University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
South Carolina
South Carolina Tops UNC Asheville, 89-75
11.26.2014 | Men's Basketball
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina placed five players in double figures as the Gamecocks downed UNC Asheville 89-75 Wednesday night at Colonial Life Arena.
Andrew Rowsey scored a season-high 30 points to lead the Bulldogs (2-3). It was the sixth time in Rowsey's career that he has scored 30 points or more in a game. David Robertson finished with 15 points, all in the second half for Asheville.
"You have got to credit South Carolina; they played well. They just got a lot of big athletes that play up on the rim, they blocked a lot of our shots and owned the play in the paint. Points in the paint, they beat us by 22," stated Asheville coach Nick McDevitt.
"Looking at the rebound margin, we did an okay job with them there. But I thought that they just had good athletes that made big plays," added McDevitt. "Every time we seemed to make a run they made a big 3. We were making a run there in the second half and their 7-footer makes a 3. So, it just seemed like every time we were ready to make a push they made plays when the game was on the line."
South Carolina (3-3) used a 10-2 surge midway through the second half to break open a close game and end a two-game losing streak.
The Bulldogs made 22 turnovers as the Gamecocks outscored Asheville 38-16 in the paint.
Freshman forward Kem Ubaru just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
The Bulldogs built an early six-point lead on the strength of two treys by Rowsey at 14-8. Asheville went ice cold from the field at that point, missing its next 10 field goal attempts as the Gamecocks went on a 21-2 run to race to a 29-16 lead. Marcus Stroman's three-point play gave the home team it biggest lead at the 8:54 mark.
But Asheville rallied as Rowsey knocked down two long treys, despite USC's box-and-one defense. The Bulldogs closed to 34-29 on a Jaleel Roberts lay-up at the one-minute mark. Tyrone Johnson sank a three-pointer to give the Gamecocks a 37-29 halftime lead.
The Bulldogs shot just .286 (10-of-35) from the field in the opening half. Asheville had trouble scoring in the lane as the Gamecocks blocked eight shots in the first half.
UNC Asheville returns home on Sunday to start a three-game homestand against Charlotte at 3 p.m. Sunday's contest will mark the first time the 49ers have played on Asheville's campus since 1970. The game will be televised by the American Sports Network and can be seen locally on MY-40.
