The Blue Banner

Issue date: 2/7/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Clint Lathinghouse

Media Credit: Clint Lathinghouse

Since Winthrop has won seven of the last nine conference championships, the entire Big South sees the Eagles as the team to beat.

When High Point, who had lost seven straight times to Winthrop, edged past the Eagles to win 62-61 on Jan. 12, the student section poured onto the floor to celebrate.

UNC Asheville's rivalry over the years has been particularly contentious. The teams have played 52 times since their first meeting in the '84-'85 season. The Eagles lead the Bulldogs in the overall series 24-28.

Until Saturday's 71-56 win, the Bulldogs had lost six straight times to the Eagles. Following is a brief history of the UNCA vs. Winthrop rivalry.

Jan. 29, 2000

Regular season game at the Justice Center

Winthrop 63

UNCA 64

The last time the Bulldogs defeated Winthrop during the regular season came eight seasons ago in January 2000 during Eddie Biedenbach's fourth year at Asheville.

In front of a sold-out Justice Center crowd, UNCA led most of the game but Winthrop started witling away at the Bulldogs' eight-point advantage to take a two-point lead late in the second half. Junior guard Brett Carey answered Winthrop's run with a 3-pointer, giving the Bulldogs the lead for good. The win was UNCA's third consecutive over Winthrop, but it would be the last win against the Eagles until the 2003 Big South Tournament.

Less than a month later at the Winthrop Coliseum, the Eagles got their revenge for the Bulldogs' home win with a 90-50 massacre to finish off the regular season. During the game they led by as much as 46 points.

March 5, 2000

Big South Tournament Finals at the Asheville Civic Center

Winthrop 75

UNCA 62

Seeded No. 4 in the tournament and playing in front of a hometown crowd at the Civic Center, the Bulldogs downed Liberty in the first round of the Big South Tournament, then upset Radford in the semi-finals.

In the championship game, first seeded Winthrop proved too much for the 'Dogs, who trailed by 14 at the half. The loss didn't come without a near shock, as UNCA reduced a 15-point lead to five points in the final two minutes of regulation in front of 4,226 cheering downtown Asheville fans.

A 3-pointer from Andre Smith with under a minute left on the clock would have cut the lead to two, but the upset wasn't meant to be and Smith's shot bounced out after gliding around the rim. Winthrop won by 13.

The championship came as Winthrop's second consecutive, which they followed in 2001 with their third straight title. With a 3-peat of Big South Championship jewelry, they dubbed themselves "the lord of the rings" the next season.

March 7, 2003

Big South Tournament Semi-Finals at the Vines Center in Lynchburg, VA

UNCA 81 (OT)

Winthrop 80

With 7.8 seconds in overtime, Winthrop's Ivan Jenkins nailed a 3-pointer to give the Eagles an 80-79 lead in the semi-finals of the Big South Tournament.

Going into the game, the Eagles had defeated the Bulldogs eight straight times over the past three seasons, including an eleven point win at the Justice Center one week earlier, where the Asheville Citizen-Times senior sports writer Keith Jarrett described the Bulldogs as "collectively slapped around worse than a boy named Sue."

But before Winthrop could celebrate, forward Bryan McCullough brought the ball up-court and passed to Alex Kragel who drove to the right sideline and downed a 16-foot jumper to give UNCA the buzzer-beating win. For many, including Associate Athletic Director Mike Gore, Kragel's shot stands as the greatest moment in the history of Bulldog basketball. The senior guard's heroics were only made possible by freshman Chad Moon, who hit a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime with 18-seconds in regulation.

The Bulldogs went on to defeat Radford to win the Big South Championship, giving them their first and only birth in the NCAA tournament. In the national tournament, UNCA defeated Texas Southern 92-84 before falling to Texas 82-61.

March 2, 2004

Big South Tournament opening round at the Winthrop Coliseum

UNCA 49

Winthrop 46

The Bulldogs trailed by eight points with less than five minutes left, but outscored the Eagles 14-2 to down the stretch for their second consecutive tournament upset against Winthrop.

Like the win 2003, the UNCA tournament victory came after the Eagles defeated the Bulldogs twice during the regular season. Just three days prior, Winthrop won 75-68 in the regular season closer at the Justice Center. In the tournament, Winthrop was seeded No. 3, while UNCA stood at No. 5 with an 8-19 record and just three road wins.

The Bulldogs' back-to-back tournament wins against Winthrop mark the only Big South Tournament losses for former Winthrop Head Coach Greg Marshall during his nine-year tenure with Eagles from 1998 to 2007.

March 1, 2007

Big South Tournament at the Winthrop Coliseum

UNCA 60

Winthrop 79

After blowing out UNCA twice in the regular season last year, the Eagles continued their streak of dominance in the semi-finals of the Big South Tournament.

The two teams exchanged leads for much of the first half before Winthrop took a 37-33 lead at halftime. Winthrop big man and New Zealand native Craig Bradshaw, who graduated last year, led the way for the eagles with 23 points, nine boards and two blocks.

Garland continued his strong performances against the Eagles, leading the Bulldogs with 21 points.

Winthrop went on to defeat VMI in the Big South Championship game and became the second Big South team to win a NCAA tournament game when they upset Notre Dame in the first round of the tournament.

Winthrop fell in the second round against Oregon.

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