University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Radford
Bulldogs Grab 62-60 Win at Radford
12.31.2014 | Men's Basketball
RADFORD, VA. – Jaleel Roberts' tap-in with 2.4 seconds left to go gave UNC Asheville a 62-60 win over Radford in both team's Big South Conference opener Wednesday afternoon.
The win by the Bulldogs (5-7, 1-0 BSC) was their 10th straight in Big South lid-lifters. Asheville head coach Nick McDevitt improved his record to 17-1 as a player, assistant coach and head coach of the Bulldogs in Big South Conference openers.
David Robertson led all scorers with 17 points. Roberts added a career-high 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Freshman Kem Ubaru chipped in 10 points.
The Highlanders (9-5, 0-1 BSC) entered Wednesday's game with wins in six of their last seven contests, including a victory at Virginia Tech.
“This is a great victory against a very good Radford team that is going to win a lot of games this year,” stated McDevitt. “We got great contributions from everyone who played today. I couldn't be prouder of our guys to pull out a road win against Radford.”
The Bulldogs won despite a tough shooting night from beyond the arc. Asheville shot a season-low 15 percent (3-of-20) from the three-point line. Andrew Rowsey and David Robertson were a combined 1-of-12 from three-point land. Rowsey was held to just five points as it marked the first time in his Big South career he was held below 10 points.
Asheville's zone defense and transition defense were two big keys to the win.
“We had to get back on defense and for the most part we did that today,” explained McDevitt. “Radford can score a lot of points in a hurry and I thought we slowed them down a little bit.
“I thought our guys did a nice job in our zone,” added McDevitt. “We were able to get some steals and get some big stops throughout the day.”
The Bulldogs had a season-low eight turnovers on the day against Radford's constant pressing defense.
“It was crucial for us to handle the ball well today,” stated McDevitt. “Radford does a great job creating turnovers and to only have eight was a big reason we were able to win.”
The game was tied at 60-60 after Brandon Holcomb scored on a three-point play with 10 seconds remaining for the home team.
Asheville calmly brought the ball down. Robertson drove the lane and his shot spun in-and-out. Roberts was there to tap the ball in at the 2.4 second mark.
RU's last-second three-point attempt missed and the Bulldogs were able to get their second road win of the season.
Radford led by one point as the game went into halftime at 32-31. The Bulldogs roared back in the second half, expanding to an eight-point lead at 48-40 with 10 minutes left.
Asheville shot 39 percent (23-of-58) from the field for the contest. Radford knocked down 40 percent (22-of-55) of its field goals. The Bulldogs did a great job from the free throw line throughout the contest as they went 13-18 for 72 percent. The Highlanders were 11-of-17 from the charity stripe with 64 percent.
UNC Asheville faces its next Big South opponent, taking on Gardner-Webb Saturday afternoon at Kimmel Arena starting at 2 p.m.
