University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Photo by: UNC Asheville
Bulldogs welcome in Catamounts for 50th edition of Mountain Rivalry
12.15.2016 | Men's Basketball
UNC Asheville-Western Carolina Game Notes
Bulldogs Reflect on the Mountain Rivalry with 50th edition on Tap (story)
Our House: There is No Place Like Home for the Bulldogs (video)
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (7-3, 0-0 Big South Conference)
Western Carolina (3-6, 0-0 SoCon)
Location: Kimmel Arena/Asheville, NC.
Time: Saturday, Dec. 17, 4:30 p.m.
Live Video on Big South Network
Live Stats
Radio: News Radio 570 WWNC
Twitter: @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
BULLDOG BITES
HISTORIC MATCHUP: The latest Mountain Rivalry matchup is the 50th edition of the rivalry series.
SERIES: UNC Asheville and Western Carolina have met 49 times before with WCU holding a slight 28-21 advantage in the series. The series dates all the way back to 1930. Asheville won the first meeting, 31-28, on Feb. 3, 1930. The Catamounts and Bulldogs have met every season dating back to 1999-00. Western Carolina has won the last three meetings. Only redshirt senior Will Weeks knows what it's like to beat the Catamounts. In his first college game on Nov. 9, 2012, the Bulldogs edged the Cats, 71-61. He had 13 points and six rebounds in win.
SOLID START: Winners of four straight and seven of its last eight, UNC Asheville basketball is in the midst of its best start since the 2007-08 campaign at 7-3 overall.
HOME SWEET HOME: The surging Bulldogs welcome local rival Western Carolina to Kimmel Arena for the 50th edition of the Mountain Rivalry currently 3-0 on the year at home with wins over Siena, Brevard and Warren Wilson. The Asheville men protected home court very efficiently last season as well, going 11-3 at home. UNC Asheville is 58-15 at Kimmel Arena all-time.
THE VENUES FOR THE MOUNTAIN RIVALRY IN ASHEVILLE: Kimmel Arena is the fourth venue in Asheville that has hosted a Western Carolina-Asheville game. One time the teams played at T.C. Roberson. The rivals played at the Civic Center 10 times, numerous times at Justice Center and twice at Kimmel.
TOPS IN THE NATION: A record-breaking performance in UNC Asheville's dominant win over Warren Wilson has vaulted junior guard Ahmad Thomas into the top spot in the entire country in steals. The Danville, Va. native collected a program-record 10 steals in Asheville's win over Warren Wilson on Saturday, Dec. 10. He also had 13 points to procure a rare double-double in steals and points. On the year in 32.7 minutes played per game, Thomas has picked up 36 steals to average a nation's best 3.6 steals per outing.
TOP 35 NATIONALLY: UNC Asheville on Thursday, Dec. 15, was ranked 35th nationally in the RPI rankings.
ROAD WARRIORS: UNC Asheville leads the Big South Conference with four non-conference NCAA Division I road wins.
IT'S A STEAL: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team boasts one of the top defenses in the entire country with the Bulldogs third in the country in total steals (116) and steals per game (11.6). The Bulldogs have forced a nation's seventh-best 18.80 turnovers per game.
ALL INVOLVED: In the win over Warren Wilson, all of the 13 Bulldogs that saw the court scored. The Bulldog bench outscored the entire Warren Wilson team at 71-52. Overall, the Bulldog bench held a 71-36 advantage over the Warren Wilson bench.
BIG SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Dec. 12): UNC Asheville junior guard Ahmad Thomas was chosen as the Big South Conference Men's Player of the Week it was announced by the league office on Monday, Dec. 12. In a perfect 2-0 week for UNC Asheville, Thomas averaged 14.5 points, 7.0 steals, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists. In UNC Asheville's impressive road win at then CollegeInsider.com mid-major men's basketball 23rd-ranked Elon on Tuesday, Dec. 6, Thomas ended his evening with 16 points, seven rebounds and four steals. He was 7-of-14 from the field in the game. In UNC Asheville's dominating win over Warren Wilson at Kimmel Arena on Saturday, Dec. 10, the Danville, Va. native put together a record night for the Bulldogs by collecting a program-record 10 steals. He also scored 13 points to pick up a rare double-double through points and steals. The Hargrave Military Academy product was 6-of-10 from the floor overall. He also had three rebounds and three assists.
LAST TIME OUT: UNC Asheville's top-notch defense was way too much for Warren Wilson as the Bulldogs collected an easy 117-52 win over the Owls at Kimmel Arena. The Asheville defense forced Warren Wilson into a program-record 36 turnovers with the Bulldogs scoring 46 points off of the turnovers.
UP NEXT: UNC Asheville will play its second game in three days on Monday, Dec. 19, when they welcome in-state foe UNC Greensboro to Kimmel Arena.
QUOTABLES
"We're looking forward to continuing our rivalry with Western Carolina. It's always an exciting atmosphere and a great game between two good teams. Historically, it's also been a close game between two solid programs. We are looking forward to having a bunch of loud and proud Bulldog fans in the stands on Saturday." - Nick McDevitt
Bulldogs Reflect on the Mountain Rivalry with 50th edition on Tap (story)
Our House: There is No Place Like Home for the Bulldogs (video)
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (7-3, 0-0 Big South Conference)
Western Carolina (3-6, 0-0 SoCon)
Location: Kimmel Arena/Asheville, NC.
Time: Saturday, Dec. 17, 4:30 p.m.
Live Video on Big South Network
Live Stats
Radio: News Radio 570 WWNC
Twitter: @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
BULLDOG BITES
HISTORIC MATCHUP: The latest Mountain Rivalry matchup is the 50th edition of the rivalry series.
SERIES: UNC Asheville and Western Carolina have met 49 times before with WCU holding a slight 28-21 advantage in the series. The series dates all the way back to 1930. Asheville won the first meeting, 31-28, on Feb. 3, 1930. The Catamounts and Bulldogs have met every season dating back to 1999-00. Western Carolina has won the last three meetings. Only redshirt senior Will Weeks knows what it's like to beat the Catamounts. In his first college game on Nov. 9, 2012, the Bulldogs edged the Cats, 71-61. He had 13 points and six rebounds in win.
SOLID START: Winners of four straight and seven of its last eight, UNC Asheville basketball is in the midst of its best start since the 2007-08 campaign at 7-3 overall.
HOME SWEET HOME: The surging Bulldogs welcome local rival Western Carolina to Kimmel Arena for the 50th edition of the Mountain Rivalry currently 3-0 on the year at home with wins over Siena, Brevard and Warren Wilson. The Asheville men protected home court very efficiently last season as well, going 11-3 at home. UNC Asheville is 58-15 at Kimmel Arena all-time.
THE VENUES FOR THE MOUNTAIN RIVALRY IN ASHEVILLE: Kimmel Arena is the fourth venue in Asheville that has hosted a Western Carolina-Asheville game. One time the teams played at T.C. Roberson. The rivals played at the Civic Center 10 times, numerous times at Justice Center and twice at Kimmel.
TOPS IN THE NATION: A record-breaking performance in UNC Asheville's dominant win over Warren Wilson has vaulted junior guard Ahmad Thomas into the top spot in the entire country in steals. The Danville, Va. native collected a program-record 10 steals in Asheville's win over Warren Wilson on Saturday, Dec. 10. He also had 13 points to procure a rare double-double in steals and points. On the year in 32.7 minutes played per game, Thomas has picked up 36 steals to average a nation's best 3.6 steals per outing.
TOP 35 NATIONALLY: UNC Asheville on Thursday, Dec. 15, was ranked 35th nationally in the RPI rankings.
ROAD WARRIORS: UNC Asheville leads the Big South Conference with four non-conference NCAA Division I road wins.
IT'S A STEAL: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team boasts one of the top defenses in the entire country with the Bulldogs third in the country in total steals (116) and steals per game (11.6). The Bulldogs have forced a nation's seventh-best 18.80 turnovers per game.
ALL INVOLVED: In the win over Warren Wilson, all of the 13 Bulldogs that saw the court scored. The Bulldog bench outscored the entire Warren Wilson team at 71-52. Overall, the Bulldog bench held a 71-36 advantage over the Warren Wilson bench.
BIG SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Dec. 12): UNC Asheville junior guard Ahmad Thomas was chosen as the Big South Conference Men's Player of the Week it was announced by the league office on Monday, Dec. 12. In a perfect 2-0 week for UNC Asheville, Thomas averaged 14.5 points, 7.0 steals, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists. In UNC Asheville's impressive road win at then CollegeInsider.com mid-major men's basketball 23rd-ranked Elon on Tuesday, Dec. 6, Thomas ended his evening with 16 points, seven rebounds and four steals. He was 7-of-14 from the field in the game. In UNC Asheville's dominating win over Warren Wilson at Kimmel Arena on Saturday, Dec. 10, the Danville, Va. native put together a record night for the Bulldogs by collecting a program-record 10 steals. He also scored 13 points to pick up a rare double-double through points and steals. The Hargrave Military Academy product was 6-of-10 from the floor overall. He also had three rebounds and three assists.
LAST TIME OUT: UNC Asheville's top-notch defense was way too much for Warren Wilson as the Bulldogs collected an easy 117-52 win over the Owls at Kimmel Arena. The Asheville defense forced Warren Wilson into a program-record 36 turnovers with the Bulldogs scoring 46 points off of the turnovers.
UP NEXT: UNC Asheville will play its second game in three days on Monday, Dec. 19, when they welcome in-state foe UNC Greensboro to Kimmel Arena.
QUOTABLES
"We're looking forward to continuing our rivalry with Western Carolina. It's always an exciting atmosphere and a great game between two good teams. Historically, it's also been a close game between two solid programs. We are looking forward to having a bunch of loud and proud Bulldog fans in the stands on Saturday." - Nick McDevitt
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballMonday, March 18
Monday, March 18
Thursday, March 14
Monday, March 04