University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Basketball Set to Face Winthrop Thursday Night
01.20.2010 | Men's Basketball
The game with Winthrop is the second of a five-game homestand for the Bulldogs. Asheville (6-12, 3-4 BSC) hopes to build on a three-game winning streak Thursday night but know it won't be easy against an Eagle (8-9, 4-3 BSC) team that has also won three in a row.
"We know Winthrop is a good team and as usual they're playing great defense," commented Bulldog coach Eddie Biedenbach. "Winthrop is playing very well right now, and we're going to have to match their intensity from the start.
"We're playing a little better and with a little more confidence," added Biedenbach. "However, there's still plenty of work to do. We've been out-rebounded in two of the last three games and still turning the ball over too much."
Asheville began its winning streak last week with road wins at VMI (97-84) and Liberty (74-70). The Bulldogs defeated Bluefield in a rescheduled game on Monday, 97-74. The Eagles downed Presbyterian Saturday night on the road 56-42.
Coach Biedenbach has a chance to become the Big South Conference's all-time leader in regular-season conference wins on Thursday. Asheville's win at Liberty Saturday night gave him 109 BSC victories, tied with former Radford coach Ron Bradley.
"I'm not too concerned about any records or how many wins I have," declared Biedenbach. "The biggest thing I'm worried about is playing Winthrop. We've had a tough time beating them over the years, and we will have our hands full on Thursday."
Sophomore guard J.P. Primm continues to lead the Bulldog in scoring with an 11.4 average. He has scored in double figures in eight consecutive games and also tops the team in assists (86) and steals (36). Primm tied a career-high against Bluefield with 21 points.
NOTES - Winthrop has won 10 of the last 13 times it has played in Justice Center but the Bulldogs did defeat the Eagles, 76-68 in the quarterfinals of last year's Big South Conference Tournament at Justice Center....junior forward John Williams has scored in double figures in four straight games and blocked 10 shots in the last two contests...the Bulldogs had struggled from the free throw line much of the season but has shot at least 73 percent from the line in the last three games...Primm has 37 assists in the last five games...sophomore forward Chris Stephenson scored a career-high 26 points in Monday's win over Bluefield and also collected a career-best 13 rebounds.
