University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Three Bulldogs Earn Postseason Honors from Big South
03.01.2016 | Men's Basketball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A trio of UNC Asheville players were honored by the Big South Conference in the league's annual postseason awards, announced Tuesday afternoon.
Both Dylan Smith and Dwayne Sutton were named to the All-Freshmen team, while Smith was also an Honorable Mention for All-Conference honors. Sophomore Kevin Vannatta was also named to the league's All-Academic team for his work in the classroom in addition to his play on the court.
Asheville's leading scorer as a freshman, Smith saw his scoring average rise almost 1.0 point per game in Big South Conference games and he was the in the league's top 15 for his points per game average (13.5). Smith finished the regular season sixth in the league in free-throw percentage (81.5 percent).
Sutton finished fourth in the league in rebounds per game average (7.4 per) – tallying the third-highest defensive rebound average (5.20) and eighth-best offensive rebound average (2.20) as a freshman guard. He finished rookie season as Asheville's second-leading scorer in Big South league play (11.9) and third-leading scorer overall (11.7) and was one of two Bulldogs to start every game this season.
Vannatta also started every game this season and finished the year as the Big South league leader in total minutes played (1,024). Asheville's second-leading scorer this season (top-20 in the league), he led the team in total assists and was 12th in the league in passing out buckets. A university Laurels Scholar for his academics, Vannatta has been a member of the Dean's List each semester and attended the Big South Leadership Conference last summer.
Smith, Sutton, Vannatta and the rest of the Bulldogs open play in the Big South Championship on Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. against Liberty. Asheville finished the regular season 19-11 overall and 12-6 in Big South play, finishing tied for second in the final league standings.
