Bulldogs Push Past Presbyterian, Back Atop Standings

THE RUNDOWN

Score: Asheville 67 – Presbyterian 55

Teams: Asheville (14-7, 7-2 BSC)

Presbyterian (8-12, 3-6 BSC)

Location: Kimmel Arena / Asheville, N.C.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Asheville never trailed on a snowy Saturday afternoon, forcing 21 turnovers as they beat visiting Presbyterian 67-55 inside Kimmel Arena.

The Bulldog win, coupled with a High Point loss at Liberty, pushes Asheville back to the top spot by themselves in the Big South Conference standings.

THE TURNING POINT

The Bulldogs forced 10 of Presbyterian's 21 turnovers in the final 20 minutes, with Asheville grabbing 13 steals and turning the PC turnovers into 18 points.

NOTABLES

-Three players finished in double-figures for Asheville, led by Dylan Smith's game-high 17 points, while Dwayne Sutton bounced back with a 15-point night and Sam Hughes tallied 13 points.

-Despite shooting 52 percent in the first half, Presbyterian tallied just 21 shots, while Asheville collected 31 total shots (42 percent), including six three-point baskets to push out to a seven-point halftime lead.

-The Bulldogs finished the night shooting 42 percent from the floor (23-of-55) and hit eight of their 24 three-point attempts. Presbyterian finished the game at 45.8 percent shooting (22-of-48)) and hit seven of its 20 three-point attempts.

QUOTABLES FROM HEAD COACH NICK McDEVITT

On the game – “I thought we continued to defend. We gave up 25 points in the second half, so I thought we were locked in there and to force 21 turnovers was a big key to the game. We didn't rebound the ball well the other night against High Point, so to come out here and win the rebounding margin and force turnovers was key tonight.”

On defense transitioning to offense – “We stress it all the time. It's certainly easier to run offense 3-on-2 than it is 5-on-5. We try to get deflections and steals in both zone and man defense. There in the second half I thought Ahmad Thomas gave us a lift on the defensive end with his deflections and steals that helped turn the game in our favor.”

UP NEXT

-Following tonight's win, Asheville hits the road on Wednesday night to take on Coastal Carolina in the teams' final meeting as Big South Conference opponents. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. down on the South Carolina coast.