Men's Basketball Opens 2007-08 Season Against Furman at Home

ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? The UNC Asheville men's basketball team opens the 2007-08 season at Justice Center Friday night when the Bulldogs host Furman starting at 7 p.m. The game can be seen via video-streaming for a small fee at www.uncabulldogs.com.

There's a great deal of optimism for the upcoming season as UNC Asheville returns four starters and 10 lettermen from last year's club. The Bulldogs finished with a 12-19 overall record last year but came on strong at the end of the season with wins in four of their last five games.

“We hope to build on what we accomplished at the end of last season,” stated UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. “I really like how our team has worked in the preseason and for the first time in the last couple of years we have some real experience with four seniors. I'm excited about this season and I know our players are, too.”

The Bulldogs face a tough task on opening night as Furman invades Justice Center. The Paladins went 15-16 last year but only return seven players from a year ago. However, Biedenbach expects a tough game with Furman on Friday.

“We don't know a great deal about Furman but Jeff Jackson (Furman head coach) is a very good coach and I'm sure they'll be ready to play Friday night,” commented Biedenbach. “We were fortunate to beat them last year at Furman as we trailed most of the game but were able to get some shots to go down in the final few minutes. This is a program that beat Vanderbilt last season and had many other good wins.”

This will be the 11^th meeting between the teams and the series is tied at five wins each. UNC Asheville has won the last two meetings, including a 75-67 victory last team at Timmons Arena.

The Bulldogs will be led this year by senior guards K.J. Garland and Bryan Smithson. Garland is sixth all-time at UNC Asheville in assists with 329 and needs just 15 to move past Jeff Lippard (343) and into fifth place. He also needs just 62 points to become the 23^rd player in school history to score 1,000 career points. Smithson led Asheville in scoring (14.6), three-pointers made (43), steals (60) and free throw percentage (85.2%). His free throw shooting led the Big South Conference, making him the first Bulldog to lead the league in that category since Brandt Williams led the conference in the 1988-89 season at 85.6%. His 14.6 scoring average was the highest by a Bulldog since Andre Smith led the team in scoring during the 2002-03 season at 15.9.

UNC Asheville opens the 2007-08 season with three straight home games at Justice Center for the first time since the 1983-84 season when the Bulldogs opened up with home games against Lincoln Memorial, Lee and North Carolina Central. This year Asheville takes on Furman Friday night, Lees-McRae on Sunday and Brevard this Tuesday. The month of November will see the Bulldogs play five home game as later this month they'll entertain East Tennessee State (Nov. 24) and Tusculum (Nov. 27). That has not happened since the 1977-78 season when the Bulldogs played six times at home.

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

Men's Basketball Opens 2007-08 Season Against Furman at Home

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