University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, January 21
Asheville, NC
4:30 p.m.
UNC Asheville
(14-7, 6-2BSC)
72
vs
56
Campbell
(10-10, 3-5BSC)
1
2
F
CAMPBELL
28
28
56
Asheville
34
38
72
Photo by: UNC Asheville
Asheville’s Signature Style of Basketball on Full Display in Ninth Straight Win Over Campbell
01.21.2017 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Asheville put together a stellar performance on the offensive and defensive side of things in collecting an impressive 72-56 Big South Conference victory over Campbell on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, at Kimmel Arena.
The Bulldogs basically led from start-to-finish in the contest with the only tie score in the game coming just over two minutes into the contest.
From there it would be all Bulldogs with UNC Asheville taking a 34-28 lead into the halftime break.
In a game that was featured on ESPN3, Asheville (14-7, 6-2 Big South Conference) would outscore Campbell, 38-28, in the second half to emerge with the 16-point win over the Camels (10-10, 3-5 Big South Conference).
The Bulldogs closed out the game shooting a scorching 55.8 percent (29-of-52), which included shooting 50 percent (6-of-12) from beyond the arc.
In turn, the Bulldog defense limited Campbell to 40.8 percent (20-of-48) as a team. The Camels shot just 25 percent (4-of-16) from beyond the arc.
Campbell had entered the game averaging 75.9 points per game, but the Asheville defense limited them to just the 56 points. In addition, one of the best scorers in the entire country, Chris Clemons of Campbell entered the matchup with Asheville scoring 23.5 points per game, but the stout Asheville defense allowed him to score just 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting.
Asheville junior guard Ahmad Thomas led all in the game with 26 points on 12-of-16 shooting. He also had six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Junior guard Kevin Vannatta just missed on a double-double in the game with 13 points to go along with a career-high-tying nine rebounds. He also had five assists and one steal.
Three Camels ended their loss in double figures with freshman guard Marcus Burk posting a team-best 15 points off the bench.
BULLDOG BITES
SHARING THE BASKETBALL: UNC Asheville finished its win over Campbell with 22 assists on 29 made field goals. In total, seven Bulldogs had at least one assist with three Bulldogs in freshman guard MaCio Teague (6), Vannatta (5) and senior forward Will Weeks (5) acquiring five or more assists in the contest.
QUITE THE WEEK: Thomas ended UNC Asheville's narrow loss to Winthrop just a couple of days earlier with a career-high-tying 27 points before posting 26 points in Asheville's win over Campbell. Currently in the top-5 in the country in steals, Thomas has been a constant for the Bulldogs this year as he has scored in double figures and collected multiple rebounds and at least a steal in every Asheville game this season.
OVER THE HUMPS: UNC Asheville has won nine straight in its series with Campbell with the Bulldogs the only team the Camels have not beaten since rejoining the Big South Conference in the 2011-12 season.
QUOTABLES
"It was fantastic today. I thought the size of the crowd here tonight was fantastic, and to see the student turnout and the community turnout to have over 2,200 folks in the building was great. Our guys fed off it and we were able to play good basketball on both ends of the floor, and that's what it took to beat Campbell. We were locked in defensively and on the offensive end had 22 assists on 29 made baskets. That's just a sign of an unselfish team." – Head Coach Nick McDevitt
UP NEXT
Asheville hits the road to face off against Big South Conference foe Presbyterian at the Templeton Center in Clinton, S.C. at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017.
The Bulldogs basically led from start-to-finish in the contest with the only tie score in the game coming just over two minutes into the contest.
From there it would be all Bulldogs with UNC Asheville taking a 34-28 lead into the halftime break.
In a game that was featured on ESPN3, Asheville (14-7, 6-2 Big South Conference) would outscore Campbell, 38-28, in the second half to emerge with the 16-point win over the Camels (10-10, 3-5 Big South Conference).
The Bulldogs closed out the game shooting a scorching 55.8 percent (29-of-52), which included shooting 50 percent (6-of-12) from beyond the arc.
In turn, the Bulldog defense limited Campbell to 40.8 percent (20-of-48) as a team. The Camels shot just 25 percent (4-of-16) from beyond the arc.
Campbell had entered the game averaging 75.9 points per game, but the Asheville defense limited them to just the 56 points. In addition, one of the best scorers in the entire country, Chris Clemons of Campbell entered the matchup with Asheville scoring 23.5 points per game, but the stout Asheville defense allowed him to score just 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting.
Asheville junior guard Ahmad Thomas led all in the game with 26 points on 12-of-16 shooting. He also had six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Junior guard Kevin Vannatta just missed on a double-double in the game with 13 points to go along with a career-high-tying nine rebounds. He also had five assists and one steal.
Three Camels ended their loss in double figures with freshman guard Marcus Burk posting a team-best 15 points off the bench.
BULLDOG BITES
SHARING THE BASKETBALL: UNC Asheville finished its win over Campbell with 22 assists on 29 made field goals. In total, seven Bulldogs had at least one assist with three Bulldogs in freshman guard MaCio Teague (6), Vannatta (5) and senior forward Will Weeks (5) acquiring five or more assists in the contest.
QUITE THE WEEK: Thomas ended UNC Asheville's narrow loss to Winthrop just a couple of days earlier with a career-high-tying 27 points before posting 26 points in Asheville's win over Campbell. Currently in the top-5 in the country in steals, Thomas has been a constant for the Bulldogs this year as he has scored in double figures and collected multiple rebounds and at least a steal in every Asheville game this season.
OVER THE HUMPS: UNC Asheville has won nine straight in its series with Campbell with the Bulldogs the only team the Camels have not beaten since rejoining the Big South Conference in the 2011-12 season.
QUOTABLES
"It was fantastic today. I thought the size of the crowd here tonight was fantastic, and to see the student turnout and the community turnout to have over 2,200 folks in the building was great. Our guys fed off it and we were able to play good basketball on both ends of the floor, and that's what it took to beat Campbell. We were locked in defensively and on the offensive end had 22 assists on 29 made baskets. That's just a sign of an unselfish team." – Head Coach Nick McDevitt
UP NEXT
Asheville hits the road to face off against Big South Conference foe Presbyterian at the Templeton Center in Clinton, S.C. at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017.
Team Stats
CAMPBELL
AVL
FG%
.408
.558
3FG%
.250
.500
FT%
.750
.533
RB
25
34
TO
14
12
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
12
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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