University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, December 17
Asheville, NC
4:30 p.m.
UNC Asheville
(8-3, 0-0BSC)
59
vs
57
Western Carolina
(3-7, 0-0SoCon)
1
2
F
Western Carolina
22
35
57
AVL
24
35
59
Bulldogs Pick Up Thrilling Win in 50th Edition of Mountain Rivalry
12.17.2016 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The 50th edition of the Mountain Rivalry ended exactly the same way that the first edition of the rivalry did – with a UNC Asheville win.
In a series that started with a 31-28 Asheville win on Feb. 3, 1930, the 50th meeting between the two rivals ended with the Bulldogs picking up a thrilling 59-57 win at Kimmel Arena on Saturday, Dec. 17.
In a game in which the score was tied 15 times and the lead changed hands 11 times, the Bulldogs and Catamounts were all tied up at 56-all with two minutes to play in the game.
Asheville (8-3) would hold a two-point 58-56 lead after freshman MaCio Teague made two free throws with 51 seconds to play.
A few seconds later it was Asheville junior guard Ahmad Thomas who made one of the biggest plays of the game.
Coming into the game, Thomas led all of college basketball in steals at 3.6 steals per game. Thomas had only two steals against Western Carolina (3-7), but his steal with 40 seconds left allowed the Bulldogs to take valuable time off the clock.
Teague would go on to miss a jumper with 16 seconds left to give Western Carolina little time to work with.
Western Carolina's Elijah Pughsley would be fouled with four seconds left to give the Catamounts the opportunity to tie things up, but he would only make one of two free throws with Asheville junior forward Alec Wnuk bringing down a crucial rebound with three seconds left to leave the score at 58-57.
After the rebound Wnuk was subsequently fouled. He made one of two himself to set the final score at 59-57 as Western Carolina's long-range three-point attempt could not connect in the final seconds.
Thomas scored a game-high 20 points to go along with seven rebounds, two steals and one assist.
Four Bulldogs ended their day in double figures in total with Will Weeks scoring 13 points and Teague scoring 10 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists and one steal.
Wnuk just missed on a double-double in the contest with 11 points and nine rebounds. He also had three assists and one steal.
Deriece Parks was the top scorer for the Catamounts in their loss with 19 points.
UNC Asheville shot 36 percent (18-of-50) as a team in its win over Western Carolina. The Bulldog defense limited Western Carolina to just 33.9 percent (20-of-59).
BULLDOG BITES
SOLID START: Winners of five straight and eight of its last nine, UNC Asheville basketball is in the midst of its best start since the 2007-08 campaign at 8-3 overall.
HOME SWEET HOME: The surging Bulldogs are currently 4-0 on the year at home with wins over Siena, Brevard, Warren Wilson and Western Carolina. The Asheville men protected home court very efficiently last season as well, going 11-3 at home. UNC Asheville is 59-15 at Kimmel Arena all-time.
SERIES: UNC Asheville and Western Carolina have now met 50 times with WCU holding a slight 28-22 advantage in the series. The Catamounts and Bulldogs have met every season dating back to 1999-00. Western Carolina had won the last three meetings, giving Nick McDevitt his first win as head coach over the Catamounts in the 50th meeting.
QUOTABLES
"Certainly the last couple of years the games haven't gone the way that we wanted, but I didn't think we were as good as them to be honest with you last year early in the season. They beat us out at their place, and this year this is kind of the way rivalry games go. Two years ago here, we had a 14-15 point lead and they come back and it's down to the wire. Here tonight, just a back and forth kind of game. Games with them are fun with the atmosphere. There were a lot of folks in here tonight and we found a way to win." – Nick McDevitt
UP NEXT
It's a quick turnaround for UNC Asheville as they next welcome in in-state foe UNC Greensboro (8-3) for a 7 p.m. game on Monday, Dec. 19, at Kimmel Arena.
In a series that started with a 31-28 Asheville win on Feb. 3, 1930, the 50th meeting between the two rivals ended with the Bulldogs picking up a thrilling 59-57 win at Kimmel Arena on Saturday, Dec. 17.
In a game in which the score was tied 15 times and the lead changed hands 11 times, the Bulldogs and Catamounts were all tied up at 56-all with two minutes to play in the game.
Asheville (8-3) would hold a two-point 58-56 lead after freshman MaCio Teague made two free throws with 51 seconds to play.
A few seconds later it was Asheville junior guard Ahmad Thomas who made one of the biggest plays of the game.
Coming into the game, Thomas led all of college basketball in steals at 3.6 steals per game. Thomas had only two steals against Western Carolina (3-7), but his steal with 40 seconds left allowed the Bulldogs to take valuable time off the clock.
Teague would go on to miss a jumper with 16 seconds left to give Western Carolina little time to work with.
Western Carolina's Elijah Pughsley would be fouled with four seconds left to give the Catamounts the opportunity to tie things up, but he would only make one of two free throws with Asheville junior forward Alec Wnuk bringing down a crucial rebound with three seconds left to leave the score at 58-57.
After the rebound Wnuk was subsequently fouled. He made one of two himself to set the final score at 59-57 as Western Carolina's long-range three-point attempt could not connect in the final seconds.
Thomas scored a game-high 20 points to go along with seven rebounds, two steals and one assist.
Four Bulldogs ended their day in double figures in total with Will Weeks scoring 13 points and Teague scoring 10 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists and one steal.
Wnuk just missed on a double-double in the contest with 11 points and nine rebounds. He also had three assists and one steal.
Deriece Parks was the top scorer for the Catamounts in their loss with 19 points.
UNC Asheville shot 36 percent (18-of-50) as a team in its win over Western Carolina. The Bulldog defense limited Western Carolina to just 33.9 percent (20-of-59).
BULLDOG BITES
SOLID START: Winners of five straight and eight of its last nine, UNC Asheville basketball is in the midst of its best start since the 2007-08 campaign at 8-3 overall.
HOME SWEET HOME: The surging Bulldogs are currently 4-0 on the year at home with wins over Siena, Brevard, Warren Wilson and Western Carolina. The Asheville men protected home court very efficiently last season as well, going 11-3 at home. UNC Asheville is 59-15 at Kimmel Arena all-time.
SERIES: UNC Asheville and Western Carolina have now met 50 times with WCU holding a slight 28-22 advantage in the series. The Catamounts and Bulldogs have met every season dating back to 1999-00. Western Carolina had won the last three meetings, giving Nick McDevitt his first win as head coach over the Catamounts in the 50th meeting.
QUOTABLES
"Certainly the last couple of years the games haven't gone the way that we wanted, but I didn't think we were as good as them to be honest with you last year early in the season. They beat us out at their place, and this year this is kind of the way rivalry games go. Two years ago here, we had a 14-15 point lead and they come back and it's down to the wire. Here tonight, just a back and forth kind of game. Games with them are fun with the atmosphere. There were a lot of folks in here tonight and we found a way to win." – Nick McDevitt
UP NEXT
It's a quick turnaround for UNC Asheville as they next welcome in in-state foe UNC Greensboro (8-3) for a 7 p.m. game on Monday, Dec. 19, at Kimmel Arena.
Team Stats
WCU
AVL
FG%
.339
.360
3FG%
.250
.200
FT%
.917
.571
RB
44
36
TO
19
10
STL
4
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
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