-Listen To The Final Seconds Courtesy of Winthrop Sports Network
Rock Hill, S.C. – Kasen Harrison's layup with 7.1 seconds remaining in the game lifted Winthrop to a 62-60 comeback victory over UNC Asheville, Saturday afternoon at the Winthrop Coliseum.
WINTHROP (6-9, 1-1 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
UNC ASHEVILLE (9-6, 1-1 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
- Drew Pember (19 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 blocks)
- Tajion Jones (17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block)
- Fletcher Abee (8 points, 1 assist)
FIRST HALF
- Eagles had an early 3-2 lead thanks to a three from Howard Fleming Jr.
- Fletcher Abee answered with a three for the Bulldogs
- The teams went back and forth and a Kelton Talford basket inside cut the Asheville lead to 15-11 with 14:35 on the clock
- The Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run to open up a 22-11 lead with 12:59 left, forcing a Winthrop timeout
- Asheville hit nine of its first 13 shots to build the 11-point advantage
- Both teams combined for just one point over the next three minutes (a Chase Claxton free throw) and the Eagles chipped away at the deficit to pull within six after an offensive stick back by Claxton
- Asheville led 34-25 at the half thanks to a layup by Tajion Jones with seven seconds left
- The Bulldogs shot 48 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes while the Eagles shot 37 percent
SECOND HALF
- A three by Jones with 17:24 on the clock pushed the Bulldogs to a double-digit lead and started an 8-0 run that led to a Winthrop timeout as Asheville had its biggest lead at 15
- Neither team scored the next minute and 20 seconds until Toneari Lane drilled a three
- Jones came down and scored inside for Asheville but Lane buried another three to cut the deficit to 11 with 14:25 left
- On the play a technical foul was whistled on Asheville and Lane hit the free throw to make it a 46-36 lead for Asheville
- With 13:31 left Lane dribbled to the free throw line and hit a pull up jumper to get the Eagles within single-digits
- The teams were scoreless for the next three minutes until Drew Pember scored inside while he was fouled and completed the three-point play to extend the lead back to double-figures wth 11:37 to play
- It was an 11 point lead for Asheville with 8:33 to play when Talford scored four straight points to start a 6-0 spurt
- Claxton ended the spurt with a steal and then got the ball back in transition for the slam, drawing the Eagles within five points at 53-48 with 7:05 left
- Asheville led by seven with 4:40 left after Jones hit two free throws and then Harrison found Claxton on the wing for three with 4:22 to play
- With 3:10 to play, Harrison drove the lane and scored in traffic to make it a one possession game
- After an offensive rebound with 2:28 left, Claxton was fouled but missed the one-and-one
- Cory Hightower leaped up and collected the rebound off the miss and as he was falling to the ground flipped a pass to Lane at the top of the key and he drilled a three for the lead at 58-57
- Pember responded with another and one as he put the Bulldogs back on top, 60-58
- Harrison drove down the middle of the lane and scored to tie the game at 60-60 with 1:44 to play
- Winthrop forced a turnover and got a defensive stop and had the ball with 26 seconds left and a two second difference with the shot clock
- Harrison got the ball and after dribbling near mid court he took off down the lane and scored off the glass for the lead
- Trent Stephney's pull up three was off the mark as the Eagles held on for the win
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop hit 50 percent from the floor in the second half to finish at 44 percent for the game
- Asheville finished the game shooting 45 percent
- The Eagles and Bulldogs were dead even in the paint at 32 points each
- Both teams finished with seven threes as the Eagles were 7-of-24 and the Bulldogs were 7-for-22
- Winthrop dominated the boards 38-28 and finished with 12 offensive boards to just five for Asheville
- Eagles hit 13 of their final 21 shots in the game
- Winthrop had 10 turnovers and Asheville had nine as the Bulldogs had a 14-12 advantage in points off turnovers
- Talford led four Eagles in double-figures as Lane and Harrison had 12 while Claxton added 10
NOTABLES
- Winthrop's losing streak comes to an end at four games as the Eagles captured their six straight conference home opening victory
- The Eagles trailed by 15 points, the largest deficit overcome in a win since Nov. 13, 2021 against Mercer
- This was the third straight win over Asheville and the seventh in the last eight meetings
- This was the fifth straight meeting against the Bulldogs that was decided by six or fewer points
- This marks the 9th straight home win over a Big South opponent in a regular season matchup
- Talford extended his streak of scoring double-figures to 14 straight games
UP NEXT
Winthrop remains at home as it will look for a second straight win as it welcomes Presbyterian College to the Winthrop Coliseum on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED
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)
