University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Basketball Opens League Play at Radford on New Year's Eve
12.30.2014 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team opens Big South Conference play on the road on New Year's Eve when the Bulldogs travel to the Dedmon Center to face a solid Radford squad starting at 4 p.m.
Wednesday's game can be seen for free on the Big South Network at this link. Fans can also listen to the game locally on WWNC (570-AM) Radio with the pre-game show starting at 3:30 p.m. They can also listen on-line at iHeartRadio.
Asheville (4-7) face a tough assignment in the Highlanders (9-4). RU has won seven of its last eight games and that includes a victory over ACC foe Virginia Tech.
“Radford is one of the teams that could easily win the Big South Conference this year,” stated Bulldog coach Nick McDevitt. “They have most of their players back from a team that went to post-season play last season. We'll need to play very good basketball for 40 minutes to have a shot at winning.”
The Bulldogs will try to end a three-game losing streak on Wednesday. Asheville's last loss was a frustrating 66-62 home decision to Western Carolina on Dec. 21. The Bulldogs led by 16 early in the second half but were held to just seven points in the final 13 minutes.
“We played well in the first 10 minutes of each half and then Western Carolina played better in the last 10 minutes of each half and that was enough to get them a win,” declared McDevitt. “Our guys played hard and battled but we've got to be a little more consistent and learn to close out games.”
The Highlanders return most of their squad from last year's team that went 22-13. They advanced to the second round of the College Basketball Invitational. Asheville and RU played two memorable games last season. The Highlanders recorded a wild 102-92 victory against the Dogs at the Dedmon Center but not before Andrew Rowsey set a facility record with 41 points. Asheville then knocked off Radford in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament. 96-87.
“We had two great games with Radford last season,” stated McDevitt. “Hopefully, we'll have another great one Wednesday afternoon.”
The Bulldogs continue to be led by sophomore guard Andrew Rowsey. He leads the Big South and is sixth nationally in scoring with a 22.1 mark. He also leads the league in three-pointers made per game (3.7) and free throw percentage (.912).
Sophomore guard David Robertson has a 12.2 scoring average and has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight contests. Senior center Jaleel Roberts tops the Dogs in rebounding with a 5.7 mark. He leads the Big South and is ninth national in blocks (3.30). Roberts had eight blocks vs. Western Carolina and tied a Big South and single-game record with 10 vs. Charlotte (11-30).
BULLDOG NOTES
UNC Asheville has won nine straight Big South Conference opening games and is 17-1 in its last 18 openers. Bulldog head coach Nick McDevitt is 16-1 in these games as a player, assistant coach, associate head coach and head coach. The Dogs have opened league play on the road the past five years and went 5-0 in those games.
Andrew Rowsey will make history shortly as he'll become the first sophomore in school history to reach 1,000 career points. He enters Wednesday's game with 891 career points after 43 games played in his early career. Andrew averaged 23 points in Big South regular-season games as a freshman and scored in double figures in all 18 games against league completion. His streak of scoring in double figures ended at 37 at Jacksonville State when he was held to six points on Dec. 16. Rowsey has scored in double figures in 41 of 43 games he's played in his career.
Asheville leads the all-times series with Radford by a close 33-31 advantage. This is one of the best rivalries in the Big South Conference as the teams have always seemed to meet in a big game. The Dogs have won six of the last seven games but are just 4-6 at Radford over the last 10 meetings.
Jaleel Roberts has 88 career blocked shots and is now ninth on the school's career list.
No one has blown the Bulldogs out this season. Five of Asheville's seven losses have come by nine points or less. One was by 11 (at Wake Forest) and the biggest margin of defeat came at South Carolina (14). Asheville lost to the Gamecocks, 89-75 on Nov. 26. USC has won every game since then by an average margin of 23.3 points, including wins over Marshall, Oklahoma State and Clemson.
