University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Presbyterian
Men's Basketball Rallies Past Presbyterian 68-58
01.24.2009 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? UNC Asheville ended the game on a 22-5 run to rally past Presbyterian 68-58 in Big South Conference action Saturday night before a capacity crowd of 1,006 at Justice Center.
The Bulldogs (9-11, 5-4 BSC) trailed 53-46 with
Reid Augst and John Williams led UNC Asheville with 15 points each. Sean Smith, Jason Ridenhour and J.P. Primm added nine points apiece. Williams grabbed eight rebounds and blocked five shots. Matt Dickey finished with a game-high and career-best seven assists. He also had five steals.
The Blue Hose (8-12, 5-4 BSC) were led by Travis Sligh with 16 points and nine rebounds. Bryan Bostic finished with 15 points, while Al'Lonzo Coleman had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“We did a great job gutting this game out,” stated UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. “I thought we really turned up the intensity level over the last eight minutes and found a way to get a win.
“Presbyterian is a well-coached team that really knows how to play,” added Biedebach. “We were fortunate to be able to come back and win. I thought out crowd really helped us and kept us going through some tough times.”
Sligh scored six straight points over a two-minute stretch to give Presbyterian a 53-46 lead. The Bulldogs began their comeback with two free throws from Augst at the
Three free throws from Williams on two straight possessions narrowed the lead to 53-51. Williams then blocked a Blue Hose shot and Jason Ridenhour knocked down a three-pointer to give the Bulldogs the lead at 54-53 with
A free throw from Bostic briefly tied the game at 54-54 before Williams scored the next 6 points to give
The Bulldogs sealed the victory by going 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Presbyterian would only get one field goal in the final seven minutes of the game. The Blue Hose went 1-of-6 from the field during that stretch and committed six turnovers.
The home team started the game out by scoring the first seven points and racing to a 7-0 lead. UNC Asheville continued to build on the lead and pushed the margin to 29-14 at the
But Presbyterian dominated the final three minutes as the visitors outscored the home team 14-3 and cut the lead to 32-28. The Blue Hose used back-to-back treys from Bostic and a lay-up from Coleman to get PC to 29-26. Matt Dickey sank a trey for
Both teams shot poorly from the field in the first half. PC shot 36 percent (10-of-28) from the field but more than made up for it with its three-point shooting. The Blue Hose went 5-for-9 from beyond the arc.
UNC Asheville hosts defending Big South Conference champion Winthrop Wednesday night starting at
NOTES ? UNC Asheville has won 24 of its last 28 home games...Eddie Biedenbach won his 101st Big South Conference game...Reid Augst has 954 career points and has scored in double figures 17 times this season.
