Rock Hill, S.C.—Winthrop survived a triple-overtime thriller for a sixth straight victory in a 99-95 win over Gardner-Webb, Saturday evening in Big South Conference men's basketball action.
WINTHROP (10-7, 4-0 BIG SOUTH)
SCORING LEADERS
GARDNER-WEBB (5-11, 1-3 BIG SOUTH)
SCORING LEADERS
- Jose Perez (35 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal)
- Jaheam Cornwell (16 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals)
- Eric Jamison Jr. (12 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal)
FIRST HALF
- Gardner-Webb led 3-0 early when Hunter Hale buried a three and then scored at the rim with a short jumper for a 5-3 lead
- The team's traded baskets over the next few possessions and the Eagles led 11-10 after Kyle Zunic knocked down a short jumper in the lane
- Jose Perez's three put Gardner-Webb ahead 13-11 with 11:41 to play in the half and it led the rest of the half into the break
- Gardner-Webb on a couple of occasions extended its lead to six points and eight points with just seconds remaining in the half but Hale's jumper in the lane made it a six point game at the break
- The Runnin' Bulldogs made eight of their final 11 shots of the half to lead 37-31 at the half
- Despite a stretch of shooting 1-for-11, Winthrop shot 41 percent from the floor while Gardner-Web shot 52 percent
- Eagles were just 2-of-10 behind the arc and committed 10 turnovers that led to nine points for Gardner-Webb
SECOND HALF
- Much like the first half the second half was tight as neither team was able to
- Winthrop did find itself on top 69-64 with 1:04 to play, but a three from Jaheam Cornwall with 47 seconds left made it a one possession game
- Following a Winthrop miss with 18 seconds left, Gardner-Webb's Jose Perez scored at the rim off a pass from Cornwall as time expired to send the game to overtime at 69-69
- Winthrop shot 41 percent in the second half while Gardner-Webb hit 44 percent from the floor
OVERTIME
- Gardner-Webb led by six points in the first overtime with 18 seconds remaining after Eric Jamison Jr. made 1-of-2 free throws
- The Eagles ensuing possession Hale missed a three, but Charles Falden boarded the miss and kicked out to Chandler Vaudrin who pulled up for a straight away three and buried it as he was fouled in the process with seven seconds left
- Vaudrin missed the free throw but the ball tipped around and Hale grabbed the rebound, dribbled back to the corner and hit a turn around three to tie the game with just over two seconds left
- In the second overtime, the Eagles were down three with nine seconds left after Perez hit two free throws
- The Eagles looked to tie the game and Vaudrin had the ball in his hand but couldn't find anyone open so he pulled up from the right wing with a defender in his face and banked in the three with 2.2 seconds left to force a third overtime
- Eagles led by four points in the third overtime with 1:42 to play after Hale hit two free throws
- Justin Jenkins made it a three with 21 seconds to play to make it a one point game, but the Eagles answered as Vaudrin hit Ferguson slashing down the middle of the lane and he slammed it home for a 98-95 lead
- The Eagles held off the Runnin' Bulldogs with two defensive stops to earn the win
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop shot 40 percent for the game while Gardner-Webb shot 48 percent
- Winthrop won the battle of the boards 55-46 as the Eagles had 17 offensive rebounds and 16 second chance points
- Vaudrin's 24 points were a career-high as he also had five assists and two steals
- Hale posted his second 20-point game of the season as he also had seven rebounds and four assists
- Perez led all scorers with a career-high 35 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists
- Chase Claxton was the 4th Winthrop player in double-figures as he scored 11 points
- Winthrop finished with 10 threes in the game as it shot 28 percent behind the arc
NOTABLES
- The win is the sixth straight for the Eagles, their longest winning streak since February of 2018
- Winthrop has now won 11 of the last 12 meetings against Gardner-Webb
- This is the first 4-0 start to league play since the 2006-07 season
- It was the second triple overtime game in program history with the only other one coming on Feb. 15, 1979 at USC Spartanburg in a 90-87 victory
- Pat Kelsey now has 149 victories all-time, tying him for 6th all-time in Big South history with former Coastal Carolina head coach Russ Bergman and current Charleston Southern head coach Barclay Radebaugh
UP NEXT
Winthrop is back on the road as it heads to Hampton, VA on Thursday, Jan. 16 to take on Hampton at 7 p.m.
