Box Score Charlotte, N.C. – Winthrop men's basketball suffered a 79-58 loss to top-seeded Longwood in the 2022 Hercules Tires Big South Championship game, Sunday afternoon inside Bojangles Coliseum.
WINTHROP (23-9, 14-2 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
LONGWOOD (26-6, 15-1 Big South)
STAT LEADERS
- Isaiah Wilkins (19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals)
- Nkereuwem (11 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal)
- Hill (9 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals)
FIRST HALF
- Jesper Granlund opened up the scoring with a corner three for an early Longwood lead (18:32)
- A couple of possessions later Drew Buggs put Winthrop on the board with a reverse lay-up
- Turnovers were the story in the early going as the Eagles opened the game 1-for-4 from the floor and four turnovers in the first five minutes
- Longwood took advantage as a second-chance point from Jordan Perkins had the Lancers on top 9-2 with 14:17 left
- The Eagles trailed 12-6 with 12:48 left in the half as D.J. Burns Jr. boarded a Patrick Good miss behind the arc and finished with the finger roll
- A quick 5-0 spurt put the Lancers on top 17-6, forcing a Winthrop timeout
- A deflection on defense by Micheal Anumba went right to Zac Watson in the paint and he quickly dropped in a short floater followed by a three from Isaiah Wilkins with 11:07 remaining
- Out of the timeout Anumba went right to the rim and was fouled as he knocked down two free throws to bring the deficit back to single-digits at 17-8
- Cory Hightower scored off a drive down the lane to cut it to down to seven
- After two good defensive stops by the Eagles forcing turnovers, Longwood scored on three possessions starting with a Nate Lliteras three and capped off with a Justin Hill triple in transition to lead 25-10 with 7:32 left forcing a Winthrop timeout
- The run extended to 10-0 as Perkins finished at the other end off an Eagle turnover
- Winthrop stopped the run as Burns Jr. hit Chase Claxton baseline for a contested dunk to trail 27-12 with 6:45 left
- A Burns Jr. jumper at 5:40 had it to 13, but the Lancers went on a 7-0 run for a 34-14 lead
- Longwood led 45-27 at the break as it shot 60 percent from the floor, 8-of-10 behind the arc
- The Eagles shot 42 percent from the floor (2-of-10 from three) and committed 11 turnovers that led to 22 Lancer points
SECOND HALF
- Burns Jr. opened up the second half scoring inside as the Eagles pulled within 15 to force a Longwood timeout after another Burns Jr. basket on the fast break
- Lancers came out of the timeout on a 13-0 run over the course of nearly five minutes and led 62-34 with 13:21 to play
- Neither team scored the next few minutes until Burns Jr. ended the Longwood run with two free throws with 10:47 remaining
- The Burns Jr. free throws sparked a 12-4 run by the Eagles as he scored on a second chance with a soft hook
- Following a Longwood basket Patrick Good and Russell Jones Jr. hit threes on back-to-back possession and Claxton finished at the rim after a Burns Jr. offensive rebound to get the Eagles within 18 with 8:30 left
- Winthrop did cut the deficit to 16 points on an Anumba three with 2:16 to play that was is close as it would get
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop finished the game shooting 41 percent as it was 6-of-24 behind the arc
- Despite missing 10 of its final 13 shots Longwood shot 53 percent from the field and 10-of-17 from three
- Winthrop was 10-of-11 at the foul line while Longwood finished 13-of-17
- Eagles committed 19 turnovers in the game that led to 32 points for the Lancers
- Lancers outrebounded Winthrop 31-26 as both teams finished with nine rebounds each (Eagles had 12-8 edge in second chance points)
- Winthrop started the game 5-of-17 from the floor while Longwood hit 14 of its first 22 field goal attempts
NOTABLES
- Winthrop's win streak came to an end at 10 straight, the 7th longest streak in program history
- Head coach Mark Prosser led the Eagles to the title game in his first season and has more wins by a first-year head coach in Big South history (23)
- Prosser moved ahead of Randy Peele (UNCG in 2007-08) and Jeff Meyer (Liberty in 1991-92)
- Cory Hightower was voted to the Big South All-Tournament Team
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).
