Eagles lean on defense, experience in milestone win

	#11 Winthrop Eagles #6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 64 74   Box Score Recap All Scores
	Craig Bradshaw had 24 points as the Eagles earned the first NCAA tournament victory in the program's history. AP
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SPOKANE, Wash. -- The city of Rock Hill, S.C., the home of Winthrop University, closed early Friday. Public workers went to work at 5:30 a.m. so they could be off at 2:30 p.m. and see their Eagles take on Notre Dame. And what a game they saw. Behind by seven late in the first half, the Eagles surged to a 54-34 lead in the second. Then, as their supporters back home watched in horror (we imagine) Notre Dame took a one-point lead with a little over two minutes to go. The Eagles, the best team Winthrop has had to date, appeared to be in danger of reprising last year's heartbreak, when Tennessee beat them in the first round in the last seconds. "When Notre Dame caught up again, that was the turning point of the game for us," guard Torrell Martin said. "We all looked at each other and said, 'Not again.'"

A 3-pointer by Chris Gaynor, a flushing dunk by Craig Bradshaw and five iced free throws sealed the game and gave Winthrop its first ever NCAA win. But the stat that leaps out from the box score belongs to Notre Dame. A team that averaged 81.5 points a game and shot 39.7 percent from the arc for the season scored just 64 and hit just 4-of-22 from the arc. Colin Falls, the Big East career leading in three-point shots, made just 2-of-10 attempts. "Their men tonight played like men," said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey. "Defensively they did a great job on us."

Player Who Impressed Me

After every game, Winthrop coach Gregg Marshall gives out a "Junkyard Dog" award -- a pro wrestling action figure -- to the Eagle who turns in the most ferocious performance. After the Eagles' 74-64 win over Notre Dame, he has a very tough call. Junior guard Mike Jenkins had 11 assists and helped hound Falls. The acrobatic Martin, he of the flapping braids, says he goes for the award "every single game", and he made a strong case Friday: he twisted his body through all sorts of contortions to get 20 points and 11 rebounds. For what its worth, my vote goes to Bradshaw, the 6-foot-10 senior from New Zealand who fought off double-and triple-teams to notch 24 points (including 2-of-3 three-pointers), six rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Bradshaw, who chose basketball over rugby when he was a junior in high school "because I got too tall and too thin," said the paint felt a bit like a scrum. "They had some big boys down there," he said. None of them, however could match up with Bradshaw.

Courtside Confidential

After making two three-pointers to end the first half with a 32-28 lead, the Eagles went into the locker room unhappy with their first half performance. "We have a history of coming out slow and lethargic in the second half," said Martin. "We'll lose a lead or go into a drought." So Marshall tried to spread the energy he was feeling around to his players. "He put his arm out and said 'Touch me,' says Martin. "And I said, 'touch me, too.' We have to feel the energy, we can't come out here lethargic. And [Friday] we didn't. We had to remind ourselves to go out fast."

Big Picture

Though this was a great win for Winthrop and a milestone for the program, the Eagles didn't play a great game. When Notre Dame turned up the pressure midway through the second half, they didn't handle it well and saw a 20-point lead vanish. They shot 53 percent from the free throw line. But they are a veteran team. When they face Oregon on Sunday, they'll face a team that has just one player, senior Adam Zahn, who has been here before. This year the Eagles' experience and athleticism will take them at least as far as the Sweet 16.