[PAmedic]

Blair w/ the airball, WU converts on the fast break, of course- WU up by 23. Time out LU but this one's in the books- we just get steamrolled at the end of these things. I guess you can say its all good experience. 63-40 w/ 3:20 to play

[PAmedic]

Looks like LB gonna end up a little shy of 20 pts tonite- currently has 16 , LU trails 65-44 w/ a min and a half left.

[PAmedic]

I missed the majority of the 1st half, but it sounds like Hubbard played well tonite, LB was, well- LB. Heard Anothony Smith getting a lot of minutes which will be good for him- so I guess we continue to look at this as a learning experience. Looking forward to hear Coach D's thoughts after this one.

Final is WU 67-47.

[PAmedic]

Kudos to WU, winning the ones they should- squarely in the drivers' seat in the BSOUTH and hopefully competetive in the tourney. Congrats to WEF, REALIST and co.

[WinthropEagleFan]

Sounds like Hubbard and Smith are two very strong players for you guys....Good luck the rest of the way.

[PAmedic]

Thanks WEF- they are bright lights (besides Blair- the obvious) for the team.

[rogers342]

for the record, i AM an LU fan/alum and i hate to see LU continue this slump, but the way winthrop is playing, i think a win for LU was out of the question. i just hope that come tourney time, winthrop doesn't slip up, and that the big south will have a representative that can compete on a higher level. if they win the big south, i will be a BIG winthrop fan in the postseason!

[PAmedic]

Eagles Remain Undefeated With 67-47 Victory Over Flames

January 19, 2006 · Rock Hill, S.C.

The Eagles used a balanced scoring attack and a key second half run to post their fifth-straight Big South victory in a 67-47 win over Liberty, Thursday evening, at the Winthrop Coliseum.

With the victory, Winthrop remains the league’s lone unbeaten team at 5-0 (11-4 overall), while Liberty drops its third-straight conference game and falls to 1-3 in league play (4-12 overall).

The contest remained close over the first several minutes of action as Winthrop’s Chris Gaynor nailed a three-pointer at the 13:34 mark to give the Eagles a 12-6 lead, while Liberty answered back with a three-pointer by Doug Stewart (So., F, Sanford, N.C.) on the following possession to trim the advantage back to three points.

Three minutes later, Stewart took a pass from Larry Blair (Jr., G, Charlotte, N.C.) and slammed it home to cut Winthrop’s lead to six points, 18-12, at the 10:04 mark; however, the Flames would connect on just three more field goals over the remainder of the period, allowing the Eagles to take a 32-21 lead into the halftime break.

The Flames kept the Eagles within reach over the first 10 minutes of the second half as Blair connected on 1-of-2 free throw attempts at the 10:23 mark, but Winthrop’s DeAndre Adams sank a lengthy three-point basket as time expired on the shot clock on the next possession, while Phillip Williams took a pass from Adams 80 seconds later for a fast break dunk to put the Eagles up by 20, 52-32, and seal the home victory.

“I saw a lot of positives tonight on the floor for us as we fought hard against a seasoned Big South basketball program,” commented head coach Randy Dunton. “We are very young and they are the most experienced team in our league. I give them all the credit tonight as they deserved to win.”

“I think the key to the game was the short scoring burst in the second half as it gave them momentum and broke our backs. If we could have stopped them there, we would have had a chance down the stretch. I am proud of my team tonight as I saw toughness on the floor that we can build off for the rest of the conference season.”

For the third-straight game, the Flames got outrebounded as Winthrop finished with 18 more boards than Liberty, 40-22, while the Flames were held to 32.6 percent shooting from the field (15-of-46), marking their fourth lowest shooting percentage of the year.

Winthrop had all but one of its players that saw action in the game find the scoring column with Gaynor leading the way with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, while Scott Draughn came off the bench to score 10 points. Billy Houston added nine points and a team high seven rebounds, while Gaynor led the Eagles with four assists.

Blair led the way for the Flames as he netted a game-high 16 points, despite hitting just 3-of-14 attempts from the field, as his scoring total was aided by a 9-of-12 outing at the line. Damien Hubbard (Jr., G/F, Boyce, Va.) reached double figures for the third-straight game as he scored 10 points and led the team with six rebounds.

The Flames return to the court on Saturday when they host Birmingham-Southern in the Vines Center before starting a three-game conference road swing. Tip-off for the contest against the Panthers is scheduled for 7 p.m.

[PAmedic]

GOOD:

“I saw a lot of positives tonight on the floor for us as we fought hard against a seasoned Big South basketball program,” commented head coach Randy Dunton. “We are very young and they are the most experienced team in our league. I give them all the credit tonight as they deserved to win.”

“I think the key to the game was the short scoring burst in the second half as it gave them momentum and broke our backs. If we could have stopped them there, we would have had a chance down the stretch. I am proud of my team tonight as I saw toughness on the floor that we can build off for the rest of the conference season.”

BAD:

For the third-straight game, the Flames got outrebounded as Winthrop finished with 18 more boards than Liberty, 40-22, while the Flames were held to 32.6 percent shooting from the field (15-of-46), marking their fourth lowest shooting percentage of the year.

[markymark550]

As a WU fan, just wanted to say that your guys hung in there and never gave up. If your players keep that mentality, only good things can come. I think that you guys have some solid pieces to build a good team in the next few years. LU played good defense against WU and forced many turnovers. Good luck for the rest of the year, except when WU comes to Lynchburg of course.

[Sly Fox]

Thanks for the kind words & registering, markymark.

I hate losing as much (or more than the next guy) but I have to admit this one doesn't sting as much as some of the others like the home defeat to the Highlanders.

Two days isn't much time to rebound ... but we REALLY could use a victory Saturday on our own floor.

[Realist]

First, nice meeting you Scar, let me know if you come down for the tourney (if we get the one seed)

I thought WU played a pretty poor game. Not having Shuler hurt. No flow offensively, and tons of dropped balls and turnovers in the post, which we had been coverting on. Torrell did a great job defensively on Blair, and it was obvious we were out to stop just him, guys running at him from everywhere to stop. He still did a good job getting to the line. Hubbard impressed me with his ball handling as compared to his height. Anthony Smith showed flashes as well. Porter is a hard worker but kept himself in foul trouble trying to guard much taller players. LU needs a decent point, and I don't think Rischer is it. Some post help is bigger than that though. Lu fought hard and didn't quit. Get some post help and reliable point, move hubbard to a 3, and LU will be pretty good.

[Sly Fox]

Thanks again for the kind words and registering.

The problem is that its tough for us to get help at those positions midseason. Perhaps Holland & Rish can both step up at the point. But we are pretty much feast or famine with Russ down low. Unfortunately right now, we're clearly hungry. Hopefully the light bulb will go off in his head soon because he has some skills.

[Ed Dantes]

You know, I understand that Winthrop is a good team, probably one of the best in Big South history.

But that's not an excuse for a woefully poor shooting performance. I mean, 32.6%? 20% from three? 63.6% from the free throw line, when no one is actually guarding you?

Why is it that we are completely unable to put the ball in the basket? We learn how to do that one of these games, and while we may not find a way to beat Winthrop, we just may be able to beat SOMEONE.

[LUconn]

Well, Marshall teams have always had pretty solid defense so a lower shooting % was expected. At least I pretty much expected it. As for FT%, we were terrible 2 years ago. Last year we were decent and from the games I have seen this year, I thought it was a problem that we had fixed. 1000 FT shots at the end of practice is just what the doctor ordered.

It seems to me we at least played some good defense ourselves. Everybody seems to want to say Winthrop had a bad shooting night but more often than not, bad % is caused by good defensive harassment. Sure, sometimes people go cold, but WU has a bunch of good players and I doubt they could have all simply "just gone cold".

[bigsmooth]

the guys never quit and they played hard, but again our lack of any presence inside and no one but larry really stepping up killed us. winthrop is a quality team, the best in the big south, and i applaud them.

[grm]

If Marshall made that crack, it has to be one of the greatest quips ever. Hats off to him, although I'm still hoping for him to lose all of his games. (It's the WF - "Winthrop Factor")

[grm]

As far as the game, I guess it was no worse than anticipated, with most people calling it pretty much right. Now it's "come together, shoot for the tourney, and come up with some surprises." I'm on board for all of the above.

[PAmedic]

http://newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellit ... th=!sports

Flames no match for streaking Eagles

From staff reports
January 20, 2006

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Liberty's men's basketball team can at least look on the bright side.
Winthrop didn't absolutely crush the Flames Thursday night, like it did two other Big South teams at home.

The Eagles won easily, beating the Flames 67-47. It was the closest margin of victory at home in three conference games for Winthrop (11-4, 5-0 Big South). The Eagles beat second-place Birmingham-Southern by 41 and topped UNC Asheville by 25.

Larry Blair led the Flames (4-12, 1-3) with 16 points despite shooting 3-for-14 from the floor. Damien Hubbard added 10 points. Liberty trailed 32-21 at halftime but never made a charge in the second half.

The Eagles, who won their 23rd straight Big South game, got 11 points from Chris Gaynor and 10 from Phillip Williams. Five players scored at least eight points for Winthrop.

Liberty's first-half showing was encouraging for LU coach Randy Dunton, who watched his team fall behind by 25 points in the first half at VMI last Saturday.

"I saw a lot of positives tonight on the floor for us as we fought hard against a seasoned Big South basketball program," Dunton said. "We are very young and they are the most experienced team in our league. I give them all the credit tonight as they deserved to win."

Winthrop outrebounded Liberty 40-22 and held the Flames to 32.6 percent shooting. Doug Stewart scored nine points and Anthony Smith added eight. Liberty forced Winthrop into 18 turnovers.

The Flames host Birmingham-Southern Saturday at 7 p.m.

[beigledog]

Dissappointing night again...hopefully I'll be able to listen online again one of these days.

[TIMSCAR20]

Sorry guys for being a little late to the party but Mrs SCAR and I went down to Charlotte for a couple of days of fun and to watch the game. We stayed an extra day because we like Charlotte a lot. Realist, great to meet you and I will call you for sure when and if the tournament is in Rock Hill. If I am not working full time I hope to make the trip regardless of who is in it but of course I will be pulling for the Flames. Truth be told I thought WU lacked concentration early and although they out manned us on the glass, didn't overwhelm us. If we could have hit shots, we would have been there. Both teams missed easy ones in the first half but we missed a ton of makable shots. I mean, high, high percentage shots in close but that happens sometimes. I wish those shots would have fallen because we could have been within striking distance down the stretch. That mid court 3 pointer with the shot clock running down started the run that ended it for us. There were some bright spots but without an interior presence it is hard to beat Winthrop in Rock Hill. They share the wealth on that team and they are deep but they are not much better than last year IMHO. They were pretty good last year though but I still say they are beatable. Liberty needs to win the next home game and gain some confidence.

[Realist]

Scar, I agree with you. It was the worst performance I've seen to date from them at home (though I didn't see the Newberry game). Shuler is a big key to their success, as you said. The lineups we played we're not the normal rotation with Shuler out and it showed. That 35 footer put an end to everything, the crowd was pretty silent up until that point, and that seemed to wake everyone up. WU is beatable, but you need to have them on an off night (speaking in-conference) and for them to not have intensity. If there is one thing Marshall is great at, it is having his players going full tilt the entire game, and that's the main reason for our success this year, and in the past, when we don't necessarily have the best talent.

Should be an interesting one later today at High Point, I'm hoping Shuller is back and ready to go, or it could be a nail-biter.

[TIMSCAR20]

Realist, If I didn't have to call the Liberty game tonight I was going to go down to HPU to watch that matchup. I love going around and watching as many games as possible. I hope to get to Richmond soon and check out VCU as well as down to Blacksburg to see the Hokies. Realist if you are ever in town, we will hang out.

[Thelaxman]

All I have to say is Winthrop is tough! This year may be their best year yet. At least the best of all the years I lived in Rock Hill,SC. But I do agree that they can be beat and on any given night anything can happen. Now I don't live there anymore so I guess that means they will go down hill. Our day is coming. Keep the faith Brothern as the Mormons say.

Thelaxman