University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Celebrating 90 Years - Looking Back on a Great Bulldog Win in the Mountain Rivalry
12.15.2017 | Men's Basketball
The UNC Asheville men's basketball team will take on mountain foe Western Carolina this Sunday at 4:30 p.m. as the Bulldogs and Catamounts square off at the US Cellular Arena (tickets HERE). Let's look back at a great Bulldog win when the rivalry was renewed.
The teams have enjoyed some great matchups over the years including memorable games when the programs were members of the NAIA. When the Catamount program went Division I in the mid-70's and joined the Southern Conference, they stopped playing the Bulldogs and began new rivalries with Furman and Davidson.
But one of the exciting things about Asheville going Division I was the fact it would start playing Western Carolina again. WCU head coach Steve Cottrell agreed to play the Bulldogs twice each season with games in Cullowhee and the Asheville Civic Center.
The rivalry would be renewed early in the 1986-87 season. Asheville would journey to Cullowhee to take on the Catamounts in their brand new facility – the Ramsey Center. The state-of-the art facility officially opened up two nights earlier when WCU faced Jim Valvano's N.C. State squad in the inaugural game. WCU would fall 81-61 but it was a game that was much closer than the final score and a sell-out crowd enjoyed the Catamount effort.
The Bulldogs had begun their first year in Division I with a loss at Clemson and a victory over Barber-Scotia. It was 1-1 heading into Cullowhee. WCU was 0-2 but the losses were to Florida and N.C. State.
Not many people gave Jerry Green's club a chance to win. The local newspaper picked the Bulldogs to lose by 22 points.
But it was apparent from the start that Asheville wasn't going to be blown out by the Catamounts. The Bulldogs were ready to play right out of the gate, especially senior guard Van Wilkins. The Asheville native was hot from the three-point line and hot from everywhere as the Blue & White built a lead.
The Bulldogs would continue to lead before the Catamounts finally began to rally. They chopped a 15-point Asheville lead to three with seven minutes remaining. But Wilkins took over. He knocked down two long three-pointers on the next two possessions and Asheville would cruise to an 85-67 victory. It was Wilkins' greatest moment in an excellent career for the Bulldogs as he finished with a career-high 37 points. Newcomers Milton Moore and Ricky Chapman also played well for the Blue & White.
It was a big win but it was also an important victory. Many in the community didn't believe UNC Asheville could play Division I basketball. It was nice they were playing Western Carolina and Appalachian State again but those would be automatic losses. Asheville's decisive victory would quickly let people know that the Bulldogs would be just fine on the Division I level. Coach Green had built a great NAIA program, had won 20 games in the only year of NCAA Division II play and announced to the world with the win over WCU, the Bulldogs would be winners on this level, too.
The WCU win would not be the last highlight of Asheville's first season on the Division I level. Five days later, the Bulldogs would win at ETSU, 69-66 behind some big three-pointers from Wilkins late in the game. Two days later they would face an excellent Furman team that had already posted some big wins on the young season themselves. The game would be played at the Asheville Civic Center and a crowd of more than 3,500 would watch the Bulldogs edge Furman, 65-62.
And the Bulldogs would also win the rematch against Western Carolina. With the roles reversed, this time Asheville was a heavy favorite to win. The Dogs would dominate again before a crowd of more than 5,000 at the Civic Center, winning 74-60.
Jerry Green was always known as an excellent coach and produced four different 20-wins teams during his tenure in Asheville. But this may have been his finest coaching job. With just one starter back from the previous season and having to incorporate four new starters, the Dogs would go to finish 15-11 and advance to the semifinals of the Big South Tournament where they would just miss going to the title game as they fell to Campbell, 79-76.
But what really made Bulldog fans proud was their record against the Southern Conference. During those years, the SoCon Tournament was played at the Civic Center and there was a lot of interest in their teams. Asheville went 6-3 against the SoCon, including a sweep of Western Carolina.
The Dogs may have not won a championship that season but it won something even more important - respect from the community. Asheville was playing basketball at a new level but it was still doing what it always did – win.
**In celebration of UNC Asheville's 90th anniversary, Hall of Famer Mike Gore will look back on important moments in athletics department history over the course of the 2017-18 athletic year**
The teams have enjoyed some great matchups over the years including memorable games when the programs were members of the NAIA. When the Catamount program went Division I in the mid-70's and joined the Southern Conference, they stopped playing the Bulldogs and began new rivalries with Furman and Davidson.
But one of the exciting things about Asheville going Division I was the fact it would start playing Western Carolina again. WCU head coach Steve Cottrell agreed to play the Bulldogs twice each season with games in Cullowhee and the Asheville Civic Center.
The rivalry would be renewed early in the 1986-87 season. Asheville would journey to Cullowhee to take on the Catamounts in their brand new facility – the Ramsey Center. The state-of-the art facility officially opened up two nights earlier when WCU faced Jim Valvano's N.C. State squad in the inaugural game. WCU would fall 81-61 but it was a game that was much closer than the final score and a sell-out crowd enjoyed the Catamount effort.
The Bulldogs had begun their first year in Division I with a loss at Clemson and a victory over Barber-Scotia. It was 1-1 heading into Cullowhee. WCU was 0-2 but the losses were to Florida and N.C. State.
Not many people gave Jerry Green's club a chance to win. The local newspaper picked the Bulldogs to lose by 22 points.
But it was apparent from the start that Asheville wasn't going to be blown out by the Catamounts. The Bulldogs were ready to play right out of the gate, especially senior guard Van Wilkins. The Asheville native was hot from the three-point line and hot from everywhere as the Blue & White built a lead.
The Bulldogs would continue to lead before the Catamounts finally began to rally. They chopped a 15-point Asheville lead to three with seven minutes remaining. But Wilkins took over. He knocked down two long three-pointers on the next two possessions and Asheville would cruise to an 85-67 victory. It was Wilkins' greatest moment in an excellent career for the Bulldogs as he finished with a career-high 37 points. Newcomers Milton Moore and Ricky Chapman also played well for the Blue & White.
It was a big win but it was also an important victory. Many in the community didn't believe UNC Asheville could play Division I basketball. It was nice they were playing Western Carolina and Appalachian State again but those would be automatic losses. Asheville's decisive victory would quickly let people know that the Bulldogs would be just fine on the Division I level. Coach Green had built a great NAIA program, had won 20 games in the only year of NCAA Division II play and announced to the world with the win over WCU, the Bulldogs would be winners on this level, too.
The WCU win would not be the last highlight of Asheville's first season on the Division I level. Five days later, the Bulldogs would win at ETSU, 69-66 behind some big three-pointers from Wilkins late in the game. Two days later they would face an excellent Furman team that had already posted some big wins on the young season themselves. The game would be played at the Asheville Civic Center and a crowd of more than 3,500 would watch the Bulldogs edge Furman, 65-62.
And the Bulldogs would also win the rematch against Western Carolina. With the roles reversed, this time Asheville was a heavy favorite to win. The Dogs would dominate again before a crowd of more than 5,000 at the Civic Center, winning 74-60.
Jerry Green was always known as an excellent coach and produced four different 20-wins teams during his tenure in Asheville. But this may have been his finest coaching job. With just one starter back from the previous season and having to incorporate four new starters, the Dogs would go to finish 15-11 and advance to the semifinals of the Big South Tournament where they would just miss going to the title game as they fell to Campbell, 79-76.
But what really made Bulldog fans proud was their record against the Southern Conference. During those years, the SoCon Tournament was played at the Civic Center and there was a lot of interest in their teams. Asheville went 6-3 against the SoCon, including a sweep of Western Carolina.
The Dogs may have not won a championship that season but it won something even more important - respect from the community. Asheville was playing basketball at a new level but it was still doing what it always did – win.
**In celebration of UNC Asheville's 90th anniversary, Hall of Famer Mike Gore will look back on important moments in athletics department history over the course of the 2017-18 athletic year**
Monday, March 18
Monday, March 18
Thursday, March 14
Monday, March 04