University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldogs Roar Past Mars Hill, 126-75
11.16.2011 | Men's Basketball
The 126 points was the second highest in school history by Asheville against a short-handed Lions squad that had five players out with injuries.
The Bulldogs (1-2) had 38 assists in the game, breaking the old mark of 31 assists set in the 1987-88 season against Voorhees.
Freshman guard Keith Hornsby led Asheville with 21 points, while senior guard J.P. Primm just missed a double-double with 19 points and nine assists. Freshman guard Corey Littlejohn added 15 points. Matt Dickey and Trent Meyer contributed 13 points each. Dickey had nine assists. Meyer's 13 points was a career high. Freshman center Jaleel Roberts went 6-for-6 from the field for 12 points and blocked four shots. Chris Stephenson scored all 12 of his points in the first half.
The Lions (1-3) were led by Sammy Emile with a game-high 24 points. He also pulled down nine rebounds. Petar Kostic had 12 points. Terrell Harris pumped in 11 points.
"We played very well in the first half both on offense and defense," commented Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. "Mars Hill is a little beat up and once they get all their players healthy they'll be a good basketball team.
"It's good to get that first win and get last weekend behind us (the opening game in Kimmel Arena was against top-ranked North Carolina)," added Biedenbach. "However, we gave up way too many points (46) in the second half. We needed to play better defense than we did tonight but overall our effort was excellent from everyone."
The Bulldogs went on a 17-6 run early in the game to grab a 23-14 lead as Asheville got points from five different players.
The home team expanded on the lead as the Bulldogs shot 52% (22-of-42) from the field and 53 percent (8-of-15) from long distance. Asheville went on a 14-1 run midway through the half to blow the game open and lead 46-21. The Bulldogs led 59-29 at halftime.
Nine different Asheville players scored in the opening half. The Bulldogs dominated inside as they outscored the Lions 32-6 in the paint.
The second half was more of the same except Mars Hill was able to get some offense going. Harris scored 14 points in the second half, while freshman guard Corey Greene scored all 10 of his points.
The Bulldogs finished with a 55-35 rebounding advantage and out-scored the visitors in the paint overall, 80-25. Asheville's bench contributed 76 points. The Bulldogs had 16 steals in the game with Primm and Dickey getting four each.
UNC Asheville is at home Monday night when the Bulldogs host Brevard College at Kimmel Arena at 7 p.m.
