University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Hoops Travels to ETSU on Saturday at 7 p.m.
11.21.2014 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team looks for its third straight win on Saturday when the Bulldogs travel to East Tennessee State University for a 7 p.m. battle at Freedom Hall.
Saturday's contest was originally supposed to start at 4 p.m. but has been moved to a 7 p.m. Fans going to the game should note that the Bucs are playing their home games this year at Freedom Hall in downtown Johnson City. Freedom Hall is located on 1320 Pactolas Road.
Asheville's game with ETSU will be broadcast locally on WWNC Radio (570-AM) with the pre-game showing starting at 6:30 p.m. The game can also be heard on the internet and mobile devices with iHeartRadio.
The Bulldogs (2-1) look to go 3-1 for the first time since the 2008-09 season but will take on a talented Buccaneer (1-1) squad. ETSU has rejoined the Southern Conference after a 10-year stint in the Atlantic Sun. The Bucs are a preseason pick to finish in third place this season in the SoCon.
“ETSU is a talented club from top to bottom,” stated Bulldog coach Nick McDevitt. “We'll need to play well for 40 minutes to have a chance at winning on Saturday night. ETSU has a great basketball tradition and it should be a great basketball environment when we play at Freedom Hall.”
The Bulldogs and Bucs have not played since the 2007-08 season when the two teams played a memorable battle at Justice Center. ETSU edged the Dogs, 89-87 in overtime when it made two steals and two lay-ups in the final six seconds of overtime to win a wild affair. Asheville almost pulled the game out when 7-9 center Kenny George's only three-point attempt of his college career rimmed out at the buzzer.
ETSU has won the last five meetings in the series. Asheville's last win came in Johnson City when the Bulldogs downed the Bucs, 70-65 at the mini-dome during the 2000-01 season.
Asheville is coming off an 87-48 win over Johnson & Wales Wednesday night in the Bulldogs home opener. Andrew Rowsey scored 20 points in 18 minutes of action.
ETSU opened the season with a 90-76 loss at Valparaiso before winning its home opener easily on Tuesday, 111-66 over Virginia-Wise.
After Saturday's game, the Bulldogs stay on the road at SEC foe South Carolina on Wednesday night (Nov. 26) at 8 p.m. and then host Charlotte next Sunday (Nov. 30) afternoon at 3 p.m.
BULLDOG NOTES
Andrew Rowsey has scored 20 points or more in his last five games dating back to last season. He has scored in double figures in 31 consecutive games. Rowsey leads the Big South and Asheville in scoring with a 24.7 average.
The Bulldogs have had double-figure games in steals in two games this year. Asheville had 13 steals at Wake Forest and 12 vs. Johnson & Wales.
Asheville swept the Big South Conference weekly awards for the first week of the season. Andrew Rowsey was named Player of the Week, while rookie forward Kem Ubaru was named Big South Freshman of the Week.
The Bulldogs have out-rebounded their last two opponents, including a 43-27 advantage at East Carolina on Sunday.
Asheville has defeated a power conference opponent four times in the last five years with wins over Auburn (2010-11), Utah (2011-12), St. John's (2012-13) and East Carolina (2014-15).
All 14 players who have played for the Bulldogs this year have scored at least four points.
Saturday's game with ETSU is the first of two games against SoCon opponents this season. Asheville hosts Western Carolina on Dec. 21.
