University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Sunday, December 17
Asheville, NC
4:30 PM
UNC Asheville
6-5
72
vs
76
Western Carolina
4-7
1
2
F
Western Carolina
32
44
76
UNC Asheville
34
38
72
Photo by: Tommy Moss
Bulldogs Drop Mountain Rivalry Game to Western Carolina
12.17.2017 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – When the Mountain Rivalry is contested it almost always is close, and the meeting of UNC Asheville and Western Carolina in the inaugural Mountain Invitational at the U.S. Cellular Center was no different with the Catamounts taking a narrow 76-72 win over the Bulldogs.
The contest would open with Western Carolina (4-7) owning a 10-9 advantage with 16:15 left in the first half. The Bulldogs would quickly erase the Catamount lead with an 8-0 run that forced Western Carolina into a timeout with the Bulldogs leading 17-10 with 13:55 remaining in the half.
The Bulldogs would lead 21-13 after a MaCio Teague layup with 12:24 to play in the first half, but with 7:04 left in the contest Western Carolina had evened things up in the game at 23-all.
The two teams would keep battling back and forth over the next few minutes with a Jonathan Baehre bucket giving the Bulldogs a 34-32 advantage with 2:41 left in the opening half of action.
The Bulldogs would enter the halftime break still holding that same 34-32 lead.
UNC Asheville (6-5) would open the second half narrowly outscoring the Catamounts, 17-13, over the first almost nine minutes. The Bulldogs would lead 51-45 with 11:04 left in the contest after a Donovan Gilmore dunk.
Western Carolina owned a 57-56 lead in the game with under seven minutes remaining.
The Catamounts owned a 68-62 lead with under two minutes to play in the game, but an Ahmad Thomas jumper and Raekwon Miller three-pointer from the corner pulled the Bulldogs back to within one at 68-67 with 1:10 left in the game.
The Bulldogs would keep grinding down the stretch, but it would be the Catamounts that would hold on for the narrow four-point win.
UNC Asheville finished its narrow loss shooting 47 percent (31-of-66) as a team. The Bulldogs limited Western Carolina to 45.5 percent (25-of-55) shooting as a team.
Three Bulldogs finished in double figures with Ahmad Thomas leading the way with 17 points. He also had three assists and three steals.
UNC Asheville's Kevin Vannatta ended his day with 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while MaCio Teague had 11 points, six boards and five assists.
Four Catamounts closed out their efforts in double figures with Marcus Thomas leading the way with 21 points.
BULLDOG BITES
Assisting Others
UNC Asheville had its fourth game of the year with over 20 assists as a team with its 21 assists in the narrow loss to Western Carolina. The Bulldogs assisted on 21 of their 31 made field goals. Teague led the way with his five assists.
It's a Steal
The Bulldogs finished the narrow loss to Western Carolina with 11 steals to mark the third time this season that UNC Asheville has secured 10 or more steals as a team in a single game. Three different Bulldogs (Ahmad Thomas, Jonathan Baehre and Raekwon Miller) all had three steals in the game. Jalen Seegars collected two steals for the Bulldogs.
Strong from the Field
In finishing with his team-best 17 points, Ahmad Thomas was 8-of-10 from the field. It is the second time this season a Bulldog has shot 80 percent or better with over five attempts in the game. Raekwon Miller was 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) in the win over Lees-McRae.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will next travel to Greensboro, N.C. to take on UNCG at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 19.
The contest would open with Western Carolina (4-7) owning a 10-9 advantage with 16:15 left in the first half. The Bulldogs would quickly erase the Catamount lead with an 8-0 run that forced Western Carolina into a timeout with the Bulldogs leading 17-10 with 13:55 remaining in the half.
The Bulldogs would lead 21-13 after a MaCio Teague layup with 12:24 to play in the first half, but with 7:04 left in the contest Western Carolina had evened things up in the game at 23-all.
The two teams would keep battling back and forth over the next few minutes with a Jonathan Baehre bucket giving the Bulldogs a 34-32 advantage with 2:41 left in the opening half of action.
The Bulldogs would enter the halftime break still holding that same 34-32 lead.
UNC Asheville (6-5) would open the second half narrowly outscoring the Catamounts, 17-13, over the first almost nine minutes. The Bulldogs would lead 51-45 with 11:04 left in the contest after a Donovan Gilmore dunk.
Western Carolina owned a 57-56 lead in the game with under seven minutes remaining.
The Catamounts owned a 68-62 lead with under two minutes to play in the game, but an Ahmad Thomas jumper and Raekwon Miller three-pointer from the corner pulled the Bulldogs back to within one at 68-67 with 1:10 left in the game.
The Bulldogs would keep grinding down the stretch, but it would be the Catamounts that would hold on for the narrow four-point win.
UNC Asheville finished its narrow loss shooting 47 percent (31-of-66) as a team. The Bulldogs limited Western Carolina to 45.5 percent (25-of-55) shooting as a team.
Three Bulldogs finished in double figures with Ahmad Thomas leading the way with 17 points. He also had three assists and three steals.
UNC Asheville's Kevin Vannatta ended his day with 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while MaCio Teague had 11 points, six boards and five assists.
Four Catamounts closed out their efforts in double figures with Marcus Thomas leading the way with 21 points.
BULLDOG BITES
Assisting Others
UNC Asheville had its fourth game of the year with over 20 assists as a team with its 21 assists in the narrow loss to Western Carolina. The Bulldogs assisted on 21 of their 31 made field goals. Teague led the way with his five assists.
It's a Steal
The Bulldogs finished the narrow loss to Western Carolina with 11 steals to mark the third time this season that UNC Asheville has secured 10 or more steals as a team in a single game. Three different Bulldogs (Ahmad Thomas, Jonathan Baehre and Raekwon Miller) all had three steals in the game. Jalen Seegars collected two steals for the Bulldogs.
Strong from the Field
In finishing with his team-best 17 points, Ahmad Thomas was 8-of-10 from the field. It is the second time this season a Bulldog has shot 80 percent or better with over five attempts in the game. Raekwon Miller was 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) in the win over Lees-McRae.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will next travel to Greensboro, N.C. to take on UNCG at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 19.
Team Stats
WCU
AVL
FG%
.455
.470
3FG%
.400
.192
FT%
.750
.556
RB
35
35
TO
16
13
STL
9
11
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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