University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldog Men Upset Coastal Carolina in Big South Quarterfinals
02.27.2007 | Men's Basketball
CONWAY, S.C. - K.J. Garland scored 19 points, while Kenny George added 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead UNC Asheville to a 77-64 win over Coastal Carolina in the quarterfinals of the Advance Auto Parts Big South Conference Tournament Tuesday night at Kimbel Arena.
The win was the Bulldogs (12-18) fourth straight and advanced Asheville to the semifinals of the tournament. The Dogs will play top-seeded Winthrop at the Winthrop Coliseum Thursday night at 8 p.m.
Bryan Smithson contributed 16 points for the Bulldogs. He added five assists. Garland finished with seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.
UNC Asheville took charge of the game early in the second half. With the game tied at 36-36, the Bulldogs went on a 14-2 run to take the lead at 50-38. Asheville got baskets from four different players and had four points each from Garland and George.
The Chanticleers made a 7-0 run to close to 50-45 but Asheville responded with nine straight points to seize control of the game and push the lead back to 59-45. Five different players scored for the Dogs during the run.
The Chanticleers could get no closer than 10 the rest of the game as the Bulldogs went 12-of-16 from the foul line in the final four minutes.
"I'm really proud of our guys tonight for playing so well in a tough atmosphere," said UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. "Our guys really battled and did a great job defensively against a very good Coastal Carolina team.
"Down the stretch, our big guys started to get healthy and our forwards started to play better," added Biedenbach. "The last five or six games we have been playing better and it has showed in the outcomes. We did get some confidence winning here last week, but we knew they would have the early emotional advantage playing at home. But we hit some shots and then got some defensive stops in the second half to really get on top. We are excited to move on and take on Winthrop, but I want to congratulate Coastal on a great season."
UNC Asheville set a new school record for blocks in a season with 138 after blocking seven Coastal Carolina shots in the game.
George continued his amazing play with a 6-for-6 performance from the field and 12 points. He recorded the first double-double of his career with 10 rebounds. George also blocked shots. He is 30-of-34 from the field in the last five games. The Chicago native also played a season-high 20 minutes.
The Bulldogs defense was outstanding in the game as they limited the Chanticleers to 36 percent (23-of-64) shooting from the field. CCU shot just 14 percent (3-of-22) from the three-point line.
Asheville had to battle back in the first half. The Chanticleers went on a 17-6 run to roar to a 21-12 lead after a jumper from Jack Leasure.
But the Bulldogs quickly got back in the game as Garland scored nine quick points to fuel a 14-5 run to knot the game at 26-26. The first half finished in a 30-30 tie.
Asheville shot 53 percent (26-of-49) from the field and knocked down 56 percent of its shots (14-of-25) in the second half. Garland was 7-of-11 from the free throw line. His seven assists gives him 326 career assists and into sixth place on the school's all-time list.
