University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
East Tennessee State
Pair of Double-Doubles Pushes Bulldogs to Fourth-Straight Win
12.15.2015 | Men's Basketball
THE RUNDOWN
Score: Asheville 84, ETSU 64
Teams: Asheville (6-4, 1-0 BSC)
ETSU (4-5, 0-0 SoCon)
Location: Kimmel Arena/Asheville, N.C.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Defense was the name of the game again for UNC Asheville on Tuesday night, as the Bulldogs pulled down 43 total rebounds and forced ETSU to 17 turnovers in an 84-64 home victory over the Buccaneers. The win pushes Asheville to four straight victories, beginning back at the end of their trip to Alaska on November 28.
THE TURNING POINT
Dwayne Sutton and Ahmad Thomas combined to pull down 23 rebounds for the Bulldogs, splitting the sides of the court they cleaned up on. Sutton pulled down nine of his boards on the offensive side, while Thomas finished with seven defensive rebounds as both finished with double-doubles.
NOTABLES
-In addition to their rebounding efforts, Thomas and Sutton led all players in scoring, with Thomas tallying 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting to go along with his boards and Sutton notching 18 points on 50 percent shooting (7-of-14).
-Two other Bulldogs finished in double figures scoring, with Kevin Vannatta totaling a 13 point night to go along with six rebounds and two assists and Sam Hughes filling his stat line with 11 points, four steals, three rebounds, three blocks and two assists.
-Asheville finished the night shooting 33-of-62 from the floor (53.2 percent) after hitting 59 percent of their first half shots and taking a 49-27 lead into the break.
-Of the Bulldogs 43 rebounds, they collected 29 boards on the offensive end of the floor, leading to 20 second chance points that chipped in part of their 42 total points from the paint.
-Asheville's current four-game winning streak is its longest since winning five straight back in December of the 2013-2014 campaign.
QUOTABLES FROM HEAD COACH NICK McDEVITT
On the defensive effort – “We are doing the job on the defensive end of the floor. This is a couple games in a row now we are holding the other team to under 30 in the first half. When you play teams like ETSU and Campbell, we are doing the job on that end. We have been able to win the rebounding category several games in a row and that's a big reason why we are winning some games here of late.”
On Thomas' and Sutton's nights – “You've got guys like Ahmad and Dwayne – to scoop up 23 rebounds between two guys is pretty impressive. That just speaks to how hard they play, their strength and their athleticism. The combination of those three things, when you are the size they are, and you play hard, you get a lot of good things happening.”
UP NEXT
-After tonight's win, the Bulldogs prepare for a trip to the nation's capital as they square off against Georgetown on Saturday afternoon. Saturday's noon tipoff can be seen locally on Fox Sports Southeast and can be heard on the Bulldog Radio Network.
