University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Gardner-Webb
Men's Basketball Shocks Gardner-Webb 86-76
01.07.2009 | Men's Basketball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. ? UNC Asheville placed six players in double figures as the Bulldogs shocked Big South newcomer Gardner-Webb 86-76 on the road Wednesday night at Porter Arena.
UNC Asheville (7-8, 3-1 BSC) was led by a career-high 18 points from freshman guard Matt Dickey. Reid Augst contributed 17 points, while J.P. Primm added 13 points and six rebounds. Jason Ridenhour had 12 points. Eric Stubbs finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. Freshman Chris Stephenson came off the bench with 10 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
The Bulldogs won the game despite not having the services of leading rebounder and second-leading scorer John Williams. Williams did not make the trip due to sickness.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (5-9, 1-3 BSC) were led by Jonathan Moore's game-high 22 points. Center Auryn McMillian added 17 points and 11 rebounds.
UNC Asheville trailed 43-38 at halftime and 57-48 with 13 minutes left but limited the home team to just nine field goals in the second half en route to its second straight league victory.
“Our defense was just great in the second half,” stated UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. “I was also so proud of our guys for stepping up and finding a way to beat a very good team on the road. Chris Stephenson was just tremendous for us off the bench tonight. Matt Dickey did a great job, too.”
Asheville led 70-68 with 4:34 left but took control of the game over the next three minutes with a 7-0 run to make it 77-68. The Bulldogs got points from four different players during the run and limited Gardner-Webb to 0-of-6 shooting from the field.
The home team closed to 77-71 at the 1:23 mark on a lay-up from Moore but the Bulldogs went 9-of-12 from the free throw line in the final minute to seal the Bulldog win.
Gardner-Webb led for much of the first half but the Bulldogs stayed in the game with great shooting. Asheville was 5-of-10 from the three-point line for 50 percent as Augst scored 12 points in the opening half. The Dogs shot 60 percent (14-of-23) from the field.
However, the Runnin' Bulldogs shot 59 percent (17-of-30) from the field in the opening half as McMillian scored 13 points. He was 5-of-8 from the field and all five field goals were dunks. His dunk as the first-half buzzer ended gave the home team a 43-38 halftime lead.
UNC Asheville plays the final game of its three-game road trip Saturday night at Radford starting at 7 p.m.
