University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Basketball Looks to Snap Back at Coastal Carolina Monday Night
01.18.2009 | Men's Basketball
CONWAY, S.C. ? The UNC Asheville men's basketball team will attempt to get back on the winning track Monday night when the Bulldogs take on Big South Conference rival Coastal Carolina at Kimbel Arena starting at 7 p.m. Monday's game will be broadcast by WISE Radio (1310-AM) and be video-streamed for a small fee on The Edge at www.bigsouthsports.com.
UNC Asheville (8-10, 4-3 BSC) simply didn't play very well on Saturday and fell at Winthrop 87-67. The Eagles jumped ahead 14-2, and the Bulldogs could get no closer than eight points the rest of the night. Winthrop's defense limited Asheville to just 34 percent (18-of-52) shooting from the field. The Eagles sliced the Bulldogs up on offense as they scored a season-high 87 points and shot season-best 62 percent (30-of-48) from the field.
“We just weren't ready to compete and battle Saturday night at Winthrop,” commented UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. “Our effort was fine but our defense allowed them to get too many easy shots. We simply didn't execute on offense. You have to give Winthrop a lot of credit as it played very well on both ends of the court.”
The Bulldogs will face a Coastal Carolina team desperate for a victory on Monday. The Chanticleers have lost four straight after a 77-55 defeat at Gardner-Webb Saturday night. Former Clemson and Auburn coach Cliff Ellis is in his second year as head coach at Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers have a 7-11 over-all record and 1-5 mark in the Big South.
“Coastal Carolina has a fine team. They beat East Carolina and Georgia State in December and are always tough to beat at home,” explained Biedenbach. “Cliff Ellis is a very good coach who will have his team ready to play Monday night.”
The Bulldogs won both meetings last year but both were close hard-fought games as Asheville won 56-52 in Conway and 78-72 at Justice Center.
Asheville continues to be led by senior forward Reid Augst with a 15.6 scoring average. Augst had a tough night shooting at Winthrop but still managed to score 12 points. He grabbed seven rebounds and had four steals in the loss. John Williams has 12 points and is averaging 11.7 points per game. Freshman guard Matt Dickey continued his good work and posted a career-high 23 points at Winthrop. He is now averaging 9.3 points per game but that average jumps to 12.1 in league play.
Coastal Carolina is led by forward Joseph Harris. He's averaging a double-double this year with a 14.1 scoring average and 10.1 rebounding mark. Anthony Breeze is averaging 10.5 points per game.
NOTES ? This will be UNC Asheville's 12th road game out of its last 16 games...Augst has scored in double figures in 15 of 18 games this season...the Bulldogs have won nine of their last 16 Big South Conference road games dating back to the 2006-07 season.
