#3 Winthrop Downs #2 UNC Asheville, 86-67 for Berth in Title Game
By Winthrop Athletics
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.
BOX SCORE
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)
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
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
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
NOTABLES
Eagles advance to the Big South Conference Championship game for the 19th 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 10th 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