University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Brevard (Exhibition)
Bulldogs Down Brevard in Saturday Exhibition Tune Up
11.07.2015 | Men's Basketball
THE RUNDOWN
Score: Asheville 76 – Brevard 64 exhibition
Teams: Asheville (0-0, 0-0BSC)
Brevard (0-0, 0-0 SAC)
Location: Kimmel Arena, Asheville, N.C.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team got its first taste of game action for the 2015-16 season on Saturday afternoon, downing local foe Brevard 76-64 in the Bulldogs' lone exhibition contest heading into the regular season.
THE TURNING POINT
Asheville received five or more points from six of its nine players, including three double-digit scorers, while holding seven of Brevard's players to six or fewer points in the victory.
NOTABLES
-Freshman Dwayne Sutton finished with the game's only double-double, notching 17 points and 10 rebounds in his collegiate debut. Sutton pulled down nine of his rebounds off the defensive glass and shot 5-of-7 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the free throw line.
-Will Weeks played well inside for the Bulldogs, coming just short of a double-double with his 10 rebound, nine point effort. The redshirt junior also passed out five assists.
-David Robertson filled his stat line in the win, notching 16 points, adding three assists and three rebounds. The junior guard also grabbed one steal.
-For Brevard, the bulk of the scoring came from Demarcus Threatt (21 points) and Miles Leathers (20 points). The Bulldogs held eight other Brevard players to a combined 23 points.
-As a team, Asheville forced Brevard into 15 turnovers, translating those into 14 points. Kevin Vannatta and Ahmad Thomas each finished with three steals to pace the Bulldog defense, while freshman Dylan Smith blocked two shots in his collegiate debut.
-The Bulldogs were consistent shooting the ball from the floor, finishing the afternoon with a 44 percent shooting mark. Asheville was 36 percent as a team from three-point range. The Bulldog defense held Brevard to just 39 percent shooting from the floor and a 33 percent mark from outside.
QUOTABLES
“Overall I was fairly pleased with our performance. Brevard has a good basketball team and it forced us to have to play well, which is what you want in your scrimmage or exhibition games. It's great to get in front of the home fans, particularly for our young players, and get the jitters out. It's different when you are out there in front of the fans for the first time. I was very happy with Dwayne Sutton and his performance. I think he showed a lot of folks here the kind of player he has the potential to be. A double-double in your first collegiate game isn't bad. As a team, I thought we were a little too passive at times. I don't want us settling for open threes when we can sometimes work the ball and find something better. We have to do a better job at the free throw line as well. We shot 75 percent from the line in our scrimmage but 55 percent tonight. I was telling our team that small things like shooting free throws can change the momentum and feel of the game.” – head coach Nick McDevitt
UP NEXT
-Following today's exhibition win, the Bulldogs now prepare to open the 2015-2016 regular season next Friday night when they travel to Knoxville to take on Tennessee.
