Rock Hill, SC | Winthrop Coliseum (“The Coli”) | Wednesday 6:30 | Big South Showdown
📍 Setting the Stage
This Winthrop team has been the final boss for every Big South contender for over two decades. This league used to belong to Winthrop — until it didn’t.
The last time these teams met, High Point erased a 15-point second-half deficit in Johnson City and ripped the crown off Winthrop’s head, winning the Big South Tournament and punching the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament ticket. That comeback wasn’t a fluke; it was the culmination of a two-year arc that began in this same arena, when Kezza Giffa silenced Rock Hill with a last-second dagger, capping a 17-point second-half comeback and announcing that HPU had officially arrived.
Now, when these two teams meet, many of the faces have changed, but the stakes haven’t. This is an early test of what many believe are once again the two best teams in the conference.
Only a handful of Panthers remain from that championship run, most notably Terry Anderson, who was a sparkplug in that historic bench-led comeback. This roster is different. In many ways it’s deeper, faster, and more lethal from everywhere on the floor. But this team hasn’t truly won anything yet. They have a chance to make a big-time statement in Rock Hill and take a stranglehold on the regular-season conference championship.
To do so, HPU will have to play in the cavernous, hostile, and frankly weird Coliseum. The Eagles’ Coliseum — or “E. Coli,” as the natives have named it — can definitely make opposing teams and fans ill. Winthrop is very good at home and wins a ton there. The fans do odd dances and rituals while team managers talk trash. It’s all strange and a bit sickening.
High Point brings a lot into this building.
The Panthers currently hold:
- 18 straight Big South wins
- 5 straight wins against Winthrop
- Sole possession of first place
- The most efficient offense in the league
- The biggest target on their back after two straight regular-season championships and last year’s conference-tournament crown
This is not just a game about standings. This is about hierarchy and hope. Much of the league wants to see High Point fall, because if they don’t fall here and now… when will they?
🦅 Opponent Overview — Winthrop
Winthrop has faced more turnover than at any point in the Prosser era. Still, they remain dangerous, talented, and extremely annoying.
They run, they foul, they crash, they shoot, and they live off momentum and whistles.
They also:
- Have the odds-on favorite for Big South Player of the Year in Logan Duncomb
- 6’10” C averaging 21.5 ppg and 11 rpg in conference play
- Get to the free-throw line at an elite rate
- Play faster than almost anyone
They are 7–1 at home and 3–7 away.
🧱 Team Identity — What Winthrop Is
Winthrop under Mark Prosser is built to overwhelm you with pace, pressure, and volume. They want games to feel fast, messy, and emotionally tilted in their favor.
They:
- Play at one of the fastest tempos in the country
- Attack downhill to generate free throws and paint touches
- Crash the offensive glass relentlessly
- Use size and physicality to extend possessions
- Space the floor around Logan Duncomb for inside-out scoring
- Gamble defensively to create transition opportunities
- Accept defensive breakdowns in exchange for offensive chaos
This is not a team trying to win with discipline.
This is a team trying to win by turning the game into a track meet.
When Winthrop is at its best, they live in the paint, live at the line, and hit timely threes when defenses collapse. When they aren’t, their lack of half-court defense and shot selection get exposed quickly.
🧩 Key Eagles to Know
⭐ Logan Duncomb (6’10 Sr C) — The Anchor
The entire Winthrop offense flows through him. Duncomb leads the Eagles in scoring and rebounding, finishes over 64% from the field, and is their most reliable source of efficient offense. He scores on rolls, post seals, dump-offs, and second chances, and draws fouls doing it.
HPU Key: Crowd him early, force him to catch away from the rim, and make him guard in space.
⭐ Kareem Rozier (5’9 Sr G) — The Accelerator
Small, quick, and relentless. Rozier drives Winthrop’s tempo and is elite at creating advantages in transition and early offense. He doesn’t finish well at the rim, but he creates pressure everywhere else.
HPU Key: Turn him into a jump shooter and keep him from getting downhill.
⭐ Kody Clouet (6’5 Sr G/F) — The Flamethrower
Winthrop’s best pure shooter. When Clouet gets loose, games swing quickly. He thrives on kick-outs and scramble situations when defenses collapse on Duncomb.
HPU Key: No help off him. Make him put it on the floor.
⭐ Daylen Berry (6’4 Sr G) — The Chaos Creator
High-usage slasher and emotional driver. Berry attacks the rim, draws fouls, and loves big moments. He can shoot, but his biggest damage comes when games get messy.
HPU Key: Build a wall. Make him finish over length instead of getting to the line.
⭐ Josh Meo (6’3 Jr G) — The Volume Wildcard
Streaky scorer who can heat up but is often inefficient. When he hits early shots, Winthrop’s confidence spikes.
HPU Key: Make him earn it. Don’t bail him out with fouls.
⭐ Tommy Kamarad (6’8 Sr F) — The Glue
Does a little of everything: spaces the floor, rebounds, defends, and fills gaps. Not flashy, but essential.
HPU Key: Don’t let him get comfortable with clean looks or easy boards.
⭐ Tai Hamilton (6’10 Jr C) — The Rim Presence
Energy big who rebounds and blocks shots. Limited offensively, but dangerous on second chances.
HPU Key: Box him out. No free points.
Bottom line:
Winthrop’s stars can score, but their margin lives in second chances, fouls, and transition. Take those away and their firepower shrinks fast.
📊 Matchup Snapshot
For High Point
- Win the efficiency war
- Pull Duncomb away from the rim
- Turn rebounds into runouts
- Punish Winthrop’s awful midrange defense
- Stay vertical and avoid foul avalanches
For Winthrop
- Feed Duncomb early and often
- Live at the free-throw line
- Hit 10+ threes at home
- Force Rob Martin into turnovers
- Turn the game into chaos before HPU can settle
Much of this game comes down to who controls the style.
🧠 Coaching Context
This is a chess match disguised as a track meet.
Mark Prosser wants chaos with structure. His system is built to feel overwhelming: relentless pace, constant rim pressure, heavy offensive rebounding, and a steady parade to the free-throw line. Everything flows through Logan Duncomb as the gravitational center, not just as a scorer but as the magnet that pulls defenders inward so shooters like Clouet, Rozier, and Berry get rhythm threes on kick-outs.
Prosser is perfectly comfortable playing ugly basketball if it means more shots, more free throws, and more second-chance attempts. If the whistle is active and the game becomes a 40-minute sprint, that favors Winthrop inside the Coli.
Flynn Clayman wants a different kind of pressure: control through disruption. High Point’s defense is built to deny comfort — gambling for steals, forcing bad passes, shrinking space, and turning opponents into transition defense before they even realize they’ve lost the ball.
That system works beautifully against perimeter-driven teams. Against a true post hub like Duncomb, it becomes a calculated risk. Winthrop, despite its frenetic pace, also does a great job protecting the ball.
If HPU digs too hard or rotates too aggressively, Winthrop gets exactly what it wants: deep post seals, dump-offs, open kick-outs, and fouls. Clayman’s biggest decision is how much he’s willing to stay home defensively. HPU has been steadfast in its defensive system, sometimes to a fault.
If Duncomb dominates and turnovers aren’t coming, will they adjust? If they don’t, it could get hairy.
🗝️ Keys for High Point
1️⃣ Rebound and defend the rim as a team
2️⃣ Stretch the floor and pull bigs away from the paint
3️⃣ Keep the ball moving — no stagnant possessions
4️⃣ Survive the whistle — if Owen gets into foul trouble how do Youssouf and Miller hold up?
5️⃣ Break their runs early — don’t let the Coli wake up
If HPU stays disciplined, Winthrop has to guard for 40 minutes. That’s a nightmare for them.
🤔 Points for Pondering
- Winthrop scores 18 more points per game at home
- Their 3PT% jumps from 31% on the road to 37.5% at home
- Their defense ranks 271st nationally
- They allow 42.4% from midrange (Big Rob Martin game?)
- High Point is top-40 in 3PT% and top-50 in FG%
- HPU is 14th nationally in breakaway points off steals
- Winthrop ranks 43rd nationally in not turning the ball over
- Winthrop is 334th in consistency
🔮 Toothsayer’s Take
Winthrop will come out hot. They almost always do.
The crowd will be loud and weird.
The whistles will be plentiful.
Duncomb will get buckets.
But Winthrop also fades. It has for the past few years. Will this High Point team capitalize again when that happens?
These Panthers still space the floor, attack mismatches, and never run out of legs. The depth is scary, even with Cam Fletcher out. When Winthrop is forced to defend in space against one of the most efficient offenses in the country, it could get ugly.
Winthrop needs a flamethrower shooting night and a parade to the foul line to survive. High Point needs to be willing to adjust if things aren’t going their way, something they’ve been reluctant to do at times.
I’m picking Winthrop to hold its composure this time. They protect the ball well, and when HPU isn’t forcing turnovers, its defense can suffer. This is also a different breed of center than HPU has faced.
Prediction:
Winthrop 88, High Point 77
A big margin, but similar to the UAB game, a true road environment against a different style of opponent. Furthermore, this prediction is based on the law of averages. High Point will eventually trip up in conference play, and 18 unbeaten is a long time. If the Panthers don’t lose here, it’s hard to see where the next loss comes from for a while. As noted above, Winthrop is one of the most volatile teams in the nation (334th in consistency), maybe this is the game where they go nuclear.
The fallout from a loss will be loud no matter the style. Social accounts will jeer and team managers will beat their chests, but it also might be the eye-opener and stumble this High Point team and staff needs to really lock in.
Pantherstooth 
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