ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? Bryan Smithson scored 22 points to lead five players in double figures as top-seeded UNC Asheville roared past eighth-seeded Charleston Southern, 87-63 in the quarterfinals of the Advance Auto Parts Big South Conference Tournament Tuesday night at Justice Center
The Bulldogs (22-8) advance to the semifinals of the league tournament on Thursday night when they'll host fourth-seeded Liberty at 8 p.m. Second-seeded Winthrop will face third-seeded High Point in the other semifinals at 6 p.m. Both games will be played at Justice Center.
Also in double figures for Asheville was Vincent James with 18 points and seven rebounds. K.J. Garland finished with 13 points and eight assists. Reid Augst and John Williams added 11 points each.
Charleston Southern (10-20) was led by Big South Rookie of the Year Omar Carter with 18 points. Jamarco Warren finished with 14 points, while Tovi Bailey chipped in 13 points.
The Bulldogs shot 51 percent from the field (28-of-55) and 50 percent from beyond the arc (10-of-20). They also knocked down 84 percent (21-of-25) of their free throws. Asheville controlled the boards, 41-20.
The victory was Asheville's 22nd of the year, tying a school record for wins with the 1982-83 squad. It was the Bulldogs school-record 15th home win of the year. Garland moved into eighth place on the Big South all-time list for assists with 503.
“I thought we played pretty well tonight and beat a good Charleston Southern team,” stated UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. “I'm very proud of this team and what we've accomplished this year. Our senior guards (K.J. Garland and Bryan Smithson) have led us all year on and off the floor and they led us once again tonight.
“One of the big keys to the game was our defense in the second half and our rebounding the whole game,” added Biedenbach. “Charleston Southern can really hurt you with its shooting and at times we let them get too many good looks. We finally grinded things out on defense and that led to us building a pretty good lead. Our rebounding was very good tonight.”
“We lost to a very good team tonight in UNC Asheville,” commented Charleston Southern coach Barclay Radebaugh. “We battled in the second half and missed a lay-up that would have cut the lead to four and then Asheville went on a big run.
“K.J. Garland and Bryan Smithson are two very good guards that just know how to play,” added Radebaugh. “They made big shots tonight, just like they have all year.”
The Bulldogs led 37-26 at halftime but Charleston Southern battled back early in the second half and got two free throws from Bailey to cut the Asheville lead to 52-47 with 12:36 left.
Asheville went on a 13-1 run over the next three minutes to race to a 65-48 lead. The Bulldogs got a three-pointer from Sean Smith, a three-play from James, a long trey from Garland and two free throws from James to complete an 11-0 run to give the Bulldogs the 17-point lead.
Charleston Southern could get no closer than 14 the rest of the game as Asheville enjoyed its biggest ever winning margin in a tournament game.
The Bulldogs were red-hot from the three-point line in the first half as they went 6-of-9 from downtown to help spark them to a 37-26 halftime lead. Smithson and Garland both had 10 points each. Garland was a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
