ROCK HILL, S.C. — UNC Asheville got 25 points from Bryan Smithson and used suffocating defense to upset Winthrop University 63-50 before a sellout crowd of 6,043 at Winthrop Coliseum last Saturday afternoon.

The win gave the Bulldogs a share of the Big South Conference regular-season title with Winthrop. However, UNCA earned the No. 1 seed in this week’s Big South Conference Tournament with two wins over the Eagles.

The Bulldogs were to host eighth-seeded Charleston Southern this past Tuesday night.  (Because the game was played after the Daily Planet’s deadlines, the result will appear in next week’s newspaper.) The semifinals of the tournament also will be held at the Justice Center at 6 and 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

The victory improved UNCA’s record to 21-8 and 10-4 in the BSC. It’s the most wins for a Bulldog team since the 1983-84 team won 21 games.

“I am so proud of this team,” UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach said after the game. “We played just super on defense and got contributions from everybody to pick up a great victory against an excellent Winthrop team on their home-court.  This is one of the best wins I’ve ever been associated with on any level.”

Smithson scored just two points in the first half but exploded for 23 points in the second half. He tied a school record by going a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line.

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Surrounded by enthusiastic fans, UNCA’s men’s basketball players and coaches gather for a photo with the BSC’s regular-season men’s basketball trophy after beating Winthrop University 64-50 in Rock Hill, S.C., last Saturday. Photo courtesy of UNCA

“Bryan Smithson was magnificent,” said Biedenbach. “He hit some big shots for us in the second half and did a super job against Winthrop’s tough defense.”

UNCA limited the Eagles to just 32 percent shooting from the field. Winthrop was 17-of-53 from the field.

Kenny George finished the game with a near double-double as he scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Winthrop’s Chris Gaynor finished with 12 points.

The Bulldogs led 24-16 at halftime as the visitors used a 10-0 run in the final five minutes to grab an eight-point lead. Vincent James led UNCA with eight points.

Winthrop (19-11, 10-4) came out on fire to start the second half and got a three-pointer from freshman Bryan Faison to tie the game at 27-27. Three free throws from Smithson put UNCA in front 30-27 before a trey from Michael Jenkins tied the game at 30-30.

But the Bulldogs responded with buckets from John Williams and K.J. Garland to go back in front 34-30.

Smithson took over at that point on Asheville’s next two possessions. He knocked two straight long 3-pointers with the shot-clock winding down to give the Bulldogs a 40-34 lead.

Sean Smith then sank another trey off a pass from Garland — and suddenly the ‘Dogs led 43-34. Smithson hit a jumper on the next possession to push the Asheville lead to 45-34.

 The Bulldogs built the lead to as many as 18 at 57-39 before settling for the 13-point win.

Smithson was 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the final two minutes of the game.

 This is UNCA’s fourth BSC regular-season title and the third time the Bulldogs will be the number-one seed in the tournament.  The victory was the Bulldogs’ first regular-season win at Winthrop in 10 years. UNCA had lost nine straight during the regular season dating back to the 1997-98 season.

UNCA shot 46 percent (20-of-43) from the field, but knocked down 52 percent of its field goal attempts (11-of-21) in the second.

The Bulldogs were 4-of-6 from beyond the arc in the second half.

UNCA out-rebounded Winthrop, 38-29. John Williams had eight rebounds for the Bulldogs.

“I thought our rebounding was terrific,”  Biedenbach said. “Winthrop can hurt you a lot of different ways on the boards but we held our own against them tonight."