University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldogs Close 2015 Calendar at Longwood New Years Eve
12.30.2015 | Men's Basketball
THE MATCHUP
Teams: Asheville (8-5, 1-0 BSC)
Longwood (4-10, 0-1 BSC)
Location: Willett Hall/Farmville, VA
Time: 2:00 p.m.
VIDEO (Big South Network) - AUDIO (Bulldog Radio Network) - LIVE STATS
FARMVILLE, VA – UNC Asheville looks to open Big South Conference play at least 2-0 for the fourth time in five seasons, and the third consecutive year, on Tuesday night when the Bulldogs battle Longwood on the road in their final matchup of the 2015 calendar year.
NOTABLES
Continued Success in Big South Openers: With their victory over Campbell on Dec. 13, the Bulldogs have now opened Big South Conference play with a victory in 11 consecutive seasons dating back to the 2005-2006 campaign. The win was the first time in the last seven seasons that the Bulldogs opened BSC play at home. Prior to the Campbell game, the last Big South opener at home for the Bulldogs was in January 2008 against Liberty.
Smith Emerges: After scoring a total of 12 points through his first three collegiate games, freshman Dylan Smith has now scored in double-figures in eight of the last 10 games for Asheville, including scoring 15 or more points in five of those eight contests and 20+ points in two games. He is shooting 46 percent from the floor overall and is 42 percent from three-point range, Asheville's best long-range shooter.
In the Series: Thursday's meeting will be the 6th meeting all-time between Asheville and Longwood, with the Bulldogs leading 4-1 in the series. The Bulldogs swept the season series last year with both games coming over a seven day stretch. Asheville won 74-64 on the road Jan. 28 and grabbed a 71-56 win at home on Feb. 3. Asheville is 2-0 on the road at Willett Hall all-time, with last season's win and a 67-66 victory back on Feb. 1, 2014. Now-senior Sam Hughes hit two free throws with 18 seconds remaining to give the Bulldogs the one-point 2014 victory.
QUOTABLES FROM HEAD COACH NICK McDEVITT
On getting off to a good start – “Getting road wins in league play is difficult, so you certainly want to get off to a good start. It's never fun playing from behind on the road. Being ready to play from the tip will be important tomorrow.”
On playing well despite being undersized – “I think you can do good things when you play hard and play together. We do that. Each and every night they play hard and play as a team, and because of that we've played pretty well so far. We have to continue to improve, but because we do play hard and as a team, I think our chances of getting better are good.”
On moving forward in BSC play – “You have to take it a game at a time, regardless if you start off 2-0, 3-0 or whatever your record is. You have to approach each game individually. You can't look at what you've done in the past and can't look forward. We have talked about it with our quality wins in the past – a Drexel, Loyola or Georgetown – regardless, you have to move to the next game, same with a loss. That's the approach we have to take in conference play as well.”
Final thoughts on non-conference play – “I think you start to learn things about your team and the players get into a pattern of understanding when they are going in the game, what's expected of them and what their role is. They are starting to get an identity and I think that's what you don't know from year to year – what is the team going to hang its hat on – and I think our team has figured out what it is they need to do game in and game out to win. That's been the most important thing that has come out of non-conference. They have figured out how to play together and each other's tendencies.”
UP NEXT
-After Thursday's game, the Bulldogs open 2016 at Liberty Saturday afternoon to complete the two-game road swing in Virginia. Asheville returns home to take on Winthrop on Wednesday, January 6.
