| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- The novelty has worn off for Winthrop.
The Eagles made it clear Saturday they want more out of their
second straight NCAA tournament experience.
"Hopefully, we're not just trying to get our feet wet this
time," said coach Gregg Marshall, who watched Greg Lewis score 18
points and grab 18 rebounds as the Eagles repeated as Big South
Conference champions, holding off North Carolina-Asheville 75-62 in
the tournament title game.
"We are going there to play better and well for 40 minutes.
Last year (an 80-41 loss to Auburn) we played well for 11 minutes
and we had the lead, but the other 29 minutes weren't very good."
The Big South had sent seven different representatives to the
NCAAs prior to the second-seeded Eagles (21-8) edging the
fourth-seeded Bulldogs (11-19) to become the league's first repeat
champs since Coastal Carolina in 1990 and 1991.
"This is why we moved from NAIA to Division I (in 1985), to get
a little piece of that pie," Marshall said. "Now, we're going to
get a piece of the pie and we're getting exposure. We are the
ambassadors for Winthrop University."
Lewis, a 6-foot-6 junior college transfer, helped lead Winthrop
to a 43-28 advantage on the boards.
"He was a beast," Marshall said of Lewis. "He was so
relentless on the offensive and defensive ends, it was amazing."
Winthrop, located south of Charlotte in Rock Hill, S.C., led by
double digits throughout the second half until consecutive
3-pointers by Brett Carey with 1:31 left helped a furious closing
rally by the Bulldogs, which closed to 67-62 with 37 seconds left.
A jumper seconds later by Andre Smith could have closed UNC-Asheville
within three, but Tyson Waterman grabbed the rebound, was fouled,
and made both free throws to seal it.
"I had a good look, it just didn't go in," Smith said of his
missed shot.
Robbie Waldrop's 15 points on five 3-pointers was also key for
the Eagles, while Carey had 14 points for the Bulldogs.
"I believe that Robbie Waldrop is the best shooter in the
conference and when he's on he's just on fire," said Waterman.
"It was my job to find the guys who were hot at the time."
The Eagles made 17 3-pointers in a 40-point win over UNC-Asheville a
week ago at home, and it didn't take long for Winthrop to start
bombing away again from the outside, going 7-for-12 in the opening
20 minutes for a 14-point halftime lead.
Waldrop, a reserve guard who tied for the Big South lead with 70
regular-season 3-pointers, was 4-for-4 from beyond the arc for 12
points in 10 minutes as the Eagles shot 53 percent.
The Bulldogs, playing five minutes from their campus, made six
of their first seven shots and led for the first 11 minutes as the
partisan crowd at the Asheville Civic Center was rooting for the
home underdog.
But the Eagles soon began striking from outside after dominating
the boards in the opening stages with 13 second-chance points.
Waldrop's first 3-pointer began a 19-4 run that turned a
six-point deficit into an 11-point lead.
Five of Winthrop's last six baskets of the half were from beyond
the arc, including one by Waldrop three seconds before the horn for
a 44-30 lead.
UNC-Asheville closed to 11 with 12:43 left before Waldrop make his fifth
straight 3-pointer to push the margin back to 14. But some missed
free throws down the stretch helped UNC-Asheville get back into it before
fizzling late.
"Last year I was hugging everybody in sight. This year there is
a little bit of a relief," said Marshall. "After we had the big
lead, and the way they came back it was almost like, `Whew, boy I
would have been the dumbest coach in America if I would have let
that lead go away.' "
The Bulldogs were a Big South tournament record 36-for-41 from
the foul line in Friday's 78-71 upset of top-seeded Radford, but
were only 8-for-10 there against Winthrop.
"The (officials) didn't call it looser for them than us, but
the advantage goes to them if they call it that way," UNC-Asheville coach
Eddie Biedenbach said of the game's physical play.
| |
ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
North Carolina Asheville Clubhouse
Winthrop Clubhouse
|
