University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, January 26
Clinton, SC
7:00 p.m.
UNC Asheville
15-7, 6-2
73
at
47
Presbyterian
4-16, 0-9
1
2
F
UNC Asheville
40
33
73
Presbyterian
21
26
47
Photo by: UNC Asheville
Bulldogs Collect Impressive Big South Conference Road Win at Presbyterian
01.26.2017 | Men's Basketball
CLINTON, S.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team picked up an impressive 73-47 Big South Conference road win over Presbyterian on Thursday, Jan. 26, at the Templeton Center.
The two teams would play close for most of the opening eight minutes of the game, but after a three-pointer by freshman guard MaCio Teague with 11:30 left in the opening half of action the Bulldog lead was six at 16-10. Less than a minute later a trey by junior guard Kevin Vannatta had pushed that lead to 19-10.
The Bulldogs including the above would go on to finish off a stretch where they made eight straight field goals en route to a 24-14 lead with 8:56 left in the first half of play. The Bulldogs would lead by 14 at 30-16 after a Teague three-pointer with 7:19 remaining in the first stanza.
Asheville (15-7, 7-2 Big South Conference) would hold the Blue Hose (4-16, 0-9 Big South Conference) without a field goal for the next over three minutes in picking up a 33-16 lead with 5:55 left in the first half.
The Bulldogs would go on to enter intermission with a 40-21 lead over the Blue Hose. Asheville closed out half No. 1 shooting 58.3 percent (14-of-24) as a team. The Bulldogs were 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half.
The second half commenced with Presbyterian scoring six of the first eight points, but a 9-0 spurt just after that allowed the Bulldogs to extend their lead to 51-27 with 12:27 left in the contest. The Bulldogs held the Blue Hose without a field goal for almost four minutes during the run.
Asheville would continue to keep their lead over 20 points over the next few minutes with the Bulldogs leading 64-40 with 4:34 remaining in the game.
In a game that lasted just one hour and 38 minutes, the Bulldogs would easily cruise from there to the 26-point victory that was their seventh win in their last eight outings.
In picking up his second double-double of the season, junior guard Ahmad Thomas ended his evening with a game-high-tying 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds. He also had five assists and two steals.
Freshman guard Drew Rackley ended his day with 11 points, one assist and one steal. He knocked down three treys.
Teague concluded his efforts with 10 points. He also had three rebounds and one assist.
Reggie Dillard led two Blue Hose in double figures with 15 points.
Asheville shot 47.4 percent (27-of-57) as a team in the contest, including 12-of-27 (44.4 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Bulldog defense limited Presbyterian to just 19-of-50 (38 percent) shooting as a team in the game.
BULLDOG BITES
ELITE GROUP: With the win over Presbyterian, UNC Asheville head coach Nick McDevitt became just the third coach in Big South history to win at least 15 games in his first four seasons in the league. McDevitt joins Radford's Ron Bradley and Winthrop's Gregg Marshall in the elite grouping.
SHARING THE WEALTH: In the win over Presbyterian, Asheville had 12 players see action with 10 different Bulldogs scoring. In addition, out of Asheville's 27 made field goals in the contest there were 19 assists with eight different Bulldogs collecting an assist.
PERFECT: The Bulldogs were a perfect 7-of-7 as a team from the free throw line in the win over Presbyterian.
QUOTABLES
"I thought we were ready to play from the get-go. We didn't sprint out to a big lead in the first segment of the game, but I thought we were playing the way we needed to. We did a nice job of attacking their 2-3 zone and not just settling for long jumpers, although we shot it well particularly in the first half (the long made jumpers) were coming off inside-out offense, and with a quick turnaround it was nice to see a lot of guys play well here tonight." – Head Coach Nick McDevitt
UP NEXT
UNC Asheville welcomes Radford to Kimmel Arena for a men's and women's basketball doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 28. The UNC Asheville men's basketball team will first face off against the Radford men's basketball team at 12 p.m. in a game that will be televised by the American Sports Network (affiliates, including WMYA in Asheville) before the Asheville women take on the Radford women at 2 p.m. Both the UNC Asheville men's and women's basketball coaches along with the coaches of the Radford Highlanders will wear sneakers with their suits this weekend in support of Coaches vs. Cancer's Suits and Sneakers week and in support of Princess Lacey's Laces and the fight against childhood cancer. The Greenside Up Foundation will be hosting a silent auction on the concourse to benefit the Mission Health Cancer Center in the fight against childhood cancer. UNC Asheville is also proud to welcome residents of Haywood County, home of UNC Asheville women's basketball Coach, Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick, with a discount off tickets to cheer on the Bulldogs. The discount can be redeemed online with a Haywood County address and the promo code Haywood. Fans can also show their ID at the ticket window to receive the discount. Tickets are good for both the men's and women's game. In addition, the UNC Asheville women's basketball team is proud to welcome back their alumni this weekend and they will be honoring the 10-year anniversary of the 2007 Big South Conference Championship team. Finally, UNC Asheville athletics and Moe's Southwest Grill will reward UNC Asheville students who sit in the Moe's Student section near the Bulldog bench and wear a UNC Asheville t-shirt with burritos and chips from Moe's while supplies last.
The two teams would play close for most of the opening eight minutes of the game, but after a three-pointer by freshman guard MaCio Teague with 11:30 left in the opening half of action the Bulldog lead was six at 16-10. Less than a minute later a trey by junior guard Kevin Vannatta had pushed that lead to 19-10.
The Bulldogs including the above would go on to finish off a stretch where they made eight straight field goals en route to a 24-14 lead with 8:56 left in the first half of play. The Bulldogs would lead by 14 at 30-16 after a Teague three-pointer with 7:19 remaining in the first stanza.
Asheville (15-7, 7-2 Big South Conference) would hold the Blue Hose (4-16, 0-9 Big South Conference) without a field goal for the next over three minutes in picking up a 33-16 lead with 5:55 left in the first half.
The Bulldogs would go on to enter intermission with a 40-21 lead over the Blue Hose. Asheville closed out half No. 1 shooting 58.3 percent (14-of-24) as a team. The Bulldogs were 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half.
The second half commenced with Presbyterian scoring six of the first eight points, but a 9-0 spurt just after that allowed the Bulldogs to extend their lead to 51-27 with 12:27 left in the contest. The Bulldogs held the Blue Hose without a field goal for almost four minutes during the run.
Asheville would continue to keep their lead over 20 points over the next few minutes with the Bulldogs leading 64-40 with 4:34 remaining in the game.
In a game that lasted just one hour and 38 minutes, the Bulldogs would easily cruise from there to the 26-point victory that was their seventh win in their last eight outings.
In picking up his second double-double of the season, junior guard Ahmad Thomas ended his evening with a game-high-tying 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds. He also had five assists and two steals.
Freshman guard Drew Rackley ended his day with 11 points, one assist and one steal. He knocked down three treys.
Teague concluded his efforts with 10 points. He also had three rebounds and one assist.
Reggie Dillard led two Blue Hose in double figures with 15 points.
Asheville shot 47.4 percent (27-of-57) as a team in the contest, including 12-of-27 (44.4 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Bulldog defense limited Presbyterian to just 19-of-50 (38 percent) shooting as a team in the game.
BULLDOG BITES
ELITE GROUP: With the win over Presbyterian, UNC Asheville head coach Nick McDevitt became just the third coach in Big South history to win at least 15 games in his first four seasons in the league. McDevitt joins Radford's Ron Bradley and Winthrop's Gregg Marshall in the elite grouping.
SHARING THE WEALTH: In the win over Presbyterian, Asheville had 12 players see action with 10 different Bulldogs scoring. In addition, out of Asheville's 27 made field goals in the contest there were 19 assists with eight different Bulldogs collecting an assist.
PERFECT: The Bulldogs were a perfect 7-of-7 as a team from the free throw line in the win over Presbyterian.
QUOTABLES
"I thought we were ready to play from the get-go. We didn't sprint out to a big lead in the first segment of the game, but I thought we were playing the way we needed to. We did a nice job of attacking their 2-3 zone and not just settling for long jumpers, although we shot it well particularly in the first half (the long made jumpers) were coming off inside-out offense, and with a quick turnaround it was nice to see a lot of guys play well here tonight." – Head Coach Nick McDevitt
UP NEXT
UNC Asheville welcomes Radford to Kimmel Arena for a men's and women's basketball doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 28. The UNC Asheville men's basketball team will first face off against the Radford men's basketball team at 12 p.m. in a game that will be televised by the American Sports Network (affiliates, including WMYA in Asheville) before the Asheville women take on the Radford women at 2 p.m. Both the UNC Asheville men's and women's basketball coaches along with the coaches of the Radford Highlanders will wear sneakers with their suits this weekend in support of Coaches vs. Cancer's Suits and Sneakers week and in support of Princess Lacey's Laces and the fight against childhood cancer. The Greenside Up Foundation will be hosting a silent auction on the concourse to benefit the Mission Health Cancer Center in the fight against childhood cancer. UNC Asheville is also proud to welcome residents of Haywood County, home of UNC Asheville women's basketball Coach, Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick, with a discount off tickets to cheer on the Bulldogs. The discount can be redeemed online with a Haywood County address and the promo code Haywood. Fans can also show their ID at the ticket window to receive the discount. Tickets are good for both the men's and women's game. In addition, the UNC Asheville women's basketball team is proud to welcome back their alumni this weekend and they will be honoring the 10-year anniversary of the 2007 Big South Conference Championship team. Finally, UNC Asheville athletics and Moe's Southwest Grill will reward UNC Asheville students who sit in the Moe's Student section near the Bulldog bench and wear a UNC Asheville t-shirt with burritos and chips from Moe's while supplies last.
Team Stats
AVL
PC
FG%
.474
.380
3FG%
.444
.438
FT%
1.000
1.000
RB
34
27
TO
9
15
STL
7
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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