University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
King College
Dickey & Cunningham Lead Bulldogs Past King College 90-72
12.16.2010 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Matt Dickey scored 21 points, while D.J. Cunningham added a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds as UNC Asheville downed King College 90-72 at Justice Center Thursday night.
The Bulldogs (6-6) had to withstand a scoring barrage from King guard Mark Dockey who scored a season-high 30 points, including 23 in the first half.
The victory was Asheville's second straight and 12th straight home victory at Justice Center dating back to last season.
J.P. Primm added 17 points and six assists for the Bulldogs, while Quinard Jackson contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and a career-high five assists.
The Tornado (6-7) picked up 15 points from Jason Seymore. Clarence Smith finished with 12 points.
"This is a really good win for us right after exams," stated Bulldog coach Eddie Biedenbach. "King is a good team and will win a lot of games this season. We guarded Dockery pretty good a few times and he still made shots.
"I thought we played with some poise, attacked their pressure defense pretty well and did a great job on the boards," added Biedenbach. "We had good balanced scoring and everyone contributed."
Asheville held a 44-24 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs out-scored King in the paint, 46-26.
The Bulldogs made a late run in the first half to take control of the game. Leading 35-30 with four minutes to go in the half, Asheville outscored King 15-7 to race to a 50-37 lead. The Bulldogs scored on seven straight possessions as both Dickey and Primm knocked down three-pointers.
Asheville shot a season-high 61 percent (17-of-28) from the field in the opening half and out-rebounded the visitors, 23-14. Primm had 14 points in the first half, while Dickey added 11 points. Both had three assists.
Dockey single-handily carried the Tornado in the first half as he scored 23 first-half points. He was 7-of-12 from the field, 5-of-9 from beyond the arc and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. Dockey scored 11 straight points for King early in the game to help the Tornado rally from two early eight-point deficits.
The Bulldogs continued the moment into the second half as they out-scored King 10-2 to open the half to build their biggest lead at 60-39. Back-to-back three-point plays from Dickey and Primm gave Asheville the 21-point lead.
The Tornado closed to 14 points on three different occasions but each time the Bulldogs would answer with an inside bucket to keep King at bay. Cunningham scored 12 points in the second half as he was 6-of-6 from the field.
The Bulldogs shot 56% (32-of-57) from the field for the game.
UNC Asheville plays next at #2 Ohio State Tuesday (Dec. 21) night starting at 8:30 p.m. The game will be televised regionally by the Big 10 Network.
