UNC Asheville Men's Basketball Plays at Charleston Southern Saturday Night

ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? The UNC Asheville men's basketball team begins another three-game road trip this Saturday night when the Bulldogs play at Big South Conference rival Charleston Southern starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday's game will be broadcast on WISE Radio (1310-AM) and can be seen via video-streaming for a small fee at The Edge at www.bigsouthsports.com.

UNC Asheville (5-8, 1-1 BSC) ended a three-game losing streak with a thrilling 81-78 victory over mountain rival Western Carolina Wednesday evening at Justice Center. The Bulldogs trailed 41-31 at halftime but stormed back in the second half to produce the victory. It was the 200^th career win for Asheville head coach Eddie Biedenbach. Asheville was led by senior Reid Augst with 18 points and eight rebounds. John Williams tallied 17 points for the Dogs.

“I really like the way we competed in the second half against Western Carolina,” commented Biedenbach. “Our guys did a nice job of grinding things out on both offense and defense. We still made too many mistakes in the second half but found a way to win the game.

“We're going to have a lot of close games now that we're in Big South Conference play,” added Biedenbach. “Hopefully, the experience of the Western Carolina game will give us some confidence when we're in a tight game down the stretch.”

The Bulldogs face an improved Charleston Southern squad Saturday night. The Buccaneers have a 5-6 overall mark and are 1-0 in the league as they beat High Point earlier this year on the road. CSU is led by talented sophomore guard Jamarco Warren. He's leading the Big South in scoring with a 21.5 average. Junior forward Omar Carter is averaging 14.7 points per game. The Bucs almost upset Virginia Tech Tuesday night before falling 75-66.

“This is going to be a very difficult game with Charleston Southern,” declared Biedenbach. “Charleston Southern has had a young team the past two years but those young players are maturing this year, and I expect them to be a real factor in the Big South this season. They came very close to beating an ACC team in Virginia Tech and have been tough all year. We better be ready to play Saturday night.”

The Bulldogs continue to be led in scoring by Augst with a 13.9 average. Williams is averaging 11.5 points per game. He leads the team in rebounding (5.8) and blocked shots (27).

Asheville won all three meeting with CSU last season. The Dogs won 86-73 at the CSU Fieldhouse and then won 85-73 in Asheville. The teams met in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament at Justice Center with the Bulldogs pulling away late, 87-63.

NOTES: UNC Asheville is 5-1 at home but 0-7 on the road...four of those road losses have come against teams nationally ranked (North Carolina, Tennessee, Duke and Ohio State)...the Bulldogs won against Western Carolina despite trailing at halftime and that was the first time Asheville had won after trailing at halftime since Feb. 2 2008 when the Dogs rallied past Winthrop 71-56 after the Eagles led 33-26 at intermission...John Williams is in seventh place on the school's all-time career blocked shots list with 78...the Bulldogs have allowed seven of their last 10 opponents to shoot at least 50 percent from the field.

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

UNC Asheville Men's Basketball Plays at Charleston Southern Saturday Night

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