University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldogs Host Highlanders in Regular-Season Finale
02.25.2011 | Men's Basketball
The game with the Highlanders will be a huge one for Asheville. A victory over Radford gives the Bulldogs (15-13, 10-7 BSC) the third seed in next week's Big South Tournament that begins on Tuesday with quarterfinal action. Asheville has earned a home game against an opponent yet to be determined.
Saturday's game will also celebrate homecoming and will mark the final regular season game to be played at Justice Center. Both the men's and women's basketball team will move into Kimmel Arena next season. During Saturday's game, championship teams that played at Justice Center will be recognized and there will be a brief ceremony afterwards to recognize the fact it is the last regular-season game.
The Bulldogs are having a great week so far as they upset regular-season champion Coastal Carolina Tuesday night on the road, 61-58 and then downed High Point Thursday night at Justice Center, 76-62.
"We played pretty well in the second half against High Point," declared Asheville coach Eddie BIedenbach. "We played hard for 40 minutes but played a little smarter down the stretch than we've been playing.
"What was good about the High Point game is it reminded me of a tournament game," added Biedenbach. "I thought High Point played well and gave us fits at times. But overall, we played good defense, rebounded and hit our free throws. That's how we need to keep playing."
This season has been a rebuilding year for the Highlanders (5-23, 2-15). Radford led for most of the way at Gardner-Webb on Thursday before falling in the final minutes 71-63. The Highlanders are led by Jareal Smith with a 9.6 scoring average. Gorkem Sonmez has knocked down 42 treys and is averaging 8.6 points per game.
"I know Radford has had a tough but they've played just about everyone pretty close," commented Biedenbach. "Even our game up at Radford (a 70-50 Bulldog win) was close for 35 minutes until we pulled away at the end. We know they'll be well-coached and play hard for 40 minutes. Our guys will need to bring the same intensity we had against Coastal Carolina and High Point this week."
BULLDOG NOTES
Three With 1,000 Career Points: For the first time in the program's history, UNC Asheville has three players with 1,000 career points in senior forward John Williams, junior guard Matt Dickey and junior guard J.P. Primm. Dickey has 1,119 points, Williams has 1,106 points, while Primm has 1,090 points.
11 BSC Wins Ties a School Record: If the Bulldogs can defeat Radford, Asheville would tie a school record for Big South Conference wins in a season with 11. Last year's team went 11-7 and with a victory today, this year's team would go 11-7. The 1997-98 Bulldogs also won 11 league games as they finished 11-1.
Who Will We Play on Tuesday?: UNC Asheville could face either Charleston Southern, VMI and Winthrop on Tuesday evening in the quarterfinals of the Big South Conference Tournament. Tickets are now on sale for Tuesday's game and can be ordered on-line at uncabulldogs.com. The pairings for the tournament will be announced sometime tonight or Sunday morning. Our website will have it up as soon as the pairings for the tournament are announced.
Penny Lane: Sophomore forward Jaron Lane has scored in double figures in four straight games and has averaged 17 points per game in the past two contests. He scored a season-high 16 point and a career-high eight rebounds at Coastal Carolina (2-22). On Thursday, Lane tallied a career-high 18 points and collected another eight rebounds vs. High Point.
Three Have Started Every Game This Season: UNC Asheville has had a pretty consistent line-up all year long. J.P. Primm, Matt Dickey and Chris Stephenson have started in all 28 games for the Bulldogs.
Stealing Bulldogs: UNC Asheville continues to lead the Big South and has moved up to sixth nationally in steals with a 9.3 per game average. Asheville has a total of 261 steals on the year. J.P. Primm leads the team with 59 steals, while Matt Dickey has 55.
