josh Grant's record of 66 set in the 2002-03. Cooks finished the game 7-for-13 from the floor and hit four threes while Gavin was 7-for-19 and 6-for-6 at the line.
Joshua Davenport played a key role off the bench for the Eagles as he scored seven points and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds.
Tyrell Nelson recorded a double-double of 24 points and 11 boards to lead Gardner-Webb. L'Hassane Niangane also had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds while Harold McBride had 16 points.
With the score tied at the half, Winthrop raced out to a seven-point advantage in the first three and a half minutes. Cooks started the half with a tip-in after a missed three from
Bjorn Broman and then
Zach Price spun on the baseline to open up space to the basket as he flushed it home for a quick four-point lead. Following an Okeke layup the Eagles grabbed the seven-point lead on a Johnson three, allowing the Eagles to gain their first bit of separation in the contest.
Winthrop finished the game holding Gardner-Webb to 35 percent shooting, which is the third straight opponent it held under 40 percent. The Eagles shot 44 percent in the game, including a second half effort of 60 percent. While the Runnin' Bulldogs controlled the glass and had a 30-12 advantage in second-chance points the Eagles finished the game 25-for-30 at the foul line.
The game was tied 29-29 at the half as both teams struggled from the floor. The Eagles shot 31 percent from the floor and were 4-for-12 from three while Gardner-Webb shot 30 percent and was 3-for-10 behind the arc. Gardner-Webb had a decisive edge on the boards in the first 20 minutes, snagging 11 offensive boards and converting nine second-chance points.
Cooks knocked down a triple to start the scoring for both teams as Gardner-Webb answered with an 8-0 run. The Runnin' Bulldogs pushed their lead to 12-6 and led 15-9 after an Isaiah Ivey three with 11:57 to play in the half. Winthrop reeled off seven straight points and turned into a 14-4 run to take a 23-19 lead with just under six left after Cooks knocked down an elbow jumper. The run started with Davenport scoring inside and then Gavin drove and scored off glass to make it a two-point game before he drilled a pull-up three for the 16-15 lead.
Gardner-Webb came right back with back-to-back baskets from Nelson and Niangane to take back the lead 19-16. Cooks sparked a 7-0 spurt as he drilled a three and then hit the jumper from the elbow for the four-point advantage.
Brandon Miller broke a 25-25 tie with two and half minutes left with a couple of buckets inside before Okeke scored the final four points for the Eagles to tie the game at the half.
