Men's Hoops Hosts Winthrop Wednesday Night at Kimmel

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team looks to stay perfect in Big South Conference play on Wednesday night when the Bulldogs host league rival Winthrop at Kimmel Arena starting at 7 p.m.

Wednesday's game can be seen for free on the Big South Network by clicking this link.

Asheville (7-7, 3-0 BSC) faces a tough task against the Eagles (7-8, 2-2 BSC). Winthrop is a play or two away from being 4-0 in league play as the Eagles lost a double-overtime decision to High Point and a last-second loss at Gardner-Webb on Saturday, 65-64.

“Winthrop has a very good basketball team,” stated Bulldog coach Nick McDevitt. “They had some great non-conference wins and are so close to being 4-0 in league play. We'll have to really play well for 40 minutes against a well-coached Winthrop club on Wednesday night.”

The Bulldogs have not played since a 71-54 triumph over Liberty Thursday night at Kimmel Arena. The win was Asheville's third straight and is 3-0 in league play for the first time since the 2011-12 season. David Robertson led the Dogs with 20 points against the Flames. Andrew Rowsey added 13 points. Chudier Pal continued his good play with the first double-double of his career with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

This is one of the best rivalries in the Big South Conference over the years and the teams added to it last year. Asheville won early in the year at Kimmel Arena, 81-66 before the Bulldogs lost their last two games to the Eagles in heartbreaking fashion.

The first loss came on the final week of the regular season at the Winthrop Coliseum when the Eagles rallied for a 107-100 overtime victory. Asheville led by 11 with 1:10 remaining and by nine with less than a minute left before the Eagles hit three consecutive 3-pointers in the final 50 seconds to send the game into overtime. Andrew Rowsey led the Dogs that night with 37 points.

The team would meet 10 days later in the semifinals of the Big South Tournament. Winthrop would edge the Dogs, 80-79 as two last-second Bulldog shots just missed in the final seconds. Rowsey would misfire on a lay-up and Jaron's Lane's four-footer rimmed in-and-out with 0.2 seconds left.

“We had some great games with Winthrop last season. All of them were hard-fought battles, and I expect tomorrow's to be just the same,” admitted McDevitt.

Rowsey continues to lead the Bulldogs in scoring with a 19.0 scoring average. David Robertson is next with a 12.4 mark. Senior center Jaleel Roberts top the Dogs in rebounding with a 5.3 mark. He leads the Big South and is seventh nationally in blocked shots (43) with a 3.29 average.

Winthrop is being led by guard Keon Moore with an 18.1 scoring average. He's knocked down 51 treys and averaging 21.8 points in league play.

After Wednesday's game, the Bulldogs hit the road as they'll play four of their next five games away from Kimmel Arena. Asheville plays at Campbell (Jan. 17) and Charleston Southern (Jan. 19) this weekend before hosting Coastal Carolina in an ESPNU game next Thursday (Jan. 22) night. The Dogs play at High Point (Jan. 24) and Longwood (Jan. 28).

BULLDOG NOTES

UNC Asheville is 26-4 against Big South Conference foes at Kimmel Arena.

The Bulldogs have played excellent defense in their first three BSC games. Asheville leads the Big South in league action in points allowed (56.3), field goal percentage defense (.344) and three-point percentage defense (.241).

David Robertson has scored in double figures in eight of the last 10 games.

Andrew Rowsey should become the first sophomore in school history to score 1,000 career points. He enters the Winthrop game with 914 points.

Asheville has blocked 34 shots in the last five games (6.8). The Bulldogs lead the league in blocked shots (5.29).

Senior center Chudier Pal has played very well in the last two games. He's averaged 13.5 points and 10 rebounds per game and has shoot .750 (12-of-16) from the field.

Freshman guard Kevin Vannatta has posted seven assists in each of the last two games.