University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldogs Fall at Presbyterian; Will Face Winthrop Tuesday Night
02.28.2009 | Men's Basketball
CLINTON, S.C. ? Presbyterian held UNC Asheville to just 15 first-half points and held off a frantic Bulldog comeback in the second half to record a 76-61 Big South Conference victory at the Templeton Center.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 14-15 overall record and 10-8 mark in the Big South Conference. UNC Asheville will be the fourth seed in the Big South Conference Tournament and host fifth-seeded Winthrop Tuesday night at Justice Center starting at 7 p.m. The Eagles finished in a three-way for fifth with Gardner-Webb and Presbyterian and got the fifth seed due to a 3-1 record against those teams.
UNC Asheville was led by a double-double from Sean Smith with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Matt Dickey added 13 points.
The Blue Hose (13-17, 9-9 BSC) were led by Bryan Bostic's 25 points. Al'Lonzo Coleman had 17 points. Chase Holmes finished with 14 points.
The Bulldogs had a dismal offensive showing in the first half. Asheville shot 16 percent (4-of-25) from the field and was 0-of-8 from the three-point. The visitors went 11 minutes without a field goal as the Blue Hose outscored the Bulldogs 28-5 to stretch the lead from 7-6 to 35-11. Presbyterian led 38-15 at halftime.
“We weren't prepared to play from the start and did not match Presbyterian's intensity in the first half,” commented UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. “I'm very disappointed in how we played in the opening half. We played better in the second half but gave up way too many easy baskets and just weren't ready to play.”
Asheville tried to make a run in the second half. The Blue Hose built the lead to 28 at 54-26 on a lay-up from Coleman with 13:40 left.
The Bulldogs behind the red-hot shooting of Smith and Dickey carved the lead to 62-51 with 4:47 left. Smith knocked down a long trey to get Asheville to 11.
But Presbyterian scored the next six points to give the Blue Hose a 68-51 lead and Asheville could get no closer.
The Bulldogs shot 56 percent from the field in the second half (18-of-32) and 53 percent (9-of-17) from beyond the arc.
“We shot the ball better in the second half but Presbyterian is very athletic and they made enough plays against our press to stop our runs,” added Biedenbach.
This will mark the third straight year that UNC Asheville has played Winthrop in the Big South Tournament. The Eagles won both meetings against the Bulldogs this season, winning 87-67 at Winthrop on Jan. 17 and 56-49 at Justice Center on Jan. 28.
