Big South Tournament: No. 1 Winthrop proved why the Eagles are the team to beat in the Big South Conference Tournament by thumping No. 8 Liberty 93-52. Sophomore forward Taj McCullough came off the bench to lead the Eagles with 15 points, one of seven Winthrop players to reach double figures. The Eagles move on to play No. 5 High Point Thursday at Winthrop.
The Panthers pulled off one of two Big South Conference Tournament upsets by winning at No. 4 Radford behind sophomore forward Arizona Reid’s 24 points and 12 rebounds. In a game of streaks, High Point rattled off 19 consecutive points to take a 10-point lead in the first half and survived a 14-3 Radford run at the end of the game to squeak by with an 87-84 victory.
No. 6 Charleston Southern pulled off the second upset of the night by embarrassing Birmingham Southern 97-76. Junior guard Donnell Covington led the attack with 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting as the Bucs shot 62 percent from the field and hit 12 three-pointers. Charleston Southern will play No. 2 Coastal Carolina Thursday at Winthrop in the semifinals.
The Chanticleers continued to be the Big South’s hottest team by beating No. 7 UNC – Asheville 78-62. Senior guard Pele Paelay scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Chanitcleers, who have won 11 consecutive games, including a regular-season sweep of Winthrop.
[2/28/06]
