Freshman Smith shines in historic preseason rout

Senior guard Reggie Middleton and junior guard-forward Gideon Gamble (pictured in suits) were suspended for the opening game of the season. Photo by David Thackham By David Thackham
thackhamd@mytjnow.com

On a night where the absences of two influential Eagles could have been a major talking point, the arrival of one dominating freshman gained all the attention. The one-game suspension of senior Reggie Middleton and junior Gideon Gamble for Winthrop’s preseason match-up against the St. Andrews College was nothing but a footnote to the performance of guard Andre Smith. The freshman shot four straight 3-pointers from his first four attempts and led all scorers with 22 points on his collegiate debut en route to a dominating 107-70 win over the Knights. The triple-digit count is the first for an Eagle team since 2008 (110 points) against VMI.

“In my five years,” said head coach Randy Peele, “in terms of offensive potency, we were able to score a lot more than I thought we would. [Smith’s] a weapon we haven’t had in the past.”

Smith, who didn’t start, but shot 8-9 FGA in his 25 minutes on the court, was convinced the night wasn’t a fluke.

“It felt good,” he said, “shots were falling, people were putting me in the right spot. I just have to come in and produce next time, to make people sure it’s not just hype.”

The Eagles were able to penetrate the paint with ease, having their way with the smaller St. Andrews defenders. Forward George Valentine and center Matt Morgan combined for 30 points, most of them simple layups, to ignite the Winthrop faithful. Thirteen of the first 15 WU points were scored by the duo.

“We can really learn from this in knowing where to be on the court,” said Morgan, “no matter the size of the players.”

The 5’10” Smith spent most of Saturday night knifing through an over-matched Knights’ defense to set up shooters such as Joab Jerome (4-7) or Andre Jones (7-13) to shoot unopposed from the perimeter.

The freshman found himself open from the arc on a number of occasions. Winthrop was 21-30 (70% FGA) with 3:50 left in the first half.

Larry Brown drove an early Winthrop lead into the 40’s with an emphatic dunk on the fast break to shut down any St. Andrews hope of an away upset. Jones made sure that the focus remained on the future.

“We have to be confident, but think about Eastern Kentucky now [on Nov. 12],” he said.

Winthrop went into the halftime break with a 27-point lead, but continued to build momentum in the second period.

Spending nearly all of the second half with two freshmen in Smith and James Bourne on the floor, the Eagles extended their lead into the 70s.

A rare St. Andrews layup by Joe Houpe with 10:10 left in the game put the Knights above 50, but the points continued to rain on Winthrop’s behalf.

Just twenty seconds later, Smith stepped three feet behind the 3-point line to swish a seventh shot from the arc of the game.

“It was unexpected, amazing to see,” Jones said of his teammate’s performance. “With all of us doing like we did tonight, it’s pretty much unstoppable.”

It was only a matter of time before the score hit triple digits, with Chris Brown’s breakaway layup deflating the visitor’s bench.

“It’s the first time I’ve been in a 100 point game and it’s really cool,” Morgan said. “We can really stretch the defense from shooting deep.”