Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop men's basketball mounted the largest comeback in 18 seasons, overcoming a 20-point deficit in an 88-77 win over Gardner-Webb, Saturday afternoon in its Big South home opener.
WINTHROP (8-9, 1-1 Big South)
GARDNER-WEBB (2-15, 0-2 Big South)
- Spence Sims (29 points, 3 rebounds, block)
- Curtis Williams (12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals)
- Colin Hawkins (13 points, rebound, 3 assists, steal)
FIRST HALF
- Gardner-Webb opened with a 4-0 spurt for an early lead behind buckets off the drive by Colin Hawkins and Ace Talbert
- Winthrop's first basket came at the 16:50 mark as Kody Clouet collected a loose ball and then buried a three to trail 4-3
- Spence Sims scored seven consecutive points to push Gardner-Webb to an 11-3 advantage with 14:06 left in the half
- Daylen Berry ended the run with a score at the rim, but Sims came right back and knocked down another three to lead 14-5
- After a Curtis Williams free throw put the Runnin' Bulldogs on top 18-8, Kareem Rozier responded for the Eagles as he drove the right side of the lane and scored at the rim
- Josh Meo followed with two free throws to make it a two possession game with 11:23 remaining
- Eagles were within five after a second chance point when Logan Duncomb scored off glass underneath midway through the half
- Another Sims three ignited a 12-0 run that pushed the Gardner-Webb lead to 34-16 with 6:46 left
- A three from D.J. Jefferson gave Gardner-Webb its biggest lead of the half at 20 (41-21) with 5:14 left
- Eagles answered with a 7-0 run started by a right wing three from Clouet followed by a Berry scored off the drive and then Isaiah Wilson drove and dished to Ed Nnamoko for an easy two
- Gardner-Webb led by 18 with 1:14 remaining but the Eagles scored the final four points to make it a 13-point game at the half, 50-37
SECOND HALF
- Eagles scored the first four points of the half to get the deficit to single-digits as Duncomb score inside off a feed from Clouet and then Clouet converted two free throws
- Trailing by 11 at the 17:31 mark, Wilson scored off the drive to bring the deficit back to single-digits
- Clouet boarded a miss and finished underneath to make it a five point game, but Sims answered for Gardner-Webb with a left wing three
- Winthrop continued to chip away at the deficit and pulled within one at the 12:41 mark as Rozier jump started a 7-0 run with a three and then scored off a drive
- The bucket that got the Eagles within one came on a long pass to Duncomb ahead of the pack as he collected the pass and then scored at the rim to trail 58-57
- Winthrop grabbed its first lead of the game with 9:32 remaining as Clouet converted two free throws to lead 61-60
- Clouet followed with a left wing three to put the Eagles in front 64-60 with just under nine minutes to play
- The lead grew to seven (70-63) after Duncomb scored on a drop step for the layup with 6:36 to play
- Gardner-Webb worked the game back to one possession as Navauan Peterson hit two free throws and then a left corner three from Colin Hawkins cut the Eagles lead to two
- It was a two point game with 5:17 left (72-70) after a deep step back jumper
- From that point the Eagles outscored the Runnin' Bulldogs 12-5 to earn the double-digit victory
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Winthrop finished the game shooting 45 percent while Gardner-Webb was 47 percent from the floor
- The Runnin' Bulldogs finished 12-for-31 behind the arc while the Eagles were 6-of-25
- Winthrop had an advantage at the foul line going 26-for-32 while Gardner-Webb was 11-of-19
- Eagles dominated the glass 49-25 and had 18 offensive rebounds
- Winthrop outscored Gardner-Webb 44-26
NOTABLES
- It is the largest comeback win since Feb. 24, 2009 when the Eagles overcame a 27 point deficit at home to defeat Charleston Southern
- The 20-point comeback was the largest during the Mark Prosser, one point more than the previous comeback of down 19 versus Longwood on Feb. 1, 2023 in a 76-74 win
- Duncomb's 21 points and 10 rebounds marked his 6th double-double of the season and has now done so in back-to-back games
- Isaiah Wilson not only led the Eagles with five assists, but scored a career-high 12 points
- Winthrop has now won 12 of the last 13 Big South home openers
UP NEXT
Winthrop remains at home as it hosts Charleston Southern on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 6:30 p.m.
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