Mens basketball falls in NCAA 1st round

By Steven Bowers

“We picked a bad time to have a bad game.”

Those were the words of Winthrop head basketball coach Randy Peele after the Eagles fell 61-44 to Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the NCAA Tournament in Dayton, Ohio, and missed out on an opportunity to play Duke in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Eagles’ achilles heel from the beginning of the season was their inability to consistently put the ball in the basket, and it reared its ugly head again at the worst possible time as they shot a season-worst 29 percent for the game and scored a season-low 44 points. Winthrop made only two of 21 attempts from beyond the three-point line.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of what these kids accomplished,” Peele said. “At one time this year the air around our program was one of negativity. It was about what we couldn’t do instead of what we could do. We became champions under the toughest of circumstances. When I look back on this, I’ll feel real good about this season.”

Going in, it may have appeared that Winthrop had the advantage over the Golden Lions in tournament experience, having gone nine of the last 12 years while this was Pine Bluff’s first trip to the tournament. However, UAPB (18-15) had a starting five comprised of all seniors and played one of the toughest schedules ever heard of.

Their first 14 games were on the road, and five of those were against teams who made the NCAA tournament this year.

The start of their season was even worse than the Eagles’ as they started 0-11. However, similar to Winthrop, who won 14 of their last 18, the Golden Lions finished with 17 wins in their last 21 games going into this one.

“We played this schedule to get ready for the tournament,” Arkansas-Pine Bluff head coach George Ivory said.

Ivory didn’t even get his hands Eagle game tape until the early morning hours the day of the game.

The Golden Lions even arrived in Dayton late and had to switch practice times with the Eagles.

None of this phased a team that logged many hours and miles on road trips early in the season and didn’t play a home game until mid-January.

The turning point of the game came in the last two minutes of the first half as Winthrop had a 23-17 lead and appeared to be seizing control.

However, a three-pointer and four free throws allowed the Golden Lions to finish the half on a 7-0 run, which turned the momentum in their favor heading into the locker room at the break.

They never looked back after that as the Eagles just couldn’t buy a basket in the second half.

Winthrop senior forward Mantoris Robinson had 10 points and eight rebounds in his last game as an Eagle.

The Big South Tournament MVP and two-time conference Defensive Player of the Year struggled with foul trouble throughout most of the game.

“It’s never been about me,” Robinson said. “It’s always been about the team. I enjoyed my five years here and I loved being a Winthrop Eagle.”

Junior forward Charles Corbin had a big game with 13 points, but got called for his fourth foul with 7:14 left. His absence made it difficult for the Eagles to catch up.

Winthrop’s defense was good enough to win, as they held UAPB to 39 percent shooting.

However, in the second half, the Golden Lions shot just over 50 percent, including 4-of-8 three’s.

Meanwhile, the Eagles’ backcourt shot just 3-for-26 on the night.

Junior guard Justin Burton, who was unable to play much after his knee injury in the Big South championship game, is scheduled to have an MRI this week.

A very impressive crowd of 8,205 turned out for the tournament-opener that was nationally televised on ESPN.

The Big South Champion Eagles should be in a good position to make a run at their third title in Peele’s four years at Winthrop and their 10th in 13. The losses of Robinson and center Andy Buechert will be big, especially in leadership, defense and rebounding.

However, they have a strong core of returning players. They will need somebody to step up and fill Robinson’s role as defensive stopper and team leader.

Several candidates exist for these roles as leadingscorer Reggie Middleton will be a junior and Burton and Corbin will be seniors.

Junior forward George Valentine will be returning from a broken wrist that cost him most of this year.

The inside game shouldn’t be a problem with the 6-foot-7-inch Corbin and Valentine joined by rising junior Matt Morgan, who is 6 feet 9 inches tall and really came on strong the second half of the year.

Add into the mix another rising junior 6-foot-7-inch forward Chris Malcolm and the 6-foot-11-inch center Julius Francis from Nigeria, and the Eagles have a formidable front line of size, strength and experience.

They should measure up to anybody.

What Winthrop will need to improve on is putting the ball in the basket.

Three young, talented backcourt players will be expected to provide more offense with another year of experience under their belts.

Guard Andre Jones has a smooth game and Robbie Dreher is an aggressive player.

The tall, rangy Gideon Gamble is a 6-foot-7-inch guard who has long-range ability and knocked down several huge shots for the Eagles this season.

The campus of champions has a very good chance of hanging yet another banner in the Winthrop Coliseum after the 2010-2011 season.