Audio Higlights (Winthrop Sports Network)
Rock Hill, S.C. – Micheal Anumba led four Winthrop players in double-figures with 18 points to lead the Eagles to an 86-80 overtime victory over UNC Asheville, Thursday night inside the Winthrop Coliseum. .
WINTHROP (9-6, 2-0 Big South)
SCORING LEADERS
UNC ASHEVILLE (10-6, 2-1 Big South)
SCORING LEADERS
- LJ Thorpe (24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal)
- Drew Pember (23 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks)
- Trent Stephney (13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 steals)
FIRST HALF
- Asheville's Drew Pember opened the scoring by dropping in a trail three
- Bulldogs made four of the first seven shots to hold an early 10-8 advantage as Pember had seven of the points
- Both teams traded leads over the first nine minutes as Cory Hightower scored five straight points to get a 7-0 run and an 18-12 lead after Micheal Anumba followed a Kelton Talford miss with a second-chance layup
- Jamon Battle responded for the Bulldogs with a strong finish off the drive, but Drew Buggs buried corner three for the biggest lead of the half at 21-14
- Pember answered quickly with threes on consecutive possessions to cut the Winthrop lead to one
- An Anumba three with 4:49 left had the Eagles on top 29-27, but the Bulldogs regained the lead with seven straight points
- It started with a Tajion Jones triple on the left wing as he was fouled in the process and completed the four-point play for a 30-29 lead
- Then off a Winthrop turnover, Trent Stephney knocked down a three for a five point lead with 4:31 left in the half
- Eagles were able to grab the lead before the break, scoring the final six points
- All six points at the rim and the first four came off second-chances as Talford scored a layup off a miss and then Josh Corbin boarded his own miss and then drove and dished to Talford for the slam
- Eagles shot 53 percent from the floor to hold a 39-36 lead at the break while Asheville shot 48 percent
SECOND HALF
- There were six lead changes and the game was tied four times over the first 10 minutes of the second half
- Eagles used a 10-0 run to grab a 61-54 lead with 7:30 to play in the game
- The Bulldogs chipped away at the lead and eventually went ahead with 1:46 remaining
- The game was tied at 71-71 when Stephney came up with a steal that led to a layup by Battle on the other end for the lead
- Anumba drove the baseline and was fouled under the basket as he made both foul shots to tie the game again
- With a chance to take the lead, Asheville's LJ Thorpe lost the ball off the dribble near the top of the key and the Eagles came away with it for a chance to take the lead
- Winthrop ran the clock down and Buggs pulled up from three as it wound down but was off the mark and the ball landed in a crowd of players as it was battled back out and Buggs corralled the rebound
- Winthrop called timeout and out of the timeout Hightower got the ball and drove down the right side of the lane using a screen from D.J. Burns as he finished at the rim for the lead with 32.6 left
- After an Asheville timeout, Thorpe drove into the paint and spun back to the middle as he made a couple of fakes and then dropped in a one-handed floater with 16 seconds left
OVERTIME
- Neither team could score on its first few possessions of overtime, but the Eagles struck first as Hightower dropped in a runner
- Pember had a chance to give the Bulldogs a lead the possession before but he missed two free throws
- Patrick Good came away with a steal on the ensuing possession and the Eagles went down and scored for a four point lead as Burns Jr. spun his defender and released a shot that was blocked by Pember but he was whistled for goaltending as the Eagles led by four with 2:55 left
- Thorpe made it a one possession game after scoring off the drive
- After a Buggs missed jumper, the Bulldogs had a chance to tie or take the lead but the Winthrop defense stood tall
- Pember drove the ball to the rim but was rejected by Chase Claxton from behind as Pember boarded the miss
- Pember then went back up for the layup and Talford blocked the shot from behind to keep the two point lead
- On the following possession Buggs drove to the right side of the lane and flipped a pass backdoor to Claxton who finished with a flush for an 81-77 lead with 1:23 left
- Winthrop led by six when Thorpe cut that in half with a three-point play, but Good made 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to clinch the win
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Eagles finished the game shooting 53 percent as they shot 50 percent or better in each of the three periods
- Winthrop had four players in double-figures as Anumba led the team with 18 points (one shy of his career-best)
- Talford tied a career-high 16 points while Burns Jr. also had 16 points
- Hightower was the fourth Eagle in double-figures as he posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds (his second double-double of the day)
- Behind the arc the Eagles were just 4-of-17, but finished with a 60-30 advantage in points in the paint
- The teams combined for 35 turnovers and points off turnovers were nearly even as Winthrop had 20 and Asheville 19
- Asheville finished with no bench points while the Eagles had 25 points off the bench
- Buggs finished with a season-high seven assists
NOTABLES
- This was the 10th straight home win for the Eagles and have now one 21-of-22 at home
- Eagles have now won 11-of-12 at home against the Bulldogs
- Winthrop is 2-0 to start league play for a fourth straight year
- Eagles are 20-1 over the last three years in the month of January
- Despite a season-low four threes, the Eagles extended their streak to 300 straight games with a three-point basket
- With his seven assists, Buggs reached 550 career assists
- Anumba, who led the team in scoring with 18 points, did so in his 100th collegiate start
UP NEXT
Winthrop is hits the road to take on Charleston Southern on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 5:30 p.m.
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).
