University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Basketball Heads to High Point
12.03.2010 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The UNC Asheville Bulldogs look to go 2-0 in Big South Conference play and give head coach Eddie Biedenbach his 200th win as Asheville plays at High Point Saturday night starting at 7 p.m. Saturday's game will be broadcast by ESPN Radio (1310-AM) with the pre-game show starting at 6:30 p.m. The game will also be video-streamed and can be seen for a small fee on the Big South Network at www.uncabulldogs.com.
The Bulldogs (3-4, 1-0 BSC) won their opening game in Big South Conference play for the 14th time in 15 years under Biedenbach when they downed Radford 70-50 at the Dedmon Center Thursday night. D.J. Cunningham scored 16 points and collected eight rebounds. J.P. Primm and Matt Dickey both finished with 14 points each.
"We did what we needed to do at Radford," commented Biedenbach. "It was a workmanlike performance, and we played better as the game went on. It was nice to see us bounce back after a tough loss at USC Upstate Monday night (the Bulldogs lost in double overtime, 93-91)."
Asheville will play against a High Point team that is coming off an exciting 66-64 win over Gardner-Webb Thursday night. The Panthers (3-3, 1-0 BSC) trailed late in the game but got some key baskets and defensive stops to earn the victory. The Bulldogs have struggled to win at the Millis Center over the years. Asheville has lost six of its last seven games, including last year's frustrating, 66-62 defeat.
"High Point has been tough place for us to win over the years, and Saturday night's game will be no different," explained Biedenbach. "They (High Point) have a good team again this season and we're going to have our hands full on Saturday. We'll need to play well early and be consistent for 40 minutes."
The Bulldogs have not been 2-0 in league play since the 2007-08 team started out 7-0. Coach Biedenbach has accumulated 199 wins as head coach of the Bulldogs in 15 years of coaching.
"Right now I just want to go 2-0 in the league and it would mean we would have won two road games," declared Biedenbach. "I'm not worried about how many wins I have here. I've been fortunate to have a lot of good players that have helped UNC Asheville win those games while I've been the head coach."
Asheville continues to be led by its backcourt. Matt Dickey tops the club in scoring with a 17.7 average, while J.P. Primm is right behind with a 17.6 mark. Sophomore center D.J. Cunningham is knocking on the door of averaging a double-double with an 11.1 scoring average and 9.3 rebounding mark.
The Panthers are led by Big South Preseason Player of the Year Nick Barbour with a 16.8 scoring average.
BULLDOG NOTES
UNC Asheville is 5-5 in its last 10 Big South Conference road games dating back to last season.
The Bulldogs lead the series 19-17 as the teams played three times last year. Asheville won the final two meetings, both at Justice Center. The Dogs won the regular-season contest at Justice Center, 83-69 and then captured an 84-73 win over the Panthers in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament at Justice Center.
Senior forward John Williams will not play on Saturday due to a facial injury suffered against North Carolina last Tuesday (Nov. 23) night.
J.P. Primm and Matt Dickey have scored in double figures in every game this season. Primm is ranked in the Big South in the top 10 in eight different categories. They are scoring (5th), assists (6th), free throw percentage (4th), steals (6th), three-point percentage (2nd), three-point field goals made (2nd), assist/turnover ratio (10th) and minutes played (4th). Matt Dickey is ranked in the top five in six different categories. They are scoring (4th), field goal percentage (4th), free throw percentage (3rd), steals (3rd), three-point field goals made (4th) and minutes played (5th).
Four of Asheville's last 12 games dating back to last season have gone into overtime. All of those games have occurred on the road. The Bulldogs had two overtime games late in the regular season last year and have had two OT games this year. Asheville is 2-2 in those games. The Bulldogs opened the season with a 70-69 overtime win at Auburn but lost to USC Upstate in double overtime on Monday.
The High Point game ends a stretch of five straight road games and seven of eight games to open the season. Asheville will play five of its next six games in the friendly confines of Justice Center. The Bulldogs play 13 of their final 21 games at home.
J.P. Primm has gotten to the free throw line at least 10 times in the past two games. He went 12-for-14 at USC Upstate and 9-of-10 at Radford.
Asheville's 70-50 win at Radford was the second biggest margin of victory in a Big South Conference road game in school history.
D.J. Cunningham has scored in double figures in three straight games. He grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds at USC Upstate Monday night. That's the most rebounds by a Bulldog player since the school went Division I 25 years ago.
