University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
VMI
Williams Leads Bulldogs Past VMI, 114-97
02.13.2010 | Men's Basketball
The Bulldogs (12-14, 9-7 BSC) shot 59 percent (40-of-68) from the field in winning their seventh straight home game. Williams was joined in double figures by five other Bulldogs. Freshman center D.J. Cunningham scored a career-high 19 points and collected 10 rebounds. Chris Stephenson enjoyed the first double-double of his career with 12 points and a career-best 12 rebounds.
Sophomore guard J.P. Primm had a double-double with 16 points and 13 assists. His 13 assists tied a career-high and was just one off the school record. Freshman guard Jaron Lane came off the bench to tally 15 points with five assists and four steals. Matt Dickey contributed 14 points, 12 in the second half.
The Keydets (9-16, 4-11 BSC) picked up 32 points from Keith Gabriel. It was the second highest scoring game in his career. Stan Okoye, saddled with foul trouble, added 17 points in just 11 minutes of action. Michael Sparks finished with 15 points, while Austin Kenon chipped in 10 points.
Williams went 12-of-15 from the field and 7-of-11 from the line. He collected eight rebounds.
The Bulldogs led from start to finish but had to hold off a furious comeback in the second half to pick up their first home win over VMI since the 2005-06 season.
Asheville went on a 17-5 early in the game to race to a 27-10 lead on a dunk from Cunningham in transition. The Bulldogs steadily built on the lead and managed to push the margin to 25 at 51-26 on a trey from reserve guard Austin Alecxih at the 6:10 mark.
But VMI began to rally as the Keydets went on a 9-2 run to end the first half to close to 64-46 at halftime. Gabriel sank two long three-pointers to fuel the rally.
Primm had 11 first-half assists for the Bulldogs. Asheville shot a season-best 63 percent (25-of-40) from the field. The visitors shot 33 percent (16-of-48) from the field in the opening half but stayed within striking distance by knocking down 11 treys. The Bulldogs hurt themselves with poor shooting at the free throw line as they went 11-of-22.
The Keydets kept chipping away in the second half. A trey from Okoye and a three-point play from Gabriel off a steal, and VMI was suddenly within 83-79 at the 8:26 mark.
The Keydets trailed 85-80 with seven minutes left when he Bulldogs got some breathing room. Williams had eight points, three baskets on sensational dunks that triggered a 15-2 Asheville run to push the Bulldog advantage to 100-82.
Asheville kept its advantage with much better free throw shooting in the second half. The home team went 20-of-23 for 87 percent.
The Bulldogs travel to Presbyterian College on Tuesday night for a key league battle that starts at 7:30 p.m. VMI hosts High Point on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
