University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldogs Host High Point in Final Home Game on Thursday
02.25.2015 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team plays its final home game of the season Thursday night when the Bulldogs host Big South leader High Point at Kimmel Arena starting at 7 p.m. Thursday's game will be nationally televised by ESPNU.
The game will also be broadcast locally on WWNC Radio (570-AM) and on iHeartRadio with the pre-game show starting at 6:30 p.m.
Asheville (13-14, 9-7 BSC) looks to snap a three-game losing streak on Thursday but it will not be easy against a Panther (21-7, 12-4 BSC) squad fighting for the Big South Conference regular-season title and a top seed in next week's conference championship. High Point roared past the Bulldogs, 72-51 back on Jan. 26 at the Millis Center. The Panthers are tied for first place in the BSC with Charleston Southern. They'll finish the regular-season at CSU on Saturday.
Asheville lost a tough contest to Radford at home on Saturday, 75-68. The Bulldogs trailed 38-25 at halftime. They roared back and took the lead, but the Highlanders scored the final seven points of the contest to claim the victory.
“We played hard against Radford and did a lot of good things in the game,” stated Asheville coach Nick McDevitt. “But we just couldn't get stops in the final part of the game. Radford is a good team and made big plays. However, our effort was excellent, and we'll need that kind of effort Thursday against High Point.”
McDevitt knows the Dogs have a big challenge on Thursday. The Panthers are led by Big South Preseason Player of the Year John Brown. The junior forward is averaging 18.2 points per game and has been on ESPN a lot this year with his spectacular dunks. High Point will bring a four-game winning streak into
“High Point has a great team and is ranked 21st in the latest mid-major poll,” commented McDevitt. “They've won 21 games and beat us pretty soundly last month.
“High Point does a lot of things well. They have a great player in John Brown but he has plenty of help,” admitted McDevitt. “They're one of the best free throw shooting teams in the league. The play good defense and just don't beat themselves. We'll need to play well for 40 minutes.”
Sophomore guard Andrew Rowsey continues to lead the Bulldogs in scoring with a 17.9 average. He is ranked third nationally in free throw percentage (.924) and made 24 straight free throws. David Robertson is second on the team in scoring with an 11.0 average.
Senior center Jaleel Roberts tops the Dogs in rebounding with a 5.2 average. He leads the Big South and is 27th nationally in blocks with a 2.62 average.
BULLDOG NOTES
This will be the first time Asheville has hosted High Point at Kimmel Arena since the 2012-13 season when the Bulldogs recorded a 69-58 victory. Asheville is 3-0 against the Panthers at Kimmel Arena. The Blue & White has recorded eight straight wins against High Point in Asheville.
The Bulldogs have dropped their last two games to High Point, both at the Millis Center and both have been routs. HPU has won the last two games against Asheville by an average margin of 16 points.
Asheville has been slow getting out of the gates lately. In the Bulldogs three-game losing streak, Asheville has trailed by at least 10 points at halftime of the last three games.
The Bulldogs are 11-2 when they out-rebound their opponents.
Sophomore guard Andrew Rowsey is enjoying a fine all-around season. He leads the Big South in free throw percentage (.924), fifth in scoring (17.9), seventh in assists (3.04), 10th in field goal percentage (.384) and steals (1.37), fourth in three-pointers made (3.00) and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.41).
