Rock Hill, S.C. – Micheal Anumba scored 10 of his 14 points in the final 9:26 of the game to help Winthrop to a 72-61 victory over Longwood, Thursday night inside the Winthrop Coliseum. The victory is the 17
th straight for the Eagles as they remain 1-of-9 unbeaten teams at the NCAA D1 level.
WINTHROP (12-0, 9-0 Big South)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
LONGWOOD (2-11, 2-7 Big South)
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- Justin Hill (15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal)
- Juan Munoz (11 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals)
- Zac Watson (7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal)
FIRST HALF
- Neither team shot the ball well in the early going but the Eagles inched their way to a 7-1 lead at the 16:10 mark
- The Eagles defense continued to contest shots and held the Lancers without a field goal until the 14:30 mark as Justin Hill knocked down a jumper over D.J. Burns Jr.
- In fact the Lancers were held to an 0-for-7 start from the floor and made just 2-of-15 to start the game
- After the teams traded baskets the Eagles led 11-5 following a Burns Jr. short jumper after an offensive board
- Both teams went scores the next two and a half minutes until Toneari Lane drilled a three from the right wing to put the Eagles up nine with a little over 11 minutes left in the half
- Another short jumper in the lane by Burns Jr. put the Eagles on top by double-figures at 16-5 with 9:16 on the clock
- Zac Watson ended a scoring drought that last a little over six minutes as he boarded a miss and finished inside
- Winthrop and Longwood traded baskets the next two minutes and then Longwood started as a tough finish in the lane by Charles Falden had the Eagles in front 22-11 with 7:06 left
- The lead was still double-figures with 4:43 left, but the Lancers chipped away as Hill started it off with a three-point play and then a free throw by Heru Bligen made it a six point contest with 2:44 remaining
- Winthrop did get the lead back to 10 points at 30-20 following two free throws from Falden only to have Bligen drain a three with 24 seconds left to push it back to single-digits
- The Eagles called timeout to set up a final play and as Chandler Vaudrin worked his way into the paint he slipped a pass to Kelton Talford who finished with a layup as time expired for a 32-23 lead at the break
- Winthrop shot 42 percent in the first half while holding Longwood to 27 percent
SECOND HALF
- Eagles pushed their lead to 14 points less than four minutes into the second half as Vaudrin and Adonis Arms scored back-to-back baskets to lead 42-28
- Longwood had an answer as it went on a 9-0 run to make it a four point game
- Bligen started the run with two free throws and then DeShaun Wade scored off a turnover and was fouled as he completed the three-point play to get the deficit to single-digits
- Juan Munoz hit a three with 13:16 to play to make it a two possession game
- Munoz then stole the ball and was fouled as he went to the line and made both as the lead was down to 42-38
- It was back-and-forth for the next few minutes and then Christian Wilson made two free throws as the Winthrop lead was down to two points at 46-44 with 10:55 to play
- At this point Micheal Anumba took over as he counter punched with a corner three and then two free throws as he scored five straight
- That sparked a 15-5 run over a six and a half minute span to pull away from the Lancers
- The Eagles went up 11 as Falden tipped in a missed three from Kyle Zunic and was fouled in the process as he made the free throw to lead 58-47 with 5:58 left
- Then two minutes later Anumba drove the lane, scored and was fouled as he knocked down the free throw to cap off the 15-5 run to lead 63-49 with just under four minutes to play
- Winthrop shot 54 percent from the floor in the second half while holding Longwood to 41 percent
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Each team only connected on four triples as the teams were a combined 8-for-37
- Winthrop finished the game shooting 47 percent while holding Longwood to 33 percent
- The Lancers got to the line 28 as they were 19-for-28 (68%) while the Eagles were 14-for-18 (79%)
- Winthrop dominated points in the paint 46-26 and managed 17 points off 15 Longwood turnovers
- Eagles edged the Lancers on the boards 39-38 as Longwood had 15 offensive rebounds
- Anumba led four Eagles in double-figures as Vaudrin had 13 while Burns Jr. and Adonis Arms added 10 each
- The Eagles had eight players score in the first half and led 32-23 at the half without any players in double-figures
NOTABLES
- The 17 straight wins is the 3rd longest win streak in program history and longest in the Pat Kelsey Era
- Winthrop is now one victory away from the second longest win streak in program history
- The Eagles are tied with Gonzaga for the nation's longest winning streak
- Kelsey now has 102 Big South wins all-time and is just two back of former Winthrop head coach Gregg Marshall (104)
- Winthrop has now won 11 straight Big South regular season games dating back to the 2019-20 season
- Winthrop had just four triples in the game, bringing a streak of 85 straight games with at least five made threes
- The last time Winthrop had less than five threes was Dec. 19, 2017 at VCU when it finished 3-of-25 behind the arc in a 69-55 loss
- Eagles scored a season-low 72 points, but allowed the fewest points they've allowed this season (previous low was 67 vs. UNC Greensboro)
- This was the 1,300th game played all-time by the Eagle program and 731st all-time win
- It was also the 175th victory in Kelsey's career, as he's now four back of Cliff Ellis for 4th all-time in Big South history
- Burns Jr. surpassed 500 career points and now has 509 in 45 games
To keep up with the latest news on the Winthrop men's basketball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter (@Winthrop_MBB), Instagram (@Winthrop_MBB) and Facebook (/WinthropEagles).
