Men's Basketball Faces VMI in Early Season Big South Showdown

ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? The UNC Asheville men's basketball team faces its first Big South Conference road game of the year when it travels to a surging VMI Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. The game can be heard on WISE (1310-AM) Radio and can be seen on video-stream for a small fee at www.bigsouthsports.com.

Saturday's game will be an early-season battle for first place as both teams are 2-0 in league play. UNC Asheville brings a 13-4 overall record and has won seven of its last nine games. The only two losses during that stretch have been to 12^th-ranked Tennessee and top-ranked North Carolina. The Keydets are even hotter with wins in seven of their last eight games with the only loss being a 71-69 decision at Richmond.

The Bulldogs went to 2-0 in league play with a hard-fought 74-58 win over High Point Wednesday night at Justice Center. Asheville trailed 31-27 at halftime but went on a 15-2 run early in the second half to seize control of the game. It was the Bulldogs first win over the Panthers in five tries. Senior guard Bryan Smithson continued his amazing play with 27 points. He was 8-of-12 from the field but a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and 8-of-8 from the charity stripe. Vincent James added 13 points, while Kenny George finished with 12 points and three blocked shots.

Bulldog coach Eddie Biedenbach was pleased with his team's win against High Point but Saturday is a new challenge.

“We really played tremendous defense on Wednesday night, especially in the second half,” commented Biedenbach. “It was a great team victory as everyone contributed to the win against an excellent High Point team.

“We're going to have our hands full with VMI,” added Biedenbach. “They beat us twice last year and they're even better this season. I'm very impressed with how VMI is playing right now. It's obvious they're clicking on all cylinders. VMI is always a tough place to play, and I can only imagine how exciting the atmosphere will be on Saturday. We're going to have to be ready to play from the start.”

The Keydets are off to their best start in league play since joining the Big South four years ago. VMI earned its two Big South Conference wins on the road last weekend as it edged Charleston Southern, 93-91 in overtime and then rallied past Coastal Carolina 107-100 Monday night. Senior guard Reggie Williams is third in the nation in scoring with a 27.6 average. The Keydets downed Asheville twice last year, 102-97 at Justice Center and 102-88 later in the season at VMI.

The Bulldogs are being led in scoring by Smithson with an 18.8 average. The senior guard is 28-of-39 from the field in his last three games for 72 percent. K.J. Garland continues his great play in the backcourt and is averaging 14.8 points per game. He leads Asheville in assists with 97. Kenny George is doing a solid job off the bench with a 13.1 scoring average and 8.8 rebounding mark. The junior center is leading the nation in field goal percentage at 71.7 percent and is second nationally in blocked shots with a 4.9 per game mark. Vincent James is averaging 10.9 points per game and is tied for the team lead in steals with 26.

NOTES ? UNC Asheville is off to its best start in 23 years...the Bulldogs have won 17 of their last 22 games dating back to last season...Asheville has 13 wins, one more than last year's final total of 12 victories...the Bulldogs have out-rebounded seven of their last eight opponents...Asheville has shot at or better than 50 percent from the field in 12 of 17 games this season...K.J. Garland has 426 career assists and needs just five to move past Josh Kohn (430) and into second place on the Asheville career assist list...the Bulldogs are seventh in the nation in field goal percentage at 50.5 percent.