Bulldogs Travel to Coastal Carolina Tuesday Night

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The UNC Asheville Bulldogs travel to Big South Conference regular-season champion Coastal Carolina Tuesday night as they try and forget about a disappointing week that had them losing two games in which they led by double-digits at halftime. Tuesday's game will be televised by ESPN3 and also be heard on ESPN Radio (1310-AM) with the pre-game show beginning at 6:30 p.m. The game will also be video-streamed at can be seen for a small fee at www.uncabulldogs.com.

Asheville (13-13, 8-7 BSC) lost at Charleston Southern last Tuesday night, despite leading 39-29 at halftime. On Saturday at home vs. Northeastern in the Sears Bracketbuster series, Asheville led 44-27 at halftime and by 19 early in the second before collapsing and losing 83-82.

The Bulldogs are still in control of their own destiny as far as hosing a Big South Tournament game next week. Asheville needs to win all three games it plays this week as the Bulldogs will play those games over the next five days. The Dogs play at Coastal Carolina Tuesday, host High Point on Thursday and then finish up against last-place Radford on Saturday afternoon at Justice Center. Asheville is all alone in third place at 8-7 in league but four teams are right behind them either a half-game or a game behind them. The Bulldogs could go 2-1 this week but that would not ensure a home playoff game next week.

"We played well in both games last week but didn't play well enough to get the job done," commented Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. "We just need to play a little smarter on both offense and defense in each game, and we could have gotten two wins. Hopefully, we're going to learn from these games and play better."

Asheville has a tough task tonight as the Chanticleers (25-3, 15-1 BSC) have won four straight in the series against the Bulldogs with the last three by an average margin of 25 points. Coastal Carolina whipped Asheville, 80-59 at Justice Center back on Jan. 20. The Dogs last two losses here last year were routs. Asheville fell 98-62 here last year during the regular season. The Bulldogs were then routed 92-73 in the semifinals of the BSC Tournament.

However, Coastal Carolina had a tough week, as well. The Chanticleers had a 22-game winning streak snapped at home by Gardner-Webb last Tuesday night, 58-56. CCU then lost two starters last week. Starting point guard Kierre Greenwood injured his knee against Gardner-Webb and is out for the season. Leading scorer Desmond Holloway was indefinitely suspended for an eligibility issue last Wednesday evening. The Chanticleers then pounded North Carolina Central Thursday night 93-59 without those two players.

"Coastal Carolina is still a very good team," stated Biedenbach. "You don't win 22 games in a row without everyone contributing. The players they have playing right now are good players who know how to win. Cliff Ellis is an excellent coach and he'll have his guys ready to play. We better be ready to play for 40 minutes because it's going to be a very tough game."

BULLDOG NOTES

UNC Asheville is 5-3 in league road games this year. The Bulldogs are trying to win six league road games for the first time in school history.

Coastal Carolina leads the all-time series 31-27 as the Chanticleers have won the last four meetings. Asheville is just 8-20 at Kimbel Arena all-time and only six of those wins have occurred since the Bulldogs went Division I. This has been a tough place for Asheville to win at over the years with the exception of three straight victories in the 2006-07 campaign and 2007-08 season.

UNC Asheville began the year with 10 straight wins when it led at halftime. The Bulldogs have now lost three consecutive games when they led at intermission. Asheville led 25-24 on Feb. 5 vs. Winthrop before falling 57-53 and being out-scored 33-28 in the second half. The last two games have been real killers. Last Tuesday at CSU, Asheville led 39-29 at halftime but the Dogs were out-scored 50-31 in the second half and lost 79-70. Asheville led at home on Saturday, 44-27 to Northeastern but was out-scored 56-38 in the second half to fall 83-82. In the last two games, Asheville has given up an average of 53 points and allowed their opponents to shoot 60 percent (30-of-50) from the field in the second halves of those contests.

UNC Asheville leads the Big South and is seventh nationally in steals entering today's game. The Bulldogs have 244 steals on the year and are averaging 9.38 steals per game. Asheville had 10 steals at Charleston Southern Tuesday night and 10 against Northeastern on Saturday. J.P. Primm leads Asheville in steals with 56 with Matt Dickey not too far behind with 49.

The Bulldogs are 8-7 in league play. In six of those losses, Asheville has led in the second half and four of them have occurred at home.