Men's Basketball Ready to Face Highlanders

ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? The UNC Asheville men's basketball team heads to Radford Saturday night as the Bulldogs try to extend their three-game winning streak. Saturday's game will be at Peters Hall and starts at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WISE Radio (1310-AM) and be video-streamed for a small fee at The Edge on www.bigsouthsports.com

UNC Asheville (7-8, 3-1 BSC) will have a stiff challenge against the Highlanders. Radford is 6-9 overall, but 3-1 in league play. The Highlanders have won three straight in league play and posted impressive road victories last weekend at Presbyterian and Coastal Carolina.

The Bulldogs have also won three straight and their last two wins have been on the road. Asheville downed Charleston Southern last Saturday 76-65 and rallied for a win at Gardner-Webb Wednesday, 86-76. The Dogs trailed by nine with 13 minutes left but held the Runnin' Bulldogs to just nine field goals in the second half.

“I was really proud of guys for the win at Gardner-Webb,” declared UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. “We had some adversity but we dug deep and found a way to win against a good basketball team on the road.”

Asheville played the game without starting forward John Williams who was out with an illness. He is questionable for the Radford game. Sophomore guard Donovan Jones also missed the game with a leg injury. Jones is doubtful for Saturday night's game.

The Bulldogs had six players score in double figures at Gardner-Webb. Freshman guard Matt Dickey posted a career-high 18 points. Reid Augst scored in double figures for the 12^th time this season with 17. J.P. Primm finished with 13 points and six rebounds. Jason Ridenhour added 12 points. Eric Stubbs had a near double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds. Freshman guard Chris Stephenson had the best game of his young career with a near triple-double. He scored 10 points, handed out seven assists and pulled down six rebounds.

Radford has a strong inside game led by center Artsiom Parakhouski and forward Joey Lynch-Flohr. Parakhouski is averaging a double-double with a 14.5 scoring average and 10.3 rebounding mark. Lynch-Flohr is averaging 13.1 points per game and shooting 51 percent from the field.

“Radford is a very good team, and I've thought that since before the season started,” commented Biedenbach. “They're well-coached and have a very good inside game. We will have a real challenge Saturday night with Radford.”

Augst continues to lead the Bulldogs in scoring with a 14.8 average. He is averaging 20.1 points in league play and shooting 65 percent (28-of-43) from the field in four conference games. Williams has an 11.5 scoring average and leads the team in rebounding with a 5.9 mark. Primm has a 9.9 scoring average but is scoring at a 16.5 clip in league games.

NOTES ? The Bulldogs have won nine of their last 13 Big South Conference road games dating back to the 2006-07 season...the Radford game ends a stretch where Asheville has played nine of its last 12 games away from home...the Bulldogs are shooting 53 percent from the field in league games and have shot at least 49 percent from the field in the last three games...Reid Augst is shooting 21 percent overall from the three-point line (9-of-42) but 50 percent in four league games (6-of-12).