Limestone was hurt by the loss of big man Anthony Middleton due to fouls on Saturday at Winthrop. While it wouldn’t have registered a 10.0 on college basketball’s Richter Scale like Chaminade’s upset of top-ranked Virginia, Limestone’s twopoint loss at the buzzer to Division I Winthrop on Saturday did make waves through basketball circles regionally.

“The reaction has been really good,” Limestone coach Brandon Scott said. “The team wasn’t just happy to be in the game. They went there to win.”

And the Saints were on their way to doing just that. But they let a 7-point lead point lead slip away in the final 2:34 because of carelessness with the ball.

“We just tried to play too fast,” Scott said. “Every guard we have is either a freshman or sophomore.”

The Saints committed 16 first-half turnovers. But cut that number to seven in the second half. Unfortunately, three of the ball-handling mistakes came in the crucial final minutes of play.

The Saints also were hurt down the stretch with the loss of their two big men to fouls.

The game does reflect just how far the Saints have come under Scott. Two years ago, the Saints were down by as many as 41 points to the Eagles.

“We’re making strides,” Scott said. “Talent-wise, we’ve come so far.”