University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Liberty
Bulldogs Win at Liberty 95-77
02.28.2015 | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – UNC Asheville placed five players in double figures as the Bulldogs ended a four-game losing streak with a 95-77 Big South Conference road victory over Liberty Saturday afternoon at the Vines Center.
The Bulldogs (14-15, 10-8 BSC) earned the #6 seed in next week's Big South Conference Championship Tournament and will face Liberty (8-23, 2-16 BSC) Wednesday evening in the first round at Coastal Carolina starting at 6 p.m.
Andrew Rowsey led Asheville with 27 points and he went 14-of-15 from the free throw line. Ahmad Thomas chipped in a career-high 19 points and seven rebounds. David Robertson finished with 17 points. Giacomo Zilli contributed 13 points and seven rebounds. Kevin Vannatta scored 12 points.
The Bulldogs took charge of the game midway through the first half. Trailing 15-13, the Blue & White outscored the Flames 33-11 over the final 10 minutes to roar to a 46-26 halftime lead.
Rowsey had 14 of his 17 points in that stretch, including nine straight at one point. The Bulldogs shot 65 percent (17-of-26) from the field in the opening half. Asheville outscored LU 20-6 on points in the paint.
“We did a great job on defense in the first half and that allowed us to get our transition game going,” stated Bulldog head coach Nick McDevitt. “Everyone contributed to the win today.
“We've been playing better but just haven't gotten the results,” added McDevitt. “Today it was nice to get rewarded for playing well. I'm really pleased to get the win and get some momentum heading into the Big South Tournament.”
The Bulldogs won their 10th BSC game with the win. Asheville has now been in double figures for league for eight straight years.
In the second half, Asheville led by as many as 25 before Liberty made a mild rally to close to 12 late in the game. The Bulldogs had four players foul out before holding on for the win.
“We fouled too much in the second half and need to clean some stuff up for the tournament,” said McDevitt. “But it's nice to finish the season with a win.”
