Men's Hoops Hosts Liberty Thursday Night at Kimmel Arena

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team returns to the hardwood Thursday night when the Bulldogs host Big South foe Liberty at Kimmel Arena starting at 7 p.m.

Thursday'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 Radio (570-AM) or around the world on iHeartRadio with the pre-game show starting at 6:30 p.m.

Asheville (6-7, 2-0 BSC) looks to remain perfect in the early part of the Big South Conference season. But it will not be easy against a tall and talented Liberty squad (6-9, 0-2 BSC). The Flames have battled injuries this year and lost two close Big South games to open the year.

“Liberty could easily be 2-0 in league play. They've lost two close games that could have gone either way,” declared Bulldog coach Nick McDevitt. “Liberty is tall and athletic. They play extremely good defense and rebound well. You're not going to get a lot of second shots against this team.”

The Bulldogs moved to 2-0 in the Big South Conference for the first time in three years with an impressive 80-55 home win over Gardner-Webb Saturday afternoon. Sam Hughes scored a career-high 22 points and collected a career-best 12 rebounds in the win. Senior center Chudier Pal had a career-best 17 points with nine rebounds. He was 8-of-9 from the field and got the Dogs going in the first half with 15 points.

“We played extremely well against Gardner-Webb on Saturday,” commented McDevitt. “I was really pleased with 26 assists on 31 field goals. We rebounded well, defended well and got contributions from everybody on the day. It's going to take that kind of team effort every time we play to get a win.

“The Big South Conference is as balanced as I've ever seen,” added McDevitt. “You can't take a night off in this conference or you'll lose. We'll need to be ready to play every time we step out on the court.”

Asheville is led in scoring by sophomore guard Andrew Rowsey with a 19.5 average. His scoring mark leads the Big South Conference. He's been plagued by foul trouble in the first two league games, scoring only five points in each contest. Rowsey does have eight assists in those two games.

Sophomore guard David Robertson is Asheville's second leading scorer at 11.8 points per game. He didn't start for the first time in more than a year against Gardner-Webb due to sickness but came off the bench to deliver a career-high nine assists. The Bulldogs defeated Gardner-Webb on Saturday with their two leading scorers, Rowsey and Robertson, contributing just eight points between them.

Senior center Jaleel Roberts is Asheville's top rebounder with a 5.7 mark. He leads the Big South Conference in blocks (3.33) and is ranked sixth nationally in that category.

BULLDOG NOTES

UNC Asheville has won the last four meetings against Liberty and owns a 31-20 advantage in the series.

The Bulldogs are 25-4 against Big South Conference opponents at Kimmel Arena and have won their last six contests.

Asheville has played very good defense in its first two BSC battles. Asheville has limited its first two league opponents to just 57.5 points per game, .339 shooting from the field and .214 shooting from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs' 57.5 points allowed is tied for the BSC lead with Liberty.

The Bulldogs currently lead the Big South Conference in free throw percentage (.732), three-point shooting percentage (.368), blocked shots (5.23) and steals (8.31). Asheville is second in in three-pointers made (8.23) and third in scoring margin (+5.6), field goal percentage defense (.382), three-point percentage defense (.295) assists (14.7), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.07).

Asheville had a season-high 26 assists against Gardner-Webb on Saturday.