ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? The UNC Asheville men's basketball team heads to Virginia Tech Saturday evening for a match-up with the Hokies. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. The start time was changed earlier this week due to the Virginia Tech football team's involvement in the ACC Championship game. The game will be broadcast on WISE (1310-AM) and can be heard on UNC Asheville's website ? www.uncabulldogs.com.
The Bulldogs are off to their best start in 23 years with a 6-1 record. Asheville downed Tusculum Tuesday night, 84-73 on Tuesday. Bryan Smithson tallied a career-high 26 points in the victory. K.J. Garland added 15 points and nine assists. The Bulldogs shot a season-high 56 percent (28-of-50) in the win. Asheville was coming off its first loss of the year last Saturday when the Bulldogs dropped a heart-breaking 89-87 overtime defeat to East Tennessee State.
“We came out a little slow against Tusculum but we responded well and got the job done,” commented UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. “Bryan Smithson had a great floor game. He took good shots and made most of them. We didn't play great but we grinded it out for the most part and got the win.”
Asheville expects a stern test from Virginia Tech on Saturday night. The Hokies are 2-3 on the season and fell at Penn State Wednesday night, 66-61. Junior guard A.D. Vassallo leads Va. Tech in scoring with a 15.4 average. Freshman forward Jeff Allen is very talented and is averaging 15.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
“Virginia Tech was in the NCAA Tournament last year and knocked off North Carolina twice,” stated Biedenbach. “Seth Greenberg (Va. Tech head coach) is an excellent coach and has done a great job up there. They have a young team but have very talented players. We're simply going to have to be at our best to have a chance to win on Saturday.”
NOTES ? UNC Asheville has won 10 of its last 12 games dating back to last season...the Bulldogs are off to their best start in 23 years...Senior guard K.J. Garland needs one more assist to move into third place on the school's career assist list. He currently has 370 and is tied for third with Maurice Caldwell...UNC Asheville leads the Big South in field goal percentage at 52.9 percent and has been above 50 percent in five games this year...Junior forward Reid Augst has hit 18 straight free throws...Junior forward Sean Smith has 17 field goals with 15 of them being three-pointers.
