Winthrop's Logan Duncomb, 51, against Queens
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Rock Hill, S.C. — After beginning the season as the projected fifth seed in the Big South, Winthrop has dropped quickly to a 1-2 record ahead.
Despite the slow start from the Eagles, they have yet to play a true home game, having played two away games and a neutral site game.
Winthrop’s first game of the season came at the Rock Hill Sports & Events Center as part of the Field of 68’s Opening Day Marathon.
Game 1: Winthrop Opens the Season With Energetic Win
To be clear, this was the first game that the country would see as the leadoff game for the Opening Day Marathon started at 8 AM EST, meaning the stress for a win was high.
That game saw Daylen Berry put up 23 points and 5 rebounds to lead the Eagles to a 81-74 win over their cross-state rivals, Queens University.
Big man Logan Duncomb scored 12 points and grabbed 8 boards to help Berry take out the trash.
Queens had an impressive showing on their own end with Avantae Parker, Yoav Berman, Nasir Mann, Chris Ashby and Gus Larson ending the morning in double figures in the “points” category.
The Royals’ efficient shooting was not enough, however, to keep them in the game as Winthrop was able to pull away late.
Winthrop limited Queens from scoring for the last four minutes of the game, as the Royals had been leading 74-73 with 4:03 remaining. The staunch defense from the Eagles created five missed shots, two turnovers, and four fouls to seal the deal.
Game 2: George Mason’s Late Comeback Stuns Winthrop
Winthrop entered last Friday’s game against the George Mason Patriots as 9.5-point underdogs, given less than a 5% chance of winning the game.
Josh Meo and Daylen Berry led the way for the Eagles, both scoring 17 points while grabbing 4 and 8 rebounds, respectively.
Logan Duncomb, Kareem Rozier, Kody Clouet all found themselves in double figures to help keep the Eagles in the game.
Former Presbyterian guard Kory Mincy scored a season-high 29 points for the Pats with Jahari Long adding 22 buckets of his own.
Going into halftime, Winthrop held a 47-43 advantage after making eight three-point jumpers.
George Mason finally heated up, only trailing a handful of times to the Eagles, eventually pulling away late with the 96-90 win in Fairfax.
Game 3: Winthrop Falls Short in Conway to Chants
Obviously as a sports fan, you don’t want to see your team lose to their biggest rival.
The searing pain from that loss burns worst than putting your hand on a hot stovetop.
Winthrop felt that same pain last night after falling to rival Coastal Carolina in yet another classic in the 87th edition of the rivalry.
Coastal came out shooting hot, scoring four straight three-pointers in a matter of 90 seconds including two from Rasheed Jones. Winthrop found it’s first point of the night from a Duncomb free throw.
The Eagles eventually got into the game after a pair of triples from Berry and Meo brought Winthrop within an arms reach.
Duncomb finished the night with 21 points and 10 boards. Berry aided in the effort adding 20 and 7.
Unfortunately, the Eagles were never able to fully recover as the Chanticleers shot lights-out from beyond the perimeter, making 36 of their 72 points from downtown.
The Boys in Teal lead the all-time series 46-41 with a return game coming to Rock Hill in December.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Takeaways Through Three
The Good
This Winthrop team, like many rosters before them, has found an identity at running the ball through the post and finding shooters on the perimeter as second options.
Logan Duncomb, the former Indiana Hoosier, has found his role in the paint as THAT guy, Mr. Reliable.
Duncomb is averaging 16.3 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game, all while shooting 51.9% from the field.
His post moves have been absolutely incredible to watch so far, with his hook shot becoming his signature go-to move, almost mimicking that of Ralph Sampson or Hakeem Olajuwon.
He also has been able to find himself getting to the line frequently, averaging 10 trips per game, while shooting 70% from the charity stripe.
Logan has immense effort behind his game as well, determination to finish every game despite what might set him back.
For instance, after taking an elbow to the nose in what looked like a fracture or break, Duncomb persevered, switched jerseys, plugged his bloody nose, and played til the end of the buzzer.
Watch out on Saturday as Logan might take the floor with the infamous “black mask.” Thanksgiving might come early if he continues to feast.
The Bad
Rebound, rebound, rebound.
How many times will we repeat this phrase?
Winthrop has been outrebounded in nearly every game so far, only averaging 32 boards per game.
Winthrop’s opponents average 12.0 rebounds more than the Eagles do, which is abysmal.
Size is not an issue for Winthrop as they have multiple guys who are tall enough to rebound.
The real issue seems to be using two hands to secure the ball. We are seeing more and more opportunities for Winthrop to grab rebounds, only for players to bat the ball away instead of using two hands to grab the board.
If Winthrop is going to hang with High Point and Radford come conference play, they need to play the aggressor and crash the glass.
The Ugly
Winthrop has produced excellent players who’s primary purpose is to shoot the rock coming off the bench.
That hasn’t been the case this year.
Outside of Josh Meo, the Eagles haven’t found much success from the bench.
The Eagles are averaging just 20 points per game off the bench, with most points coming from either Meo, Tommy Kamarad, or Seif Hendawy.
In their game against Coastal Carolina, only one Winthrop bench player scored: Josh Meo.
Winthrop needs to improve in this department, especially with opponents like Texas Tech, Nebraska, and Arkansas coming up. You wanna beat those teams? You gotta play like it.
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