University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts Mars Hill Wednesday Night
11.15.2011 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The UNC Asheville men's basketball team looks for its first win of the season when the Bulldogs host Mars Hill College at Kimmel Arena Wednesday night starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday's game will be video-streamed and can be seen at www.uncabulldogs.com for a small fee.
Asheville (0-2) opened the season in a tough way with two games against ACC clubs. The Bulldogs fell at N.C. State last Friday night, 84-75 and then lost its Kimmel Arena debut on Sunday to the top-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels, 91-75.
This is the first regular-season meeting between the two schools since the 1994-95 season when Asheville edged Mars Hill, 72-67 at the Civic Center. It's also a homecoming for Lions head coach Thomas Nash. He served as an assistant coach for seven seasons from 2001 through 2008 before moving to Mars Hill for his first collegiate head coaching position.
The Bulldogs played an emotional game with North Carolina on Sunday as a sell-out crowd and nationally televised audience saw Asheville battle the Tar Heels tough before falling. J.P. Primm led the Dogs with 23 points, while Jaron Lane added a career-best 21 points
"Sunday was a great day for our school and our program," explained Asheville head coach Eddie Biedenbach. "Our effort was sensational, and we did a lot of good things in the game. We're going to need efforts like that all year, not just when we play North Carolina."
Mars Hill is 1-2 on the season and picked up its first win with a 90-78 victory over Lees-McRae Monday evening.
"We know Mars Hill has good players and they're going to have a good team," commented Biedenbach. "Our guys know they better be ready to play hard for 40 minutes if we hope to get a win Wednesday night. Thomas Nash is an excellent coach, and he'll have his guys ready to go."
Junior forward Jaron Lane is Asheville's leading scorer with a 17.0 average. He was named Big South Player of the Week on Tuesday for his work in the first two games.
BULLDOG NOTES
This is the first time Asheville head coach Eddie Biedenbach has faced a former assistant coach since the Bulldogs played Texas in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Texas head coach Rick Barnes was an assistant for Biedenbach in Davidson from 1978-80.
J.P. Primm is a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line this season.
The Bulldogs have made just 22 turnovers in the first two games of the year.
Asheville had 10 steals vs. UNC Chapel Hill on Sunday.
Lane has been named Big South Player of the Week for two straight weeks dating back to last season as he earned the honor in the final week of the regular season last year.
