Johnson City, Tenn. – A strong finish to the first half led to a 16-point halftime lead as Winthrop went on to earn an 86-67 victory over second-seeded UNC Asheville, Saturday afternoon at the 2025 Hercules Tires Big South Conference Championship. The win puts the Eagles in Sunday's Championship game at noon against High Point.

WINTHROP (23-10, 11-5 Big South)

• Nick Johnson (15 points, rebound, 2 assists, steal)
• Kasen Harrison (14 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists)
• Kelton Talford (14 points, 13 rebounds, assist)

UNC ASHEVILLE (21-11, 11-5 Big South)

• Toyaz Solomon (15 points, 8 rebounds, assist, steal)
• Kameron Taylor (14 points, 6 rebounds, assist, 2 blocks)
• Josh Banks (10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, block)

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FIRST HALF

• Bulldogs opened the scoring as Greg Gantt Jr. knocked down a jumper on the first possession of the game
• A dunk follow by Kelton Talford tied the game at 2-2 at the 18:07 mark
• Over the next three and a half minutes the only points came at the 18:03 mark as Toyaz Solomon tipped in his own miss to lead 4-2
• Gantt broke the drought by both teams with a score on the fast break to lead 6-2
• Winthrop's first three came at the 13:48 mark as Bryce Baker knocked it down to trail 8-6
• That was the start of four straight threes as each team answered the others
• Banks answered Baker's and then Baker followed with a three only to be matched by Banks as the Eagles trailed 14-9 at the 13:08 mark
• Isaiah Wilson scored on the break to make it a one possession game and ignited a 6-0 spurt to tie the game at 14-14 with 12:26 remaining in the half
• Asheville briefly regained the lead as Kameron Taylor drilled a three, but the Eagles had another run in them
• It started with Doucet going 1-of-2 at the foul line followed by a second chance three from Doucet for an 18-17 lead
• After an Asheville turnover the Eagles took advantage with a three from Paul Jones III to complete a 7-0 run to lead by four
• It was a two point lead for the Eagles when they went on another run, this time pushing the lead to double-digits
• Tommy Kamarad kicked off the run with a score off the drive followed by two free throws from Talford
• Kasen Harrison scored on a short pull up and then Logan Duncomb's tip-in put the Eagles up 29-19 with 8:11 left in the half
• Winthrop led by seven after a three from Fletcher Abee, but ended the half outscoring the Bulldogs 11-2 to lead 46-30 at the half
• The final six points came on three-pointers from Nick Johnson

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SECOND HALF

• Eagles wasted no time adding to the lead to start the second half as Doucet got to the rim for a score 18 seconds into the half
• Winthrop was able to keep the lead between 16-22 points over the first 12 and a half minutes of the second half to maintain a comfortable lead
• Bulldogs did get the lead down to 14 at the 7:02 mark and the 5:56 mark but a quick 8-0 run pushed the Eagles back in front by 22 and all but closed the door

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INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Winthrop shot 45 percent for the game as it was 13-for-26 from three while holding the Bulldogs to 39 percent shooting and just 6-for-24 from three
• Eagles finished with a 42-35 advantage on the glass that included 15 offensive rebounds that led to 22 second chance points
• Eagles forced 14 turnovers they converted into 19 points and also had a 30-16 advantage in paint
• Nick Johnson led five Eagles in double-figures as he connected on a career-high five triples (5-for-6) and was 1-of-3 Eagles with at least three triples in the game

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NOTABLES

• Eagles advance to the Big South Conference Championship game for the 19^th time
• Winthrop is riding a five-game winning streak heading into the title game
• For the fourth straight game the Eagles have connected on 12 or more three-point field goals after hitting 13 against the Bulldogs (54 total in the last four)
• Talford posted his second consecutive double-double and 10^th of the season with 14 points, 13 rebounds
• The 13 threes tied Friday's game with the third most in a conference tournament by a Winthrop team
• Eagles now have nine 23-win seasons during the D1 era

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UP NEXT
Winthrop will take on High Point in the Big South Conference Championship game on Sunday, Mar. 9 at 12 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN2.

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STAY CONNECTED
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