University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
USC Upstate
USC Upstate Survives Double Overtime Thriller With Bulldogs
11.29.2010 | Men's Basketball
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Carter Cook hit two free throws with 6.9 seconds left in double overtime to give USC Upstate a 93-91 win over visiting UNC Asheville Monday night.
The Bulldogs (2-4) had fought-back from a 10-point halftime to lead late in regulation by six only to see Tony Dukes hit a three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left to send the game into overtime tied at 69-69.
In overtime, J.P. Primm's three-pointer at the buzzer tied the game and sent the game into a double overtime tied at 84-84.
Asheville was led by a career-high 26 points from Primm. D.J. Cunningham has 12 points and a career-best 18 rebounds. Matt Dickey finished with 20 points. Jaron Lane added 13 points, while Chris Stephenson added 10 points .
"This is a tough one to lose," said UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. "We didn't play well in the first half but did a nice job coming back in the second half. However, we had turnovers in key situations late in the game that really hurt us.
"We didn't guard some of their shooters at key times and they made us pay for it at some big times," added Biedenbach. "You hope this is a game that teaches us some lessons for later in the season. But this is a game we should have won but just didn't get it done."
Primm went 5-of-12 from the field, 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and 12-of-14 from the free throw line. Dickey scored all 20 of his points in the second half and overtime.
A Primm free throw gave the Bulldogs a 91-89 lead with 1:04 left in double overtime. Cook was fouled with 47 seconds left and he made both free throws to knot the game at 91-91.
The Bulldogs had two inside looks to re-take the lead but two shots spun out. Upstate (1-6) played for one shot and Cook drove the lane and was fouled with 6.9 seconds left. He made both to give the Spartans a two-point lead.
Primm came down and his runner in the lane rimmed out and the Spartans came down with the rebound and the win.
Asheville got out of the gates slowly as it scored just one point in the first five minutes of the game and trailed 8-1. The Spartans led the whole way in the opening half and built a 37-27 halftime lead. Upstate forced nine Asheville turnovers and had 11 offensive rebounds.
UNC Asheville opens Big South Conference play Thursday night at Radford starting at 7 p.m.
BULLDOG NOTES
John Williams did not play due to a facial injury suffered at North Carolina last week...Primm hit 12 straight free throws in the game...the Bulldogs have out-scored all six of their opponents in the second half but have trailed at halftime in five games, scoring below 30 points in each contest...the double overtime contest was the first by the Bulldogs since a 86-74 win over Elon on Feb. 1, 2003.
