Advertisement

In another wild finish, Mike Anumba 3 helps Winthrop defeat SC mid-major power Furman

Rock Hill saw another great finish on Tuesday night.

Skip through the game’s first 38 minutes — a back-and-forth period of sound and fun and efficient basketball — and fast forward to the game’s last two: Winthrop redshirt junior big man DJ Burns missed an open hook shot he never does, then pummeled his way into a crowd to jar loose the ball for a Winthrop offensive rebound — and then Micheal Anumba took it from there.

Anumba hit a corner three off a Cory Hightower offensive rebound and pass that gave Winthrop an 81-80 lead.

“When DJ shot that hook, I ran back on defense because literally that’s his shot — he always makes that,” Anumba told reporters postgame. He then smiled: “I had no idea who had the ball, just saw it bouncing and bouncing and bouncing. And I see Cory driving baseline... and when he found me? It’s the corner. I love corners. I shot it with confidence and knocked it down.”

Anumba let out a demonstrative roar after the bucket.

“It wasn’t to the fans, it was actually to my teammate, Jamal King,” Anumba said. “He’s always the one who gives me confidence. He’s always the one who tells me to be aggressive. So when I got the ball in the corner, I heard his voice behind me, ‘Knock it down.’

“And when I knocked it down I had to look at him.”

The ensuing possession, Furman’s leader and senior big man Jalen Slawson was called for a charge that fouled him out of the game. Guard Drew Buggs responded with a layup to make it 83-80 — and then a defensive stop and a pair of Pat Good free throws later sealed the deal.

That was it: Winthrop 85, Furman 80.

The win delivered head coach Mark Prosser his first win over Furman in seven tries. It also was a resounding, redemptive effort after Winthrop’s loss to Coastal Carolina this weekend — and it provided Rock Hill fans another wild, come-from-behind win. (The first was Winthrop’s win over Mercer in November, when the team scored nine points in 51 seconds.)

Here’s what we learned.

Winthrop’s D.J. Burns Jr. shoots against Furman’s Nate Buss.
Winthrop’s D.J. Burns Jr. shoots against Furman’s Nate Buss.

Furman’s Jalen Slawson, Winthrop’s DJ Burns battle

Fans on hand in the Winthrop Coliseum experienced a luxury mid-major basketball fans rarely do: They saw a big-man battle — and an intense one at that.

It began to bubble in the first half, when Winthrop redshirt junior Burns and Furman forward Jalen Slawson earned double-technical fouls. It spilled over into the second half, too — this time with Winthrop big men Cory Hightower and Kelton Talford joining in. (Talford joined emphatically, too — at one point blocking a Slawson shot and scowling at the big man while his home crowd roared.)

The three had plenty to chirp about. Burns ended with 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting in 22 minutes. Talford added 10 points and three rebounds. And Slawson had the first triple-double recorded in Furman basketball history — 15 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.

Prosser told reporters postgame that at one point he just sat back and watched the battle of big men in amazement: “I (do) that every day.”

He added: “Our depth in a lot of ways is advantageous for us. But we have a bunch of guys for us who are also multi-dimensional. We’ve worked on switching ball screens with everybody. ... You have a guy like Chase Claxton who can guard anyone on the floor. Mike Anumba can guard anybody on the floor.”

Burns wasn’t the only Eagle who got called for a technical foul: Prosser earned his second tech in eight games and only the second of his Division I head coaching career Tuesday night.

Winthrop’s Kelton Talford puts up the shot
Winthrop’s Kelton Talford puts up the shot

Drew Buggs big in second half again

Buggs shocked himself and perhaps his team when he scored 17 in an ugly but important win over Hartford a week ago.

There’s no reason to be surprised now.

The graduate transfer and starting point guard recorded 13 points, five assists and one rebound. He did a bulk of his damage in the second half — hitting two threes while the Furman defense practically dared him to shoot, and flashing a smile and a flex after an and-one bucket on a fast break.

He also was a huge defensive plus. On one possession, the 6-foot-3 point guard defended Slawson in the post and forced a turnover.

“Drew’s 126 years old, so, you know, he’s not going to be in a situation he hasn’t been in before,” Prosser joked postgame. “He’s a physical, older kid. He’s not going to get pushed around. And he’s a smart kid because he’s been through all these battles before, so he did a nice job of holding his ground and making it more difficult.”

Prosser added: “And we’re relying on a bunch of guys to do that. In those moments, they’re going to have to bow their neck and maybe have some mismatches around the rim. I don’t mind doing it because (Buggs) is as tough as can be, and Russ Jones might be the toughest guy on the team. So we’re not at a disadvantage when we do that.”

Winthrop’s Michael Anumba shoots the basket against Furman’s Conley Garrison
Winthrop’s Michael Anumba shoots the basket against Furman’s Conley Garrison

Other notes

Both teams shot well: The Eagles shot 56.1% from the field; the Paladins shot 46.7% from the field — and 15-of-36 from three. Furman guard Alex Hunter finished with a game-high 24 points on 4-of-6 from three.

Winthrop had its best performance from the free-throw line this year to date: The team shot 12-of-14 (85.7%).

Eight games into the year, Prosser’s lineup appears to be set: Good (33), Hightower (33) and Anumba (30) led the team in minutes, and perimeter defender Chase Claxton continued his ascension through the Winthrop lineup as the first man off the bench. The Eagles in total played nine players in Tuesday night’s contest — the only three who were in uniform but didn’t see game action were Jamal King, Josh Corbin and Nate Buss.

Who’s next?

The Eagles play next in the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center against Carver College on Saturday at 7 p.m.