Quarterfinals Game 1:
(2) Winthrop106 vs (7) USC Upstate 70
The Winthrop Eagles cruised to the Semi-Finals of the Big South Tournament in large part due to their hot shooting from three-point range. They hit 10 in the first half and finished 16-30 for the game. Winthrop was led by Graduate Transfer Hunter Hale who arrived at Winthrop from Grand Valley State. Hale finished the game with 21 points and added 5 rebounds. Josh Ferguson chipped in 17 points and added 10 boards to finish with a double-double and Charles "Chuck" Falden also added 17 points. Head Coach Pat Kelsey attributed the fast start to the intensity on the defensive side and it continued to the offensive side. For USC Upstate they were led by Freshman Tommy Bruner he finished with 19 points. Coach Dave Dickerson thinks there is a lot he can take from this game moving forward though, He had zero seniors or juniors in the rotation.
Winthrop will meet Game 2 winner Gardner-Webb in the semis Friday at 6:00 pm.
Quarterfinals Game 2:
(3) Gardner-Webb 72 vs (6) UNC Asheville 62
Defending tournament champion Gardner-Webb used a late 6-0 run to pull away from upset-minded Asheville, The Runnin' Bulldogs were led by Eric Jamison Jr. who had a huge 19 point 13 rebound double-double and just seemed to make the biggest plays in the biggest moments down the stretch. Eric credited the fact they had been in tight games all through the year this and last year to be able to hold on for the victory and keep the chance at back to back NCAA Tournament appearances alive. Jaheam Cornwall added 16 points and Coach Tim Crafts "team MVP" Christian Turner poured in 14. UNC Asheville was paced by West Virginia native Coty Jude with 16 points and DeVon Baker with 18. Asheville used a full-court press the entire game to speed the Bulldogs up and cause a ton of errant passes and early poor shots but ran out of legs late partly because of a quick turnaround from Tuesday's first-round game against Campbell. Coach Mike Morrell wasn't having any excuses though stating "When I was at VCU in 2015 we had to win 4 games in 4 days just to get in the NCAA tournament" even though they weren't able to make the same time of run he has a lot to look forward to also as he will return all his players of this team.