University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Hoops Hosts Campbell Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
01.30.2015 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team returns home on Saturday to face Big South rival Campbell at Kimmel Arena starting at 4:30 p.m.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on the Big South Network and can be seen for free at this link. Fans can also listen to the game on WWNC Radio (570-AM) and on iHeartRadio with the pre-game show starting at 4 p.m.
The Bulldogs (10-10, 6-3 BSC) are in a five-way tie for second place in the Big South standing after winning at Longwood on Wednesday night, 74-64. Andrew Rowsey scored 24 points to lead the Blue & White, while Jaleel Roberts added 14 points, 12 in the second half.
“We had a nice win at Longwood against a team that was 5-2 at home going into that game,” stated Bulldog coach Nick McDevitt. “I liked the way we rebounded the ball throughout the evening. It was a good road win.”
Asheville faces a Campbell (8-14, 2-7 BSC) squad that is coming an impressive 78-59 home victory over Gardner-Webb Monday. The Bulldogs defeated CU two weeks ago (Jan. 17) in Buies Creek, 69-65. Campbell's record is very deceptive as the Camels have lost six Big South contests by nine points or less.
“We'll have our hands full with Campbell on Saturday,” commented McDevitt. “Our guys had to play really well to win at Buies Creek two weeks ago, and Campbell has only gotten better since that game. They've played everybody tough and are a few plays away from being in the mix at the top of the Big South. Campbell is a well-coached and good basketball team.”
Andrew Rowsey continues to lead the Bulldogs in scoring with a 19.0 average. He is second in the league in scoring and eighth nationally in free throw percentage at .906 (87-of-96). David Robertson is next with an 11.5 average. Senior center Jaleel Roberts is averaging 9.2 points per game in league play and shooting .685 (37-of-54) from the field against BSC opponents. Overall, he leads the Big South and is 20th nationally in blocked shots (2.7).
Campbell has three players scoring in double figures as DJ Mason tops the teams with a 12.6 average. Forward Reco McCarter is next with 11.1 mark, followed by guard Andrew Ryan with a 10.5 scoring average. Ryan is one of the top three-point shooters in the Big South with 51 treys.
BULLDOG NOTES
UNC Asheville is 42-11 at Kimmel Arena and 30-5 against Big South Conference opponents. Asheville has won eight of its last nine home against league opponents.
Andrew Rowsey has scored 1,027 career points and is 28th on the school's career scoring list.
Sam Hughes leads the Bulldogs in rebounding Big South Conference games at 6.3. He is shooting .480 (12-of-25) from the three-point line in league games.
Freshman guard Kevin Vannatta is shooting 50 percent (19-of-38) from the field and three-point line (10-of-20) in Big South Conference contests. He is second in assists with 30, one behind leader Andrew Rowsey (31).
Andrew Rowsey scored 24 points Wednesday at Longwood marking the 24th time in his career he has scored 20 points or more in a game.
Asheville leads the Big South in blocked shots per game (4.90) and three-point percentage defense (.313). The Dogs are second in free throw percentage (.727) and steals (7.85).
