University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Basketball Set to Face Presbyterian College on Saturday
01.22.2010 | Men's Basketball
Asheville (7-12, 4-4 BSC) moved into a three-way tie for fifth place in the league standings with a 66-53 triumph over visiting Winthrop Thursday night. The Bulldogs played one of their best games of the year and led for most of the way. Sean Smith led Asheville with 20 points as he knocked down six 3-pointers in the contest. The win was Bulldog coach Eddie Biedenbach's 110th league win, making him the Big South's all-time leader in conference wins, passing former Radford coach Ron Bradley with 109.
"It was nice to set the record but more importantly it was good for this team to find a way to beat a good team like Winthrop," commented Biedenbach. "I really liked the way we competed and battled on Thursday night. We had a great crowd and it was a nice win for UNC Asheville."
There's not much time to rest as the Bulldogs face a Blue Hose team that gave Asheville fits a year ago. PC is transitioning to Division I and is not eligible for the Big South Tournament this season. The Blue Hose are 3-17 on the season and 1-7 in league play. Biedenbach believes that record is very misleading.
"Presbyterian has played a lot of games on the road against excellent basketball teams," stated Biedenbach. "In league play, they've lost two games in overtime on the road that they easily could have won. We better be ready to play from the start on Saturday."
Asheville split with the Blue Hose a year ago. The Bulldogs won at Justice Center 68-58 as they rallied from a seven-point deficit with seven minutes left. PC whipped Asheville 76-61 in Clinton later in the season.
"We were fortunate to beat Presbyterian at our place last season, and they beat us pretty good down there later in the year," explained Biedenbach. "The win against Winthrop was nice on Thursday, but Saturday is a new day."
NOTES - The game with Presbyterian is the third of a five-game homestand for the Bulldogs and it's the longest homestand since a six-game homestand in the 1977-78 season...John Williams is tied for the league lead in blocked shots with 48 and he's blocked 14 shots in the last three games...Asheville has won three straight BSC games but has been out-rebounded in each of those games...the Bulldogs' four-game winning streak is the longest since the 2007-08 team won seven in a row...Matt Dickey has scored in double figures in four straight games.
