“Yes. Yes. Yes.”
Could be heard all throughout Winthrop Coliseum Sunday afternoon.
The chant a simple, but perfect expression summing up the Eagles men’s basketball season.
Eagle fans got their first taste of the 2019-2020 men’s basketball squad back in November.
The veterans dazzled, and the fresh faces looked promising. While just a scrimmage, that day in November prepared the Winthrop community for an exhilarating season.
At the final buzzer on Feb. 29, the Eagles claimed a share of the Big South regular season championship title and were gearing up for the tournament run.
The Big South Men’s Basketball Tournament began for Winthrop on March 5.
The Eagles started conference play 12-0, and finished out at 15-3–claiming a top spot in the conference tournament standings .
As the second-seeded team, the Eagles took on seventh-seeded USC Upstate.
The Spartans went 0-2 against the Eagles during the regular season, and the Eagles did not look to give them a tournament win.
The semi-final match-up tipped in Radford, VA at 12 p.m., and Winthrop was hot from the jump ball.
The Eagles shot at 51 percent during the first half against the Spartan’s 42 percent.
The senior leaders, Hunter Hale and Josh Ferguson, led the team in scoring at 15 points each.
Charles Falden also had a strong presence during the first half going 4 for 6 from the field for nine points.
After 20 minutes of play, the Eagles soared into the locker room with a big lead, 54-37.
Over the next 20 minutes, the Eagles did not skip a beat. Falden added 8 more points during the second half, leading all bench scorers with 17 points.
Hale finished with 21, Feguson with 17, and Michael Anumba contributed 13 points to the overall effort.
A telling statistic of the game was the three-point performance from the Eagles. At 53 percent shooting beyond the arch, Winthrop pushed far past the Spartans.
At the final buzzer, the Eagles came out on top by 36, 106-70.
“Credit to the boys, they came out firing,” Kyle Zunic said in a video following the game.
Winthrop met the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs in the semifinal round.
The Eagles and the Runnin’ Bulldogs split matchups during the regular season conference games, so the tensions were high and the battle was on.
Both teams came out punching, trading baskets throughout the early minutes of the first half.
Again, Hale led the team in first half-scoring at 14 points, completing 100 percent of his three-point attempts during the half. Hale was followed by Chandler Vaudrin with 11, on 5 for 9 shooting.
“Chan didn’t play like a second-team, all-conference guy, he played like the best player in the league–in that first half, getting us off to a phenomenal start,” Coach Pat Kelsey said in a press conference following the game. “Hunt’s been unbelievable.”
Only seven points separated the teams going into the half, with the Eagles on top, 37-30.
Hale added 14 more points during the second half, contributing to the Eagles 44 percent field completion of the half.
Gardner-Webb shot a close 40 percent from the field, and nearly eight percent better from the free-throw line during the second round of 20.
The team’s efforts were lined up until the six minute mark of the second half, when Winthrop started to pull away–going up by as much as 16 in those final minutes.
The battle served the crowd well, with those dawning garnet and gold gaining all the glory.
Winthrop defeated Gardner-Webb 78-66, to advance to the Big South Championship title game.
Following the Hampton Pirates upset of the number one-seeded, Radford Highlanders, Winthrop gained home court advantage for championship Sunday.
At 23-10, the Eagles were set to face the 15-18, Pirates–a squad with whom they split regular conference season meetings.
Winthrop Coliseum saw an influx of people as fans geared up for the match-up.
The Big South designated the sections opposite the norm as the student section, and Winthrop students were sure to come early to get a good seat.
Winthrop won the tip accompanied by a number of screams.
Hampton got off to a running start.
A number of shots did not go down for the Eagles early in the first half– leaving Winthrop trailing in points and palpable energy.
With 12:31 left in the first half, the Pirates were up 22-7 and Kelsey was forced to call a timeout.
Following the slow start, a three-pointer from Josh Ferguson ignited the Eagles.
A late pick-up in performance put Winthrop within five going into the locker room.
Despite the rocky first half, the Eagles came out of the locker room ready to rock the hill.
Around the 12 minute mark, Winthrop gained the lead following a three from Charles Faldin.
Intensifying the game, these teams continued to battle their way through the remaining minutes.
The battle settled down while the teams continued to deliver, but a dunk from Chase Claxton —with 2:40 left in the game—raised the bar.
Hampton then started the “fouling game” early, in an effort to buy time—down nine with 2:09 left.
Even with the use of a common basketball technique, Hampton could not overcome Winthrop’s powerful comeback.
At the final buzzer a combination of screams and the Winthrop pep band filled the Coliseum, as fans rushed the court to celebrate.
With an eight point win over the Hampton Pirates, the Winthrop Eagles clinched the 2020 Big South Championship and a trip to the NCAA tournament.
As an ode to his outstanding performance, Hale was named Big South Championship MVP.
“All glory to God,” tweeted Hale after the championship win.
Photos: Gabby Gardner and Olivia Esselman/ The Johnsonian
