University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville Opens Big South Conference Play vs. Gardner-Webb
11.30.2011 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The UNC Asheville men's basketball team opens Big South Conference play Thursday night when the Bulldogs travel to Gardner-Webb at a special time of 5:30 p.m. Thursday's game will be broadcast locally on WWNC Radio (570-AM) starting with the pre-game show at 5 p.m. The game can be seen via video-streaming at www.uncabulldogs.com. There will also be a free audio stream at www.uncabulldogs.com.
Asheville (3-4) should get a stern test from the Runnin' Bulldogs (3-5). Gardner-Webb slipped past Chattanooga on the road Sunday, 76-74 in overtime. The Bulldogs knocked off Utah, 87-65 from the PAC-12 last Saturday night at the Battle "4" Atlantis Tournament in the Bahamas.
"I thought we grew as a team last week in the Bahamas," commented Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. "We played three tough games in three days and got better with each game. We still have plenty to improve on and need to be more consistent, but overall we're making progress to be a good basketball team."
Asheville has four players scoring in double figures. Matt Dickey is averaging 16.6 points per game, while J.P. Primm has a 14.0 average. Chris Stephenson has a 12.0 mark, while Jaron Lane is averaging 11.0 points per game. The Bulldogs are 15th nationally in scoring with an 83.0 average.
Biedenbach is quite impressed with what he's seen of Gardner-Webb.
"Gardner-Webb has a very good team," commented Biedenbach. "They've played a strong schedule and played everyone tough. They lost by two at Butler and won at Chattanooga. We had two close games with them last season, and I expect Thursday night's game to be just as close. We better be ready to play hard and battle for 40 minutes."
Gardner-Webb has gotten major contributions from newcomers Max Landis (13.0 ppg) and Jason Dawson (12.3 ppg) in the backcourt. 6-11 center Mike Byron is averaging 7.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game
The Bulldogs have won the last six meetings between the teams but all have been very close. Three of the last four games have been decided by eight points. Asheville's last two wins at Gardner-Webb have been by two points (59-57) and three points (57-54). Two years ago, Chris Stephenson tapped in a missed shot at the buzzer. Last year, a last-second three-point shot by Gardner-Webb just missed.
BULLDOG NOTES
UNC Asheville is 14-1 in Big South Conference opening games under Eddie Biedenbach. The Bulldogs have won their last six BSC openers.
Matt Dickey has scored in double figures in all seven games this season. He has scored in double digits in 12 straight games dating back to last year.
Senior guard J.P. Primm should soon become the school's all-time leader in assists. He enters today's game with 504 career assists and needs just 17 to surpass K.J. Garland (520) as the all-time leader. Primm is also second all-time at Asheville in career steals with 197 and needs 27 to pass former Bulldog great Andre Smith (223). Primm earned his 500th career assist vs. Utah. When he reaches 200 steals, he will be just the fifth player in Big South Conference history to have 500 assists and 200 steals. He will be the first in Bulldog history to accomplish this feat.
Tonight's game vs. Gardner-Webb is Asheville's first road game in almost three weeks. The Bulldogs have not played a true road game since opening the season at N.C. State on Nov. 11. Asheville had two games at home after the State game and then played three games in the Bahamas at the Battle "4" Atlantis last week. The Bulldogs were 8-8 on the road last season, the most road wins in more than 30 years for the Asheville program. The Dogs were 6-3 on the road in league games last season.
The Bulldogs four losses have come against teams that have a combined record of 21-4.
Asheville played three games in three nights at the Battle "4" Atlantis last week. It was the first time a Bulldog team has played three games in three nights since the 2000 Big South Conference Tournament at the Asheville Civic Center.
