Winthrop Wins Big South Men's Basketball Title

ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? Michael Jenkins exploded for 33 points to lead second-seeded Winthrop to the 2008 Big South Conference championship with a 66-48 victory over top-seeded UNC Asheville Saturday afternoon at Justice Center

It was the Eagles (22-11) fourth straight championship and Winthrop will now advance to the NCAA Tournament.

The Bulldogs fell to 23-9 with the loss but their season will continue. Asheville won the Big South Conference regular-season championship and the Bulldogs will now get an invitation from the National Invitational Tournament. They will find out who they'll play on March 16.

Asheville suffered through a tough day shooting. The Bulldogs shot just 33 percent from the field (17-of-51) and 19 percent from beyond the arc (4-of-21).

The home team was led by Kenny George with 13 points. Reid Augst finished with 10 points and was 5-of-10 from the field. Bryan Smithson added 10 points.

The Bulldogs had two players make the all-tournament team. Senior guards K.J. Garland and Bryan Smithson made the team. Jenkins was the tournament MVP. Garland finished the game with seven assists.

Winthrop controlled the boards as it out-rebounded Asheville, 41-31. Mantoris Robinson pulled down 11 rebounds for the Eagles. The Bulldogs did not have an offensive rebound in the first half, compared to six for Winthrop.

“We didn't play very well today and I congratulate Winthrop on winning another championship,” stated UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. “We played hard but didn't shoot the ball very well. Jenkins was tremendous for Winthrop and their defense did a great job.”

The Eagles led from start to finish as their defense suffocated the Bulldogs on offense. Jenkins had 12 points in the first half as Winthrop built a 22-13 lead late in the half. Asheville rallied with two free throws from George and a trey from Augst to narrow the margin to 22-18 at halftime.

The momentum did not carry into the second half. The Eagles went on a 12-2 run early in the half to sprint to a 37-23 lead. Jenkins had nine points in the first four minutes of the half.

A Jenkins' trey built the lead to 44-28 with 12:10 before the Bulldogs finally made a run. Asheville scored nine straight points over the next four minute to close to 44-37 at the 8:28 mark when George hit two free throws.

The Bulldogs got a stop on the defensive end and had a chance to get closer but missed three free throws on one possession.

Winthrop came down and missed two shots but got offensive rebounds each time. Jenkins was fouled going up for a three-point shot. He made all three free throws and the Eagles had the lead back to 10 at 47-37 at the 5:55 mark.

Winthrop then sealed the win from that point on with a 16-2 run to push the lead to 61-39 with 2:39 remaining.

“We simply got too far behind at the start of the second half,” commented Biedenbach. “We made a nice run but we needed to be closer. Missing those free throws that would have gotten closer hurt and then Jenkins hit some big shots after we closed to seven.”

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

Winthrop Wins Big South Men's Basketball Title

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