Henry's free throw in final seconds give Winthrop win over Ohio
Eagles end Bobcats' 16-game home winning streak
By: Lonnie McMillan / Contributor
Saturday, December 15, 2012
ATHENS – Derrick Henry hit the second of two free throws with 4.7 seconds left and D.J. Cooper’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark as Winthrop upset Ohio, 50-49, on Saturday, ending the Bobcats’ 16-game winning streak at The Convo.
Walter Offutt was called for a blocking foul on the perimeter as the Eagles (4-4) were working for the last shot. With the foul putting Winthrop in the double bonus, Henry put the Eagles on top with a made foul shot after he missed the first.
Reggie Keely led the Bobcats (7-3) with 14 points – 12 of them in the first half. No other player reached double figures as Ohio shot just 36 percent in the game, made only 7 of 13 free throws and had 18 turnovers.
Despite the lack of offense, Ohio came back from a five-point deficit with less than three minutes remaining. Cooper knocked down a 3-pointer, and after a Winthrop miss, he had a chance to tie the game, but he missed on the front end of a one-and-one with 2:19 remaining.
Ivo Baltic and Cooper both missed shots on the Bobcats’ next two possessions, and after Baltic rebounded Cooper’s 3-point miss, Cooper got to the hoop for a basket that tied the game with 35 seconds remaining.
On Ohio’s last possession, Cooper took the inbound pass, went up the left side of the court and pulled up at the 3-point line with a defender in his face.
“It wasn’t exactly what we were looking for,” Ohio coach Jim Christian said. “I’d have to look at the tape to see if what we were looking for was available.”
Winthrop, which entered without a victory against a Division I opponent, trailed 25-20 at halftime, but scored the first nine points of the second half and Ohio did not lead again. The Bobcats shot just 26.9 percent in the second half.
“Our three best players were all cold at the same time,” Christian said. “The first half, we turned the ball over too many times, many in transition. Then we just never got in a rhythm. … A lot of the shots we usually make, we didn’t make. This is one of those games you have to find a way to grind out a win, but we never got there. We never got the big stop we needed or made the big run to get there.”