University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Winthrop
Double-Digit Comeback Gives Bulldogs Win over Winthrop
01.06.2016 | Men's Basketball
THE RUNDOWN
Score: Asheville 85 – Winthrop 84
Teams: Asheville (11-5, 4-0 BSC)
Winthrop (9-6, 2-3 BSC)
Location: Kimmel Arena / Asheville, N.C.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Down 23 points with 15:31 remaining Wednesday night, UNC Asheville responded with its largest second half comeback in program history for an 85-84 comeback victory over Winthrop inside Kimmel Arena to push their Big South Conference record out to 4-0 as they stay atop the conference standings with High Point.
Ahmad Thomas' lay in with 25 seconds left put the Bulldogs ahead for good after Winthrop's final two shot attempts missed, sending the Kimmel Arena crowd into a frenzy.
THE TURNING POINT
Without two guards entering the night, sophomore Raekwon Miller made his first collegiate start for the Bulldogs, tallying a career-high 36 minutes and a career-high 16 points. Miller did not sit in the second half, playing all 20 minutes after freshman Dylan Smith fouled out with 15:31 remaining, corresponding with Winthrop's largest lead. Miller entered the game averaging 4.3 points per game and had appeared in six contests this season.
NOTABLES
-Down 18 points at the half, the Bulldogs shot 45 percent in the first 20 minutes but saw Winthrop hit 77 percent of its shots from the floor and 9-of-11 three-pointers (82 percent). Asheville finished the night shooting 46 percent (31-of-68) while Winthrop cooled off to 55 percent (26-of-47) and was 0-of-6 from three-point range in the final 20 minutes.
-Asheville used a full court trapping defense to spur the second half comeback, forcing Winthrop into 22 turnovers in the game – and 14 in the second half alone – as the Bulldogs finished with 14 steals as a team in the win. Asheville tallied 29 points off turnovers, including 15 in the second half, and an 8-0 scoring advantage on the fast break.
-The Bulldogs finished the night with five double-digit scorers, including a team-high 21 points from Sam Hughes. Kevin Vannatta notched 20 points, while Thomas and Dwayne Sutton each finished with 13 points in addition to Miller's 16-point night. All 13 of Sutton's points came in the second half as part of the comeback.
-Asheville outrebounded Winthrop 37-32 on the glass, including 24 boards in the final 20 minutes of action.
-Winthrop had three players score in double-figures in the loss, led by Keon Johnson, who finished with a game-high 23 points but was held to only four points in the second half. Jimmy Gavin tallied 17 points (five second half points) and Bjorn Broman had 11 points (two second half points).
-The Bulldogs played with just a seven-man rotation as four players logged 35 or more minutes of action – Hughes and Thomas (35 minutes each), Miller (36 minutes), Vannatta (37 minutes). Sutton (27) and Will Weeks (21) were each over 20 minutes of action played, while Smith (10 minutes) was the only other Asheville player to log minutes.
-Asheville led for just 35 seconds in the game, while Winthrop had the advantage for 36:27 and the game was tied for 2:58.
QUOTABLES FROM HEAD COACH NICK McDEVITT
On his team tonight – “They were upbeat, they just had a feeling that they could come back. You can't anticipate being down 23 points with 15 minutes remaining and coming back and winning the game, but they continued to encourage each other. Dylan Smith fouled out but stayed involved in the game. It was a great win for us.
On Raekwon Miller's night – “He's always been a guy that could score. Folks that have seen high school basketball in Western North Carolina have seen Raekwon Miller at McDowell High School score a lot of points. He does that daily for us at practice and sometimes by the way others are playing, you don't get a chance to show it in games. He got his chance tonight and I can't be more proud or happy for a guy than I am for Raekwon.”
On the comeback – “We told them 'you're not going to make up 23 points in five minutes, we have to break it down into segments,' and we wanted to get it down to 18 points by the first media, 14 by the second media and 10 points by the under eight minute media timeout. We just kept saying that if we can get it to four or five points with a couple minutes to go, we'll give ourselves a chance to win. Really happy for our team. I've never seen anything like that (comeback). It's almost like a storybook ending or something you'd see out of a movie to see a team down 23 points with 15 minutes to go and have someone deliver the way Rawkwon did.”
On his thoughts at the end of the game – “We've faced a lot of adversity over the last couple days with the loss of a starter. Certainly our team is feeling for one of our own, who had a family member pass away over the weekend. Then, because of how close-knit this team is, they were so happy for Raekwon and that he got a chance to do it. We've seen him do it plenty of times in practice. When your number is called you have to be ready to deliver. You can't just get ready for a game like that the day of. He's been preparing for that for years.”
UP NEXT
-Following today's win, the Bulldogs head back on the road for their next two matchups, beginning Saturday afternoon at Charleston Southern. Saturday's tipoff is set for 5:30 and is the second half of a doubleheader with the Bulldog women squaring off in the first contest. The Bulldogs then continue the road swing next Thursday night at Radford.
