University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Middle Tennessee
Friday Comeback Effort Falls Short; Bulldogs go for Third Saturday
11.28.2015 | Men's Basketball
THE RUNDOWN
Score: Middle Tennessee 63, Asheville 61
Teams: Asheville (2-4, 0-0 BSC)
Middle Tennessee (3-1, 0-0 CUSA)
Location: Great Alaska Shootout/Alaska Airlines Center/Anchorage, AK
ANCHORAGE, AK – A massive comeback attempt fell just short on Friday night as a UNC Asheville three-quarters length shot at the buzzer bounced off the glass to give Middle Tennessee a 63-61 victory on Friday and push the Bulldogs into the Great Alaska Shootout's third place game on Saturday.
The Bulldogs will now face Loyola Chicago at 5:30 AST/9:30 EST for third place. Saturday's game can be heard live on the Bulldog Radio Network.
THE TURNING POINT
Asheville pulled within one point with 2:22 remaining before both teams went cold. Middle Tennessee's three-pointer with 28 seconds to go was the eventual game-winner. The Bulldogs used a 30-6 scoring run in the second half to tie the game at 55-all with 4:18 remaining to set up the final minutes of action.
NOTABLES
-Freshman Dylan Smith led the Bulldogs with 14 points off the bench on 5-of-12 shooting in 27 minutes of action. Smith added three rebounds, three assists and a steal to his stat line.
-Kevin Vannatta (14 points) and Sam Hughes (11 points) also finished in double-digits. The pair combined to score 18 of their 25 total points in the second half. Vannatta added four rebounds, had two assists and a steal while Hughes grabbed six rebounds and had a block.
-Asheville finished the night hitting just 4-of-18 three-point attempts (22 percent), while Middle Tennessee hit 26 percent (9-of-25) of its three-point attempts. The Bulldogs collected a team shooting percentage of 38.5 percent (20-of-52) and Middle Tennessee shot 48 percent (24-of-50), including 54 percent in the opening half.
-The Bulldogs scored the opening points of the game on a jump shot by Hughes before Middle Tennessee came back and hit a three-pointer to take the lead. The 2-0 lead would turn out to be Asheville's only advantage as Middle Tennessee led for 38:13 and the game was tied for a total of 1:27.
-With Middle Tennessee freshly out to its largest lead at 19 with 12:56 remaining, Asheville held Middle Tennessee to two points over the next seven minutes as part of their comeback run.
-Middle Tennessee saw five players finish with double-figure scoring nights, led by Darnell Harris' game-high 15 points.
UP NEXT
-Following Friday's loss, the Bulldogs turn around and face Loyola Chicago on Saturday at 5:30 AST/9:30 EST for third place. Saturday's game can be heard live on the Bulldog Radio Network.
