University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
College of Charleston
College of Charleston Edges UNC Asheville 68-66
11.25.2011 | Men's Basketball
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas - Antwaine Wiggins scored eight straight points late in the game as College of Charleston held off UNC Asheville 68-66 in the consolation round of the Battle "4" Atlantis Friday night at Imperial Arena.
The Bulldogs (2-4) had a chance to tie with seconds remaining but J.P. Primm couldn't get a shot off as the buzzer sounded giving the Cougars the win. They'll play in the final game of the tournament Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. against Utah . The Utes fell to UMASS, 90-75.
Asheville was led by Matt Dickey with 20 points, while Chris Stephenson added 19 points and eight rebounds.
"We played pretty well tonight against a really good College of Charleston team but in the end we came up one play short," stated Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. "It was a great basketball game but this is a tough one to lose. Hopefully, the experience makes us a little better as the season goes on."
"What an entertaining basketball game. They (UNC Asheville) are tough to guard and are relentless," commented College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins. "It went back and forth and back and forth. It was a great win and a very difficult game for us. It was very difficult to defend them. We were trying to get the ball inside and take advantage of the height. Anthony Stitt made a gutty jump shot from the corner. I feel very fortunate to win. I'm very proud of our team and how we fought tonight. They are a nightmare to defend."
Asheville trailed 49-42 with 10 minutes but went on a 10-0 run to grab a 52-49 lead. The Bulldogs got three-pointers from freshman Keith Hornsby and Dickey plus lay-ups from Primm and Dickey to give Asheville a three-point lead.
Dickey's two free throws put the Bulldogs in front 54-51 when Wiggins got hot. He found a loose ball and knocked down a trey to tie the game at 54-54 and then got loose on transition to push the lead to 57-54. Wiggins then hit a shot in traffic with 4:07 left to give the Cougars a 59-54 lead.
"Wiggins is a great player and we guarded him pretty good for most of the night but we let him get going offensively with those eight straight points," said Biedenbach. "I thought that was the real difference in the game."
Asheville would not go away quietly and tied the game on a Quinard Jackson tap-in at 61-61. Both teams exchanged turnovers on their next possession setting up a frantic final minute of play.
Anthony Stitt sank a 15-footer with the shot-clock about to expire to give College of Charleston a 63-61 lead. The Cougars hit a free throw to make it 64-61. After a Bulldog turnover, Wiggins was fouled with 18 seconds left. He sank both free throws to give Charleston a 66-61 lead.
Dickey was fouled and hit the first free throw to cut the lead to 66-62. He missed the second but Jackson tapped in the miss to cut the lead to 66-64.
With 11 seconds left, Adjehi Baru hit one free throw to push the lead to 67-64. Asheville came down with a chance to tie but the Cougars elected to foul Dickey. The senior guard hit both free throws to narrow the lead to 67-66.
Wiggins was fouled and hit one free throw to give Charleston a 68-66 lead. Primm took the ball and drove up the court looking for the tie but couldn't get a shot off as time expired.
BULLDOG NOTES
Matt Dickey's 20 points was a season-high for him.
Jeremy Atkinson did not score but grabbed a career-best nine rebounds.
J.P. Primm had five assists and has 29 in the last four games. He now has 498 career assists and needs just 23 to become the school's all-time leader.
Asheville will play either UMASS or Utah on Saturday. It will be the first time the Bulldogs have ever played either program.
The Bulldogs made a season-high 16 turnovers and had a season-low three assists.
Chris Stephenson's 19 points and eight rebounds were season-highs in both categories.
