University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Photo by: UNC Asheville
First-Place Bulldogs Set to Host Presbyterian Wednesday Evening
02.14.2017 | Men's Basketball
UNC Asheville-Presbyterian Game Notes (PDF - Click Link to Access)
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (20-7, 12-2 Big South Conference)
Presbyterian (5-20, 1-13 Big South Conference)
Location: Asheville, N.C. / Kimmel Arena
When: Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017 / 7 p.m.
Video: Big South Network
Live Stats: uncabulldogs.com
Twitter: @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
BULLDOG BITES
WEDNESDAY'S GAME: Winners of seven straight and currently tied for first place in the Big South Conference, UNC Asheville men's basketball (20-7, 12-2 Big South Conference) welcomes Presbyterian (5-20, 1-13 Big south Conference) to Kimmel Arena for a 7 p.m. Big South Conference game on Wednesday, Feb. 15. It is the second-to-last home regular-season game of the year for the Bulldogs.
INTO THE TOP 25: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team is ranked 22nd in the latest CollegeInsider.com Men's Basketball Mid-Major Top-25. The Bulldogs have received votes in the Mid-Major Top-25 on 12 different occasions this season, but the Monday, Feb. 13, edition of the poll marks the first time this year that Asheville has cracked the top-25. Last week, the Bulldogs were just one spot out of the poll at what would be No. 26. Asheville is one of two Big South Conference teams in the latest poll as Winthrop is just behind the Bulldogs at No. 24. The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast and Western Athletic. The Bulldogs have beaten numerous teams that were either ranked at the time or are currently ranked in the Mid-Major Top-25 for example in Siena, Elon, Furman and Winthrop. Based on the latest poll, one of the biggest wins of the season for the 22nd-ranked Bulldogs is over Furman, who is currently ranked 12th in the Mid-Major Poll. The Bulldogs picked up a 64-58 road win over the Paladins in Greenville, S.C. on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016. UNC Asheville's 104-101 double overtime win over current 24th-ranked and league foe Winthrop on Thursday, Feb. 9, at Kimmel Arena is also obviously a huge win for the Bulldogs in numerous ways.
SERIES: UNC Asheville and Presbyterian will be meeting for the 27th time in a series that the Bulldogs own an 19-7 all-time series advantage over the Blue Hose.
FASTEST TO 20: UNC Asheville's win over Longwood allowed this year's Bulldog men's basketball team to reach 20 wins in the fewest number of games (27) in the Bulldogs' time in the Big South Conference.
A LOOK AT THE LEAGUE: UNC Asheville's win over Longwood also allowed the Bulldogs to remain tied with Liberty (17-10, 12-2 Big South Conference) for the top spot in the Big South Conference.
NEARING 1,000: Junior guard Ahmad Thomas is closing in on becoming an 1,000-point scorer. After his 22 points in the win over Longwood, Thomas now has 988 points in his Bulldog career. Thomas is also less than 25 rebounds away from becoming just the 56th player in Big South Conference history with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. Thomas presently has 478 career rebounds. Thomas is also just a few steals away from becoming just the sixth player in league history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 steals. Thomas has 173 career steals entering the Presbyterian game.
500 BOARDS: UNC Asheville senior forward Will Weeks became the 83rd player in Big South Conference history with over 500 rebounds when he passed the mark in the Bulldog road win at Longwood on Saturday, Feb. 11. Weeks entering the Presbyterian game now has 503 career rebounds.
FEATURED BY ESPN: UNC Asheville was featured twice by ESPN over a four-day stretch from Feb. 9-12. Asheville was featured on ESPN's official Instagram page on Sunday, Feb. 12, for a tremendous shot from the bleachers inside Kimmel Arena made by Bulldog junior guard Raekwon Miller. The video on ESPN's Instagram page had over 100,000 views in less than an hour. The UNC Asheville men's basketball team was originally featured on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays of the Day after the thrilling 104-101 double overtime win over Winthrop at Kimmel Arena on Thursday, Feb. 9. MaCio Teague's buzzer-beating and game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds of regulation to send the game into overtime was ranked the ninth-best play of the day by ESPN's flagship program. Teague, a freshman guard, would continue his heroics into the second overtime period that eventually ended with the thrilling three-point Bulldog victory. Miller's shot from the bleachers was made while Teague was being interviewed by WLOS News 13 on Sunday, Feb. 12.
STREAKING: With the win over Longwood, UNC Asheville is now in the midst of a seven-game winning streak, which is the longest current winning streak in the Big South Conference. The seven-game winning streak is the third five or more game winning streak of the year for the Bulldogs.
BALANCED TEAM WIN: A total of 12 Bulldogs saw time on the court in the win over Longwood with nine finishing in the scoring column.
SPECIAL LEAGUE STREAK CONTINUES: With the win over High Point, UNC Asheville is assured of at least 10 wins in Big South Conference play for the 10th straight year, which is a new league record.
HOME SWEET HOME: UNC Asheville is currently in the midst of a seven-game home winning streak. The Bulldogs are 11-1 on the year at home. UNC Asheville after the win over Winthrop is now 66-16 all-time at Kimmel Arena, including 46-10 in Big South Conference contests.
FREE BASKETBALL: After the double overtime win over Winthrop, UNC Asheville is now 3-1 on the year in overtime contests.
ABOUT PRESBYTERIAN: The Blue Hose are led by Jo'Vontae Millner's 10.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
BULLDOGS SWEEP WEEKLY BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE AWARDS (2/13/17): It was a clean sweep of the weekly Big South Conference men's basketball awards for UNC Asheville men's basketball with junior guard Ahmad Thomas tabbed Player of the Week and guard MaCio Teague selected the Come Ready Nutrition Big South Conference Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017. In UNC Asheville's two wins on the week, Thomas averaged 24 points, 7.5 rebounds, three steals and two assists per game. In Asheville's thrilling double overtime win over Winthrop at Kimmel Arena on Thursday, Feb. 9, Thomas concluded his efforts with a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three steals and two assists. Thomas was 10-of-13 (76.9 percent) from the free throw line in the Bulldog win over the Eagles. Thomas followed up his performance against the Eagles by finishing his efforts in the Bulldog road victory at Longwood on Saturday, Feb. 11, with 22 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists. The Danville, Va. native was 11-of-16 (68.7 percent) from the field in the road win at Longwood. Overall, the Hargrave Military Product was 19-of-26 (52.8 percent) from the field in the two Bulldog wins. In UNC Asheville's two wins on the week, Teague averaged 27 points, 4.5 assists and three rebounds per game. Teague was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line in Asheville's two wins. He shot 53.1 percent (17-of-32) from the field in the two wins. Teague once again showed why he is one of the best freshmen and really best players in the Big South Conference by finishing his night in the thrilling double overtime win over Winthrop at Kimmel Arena on Thursday, Feb. 9, with 24 points, five assists, four rebounds and one pivotal block. The Cincinnati, Ohio native was a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line in the game.Teague's buzzer-beating three-pointer that was featured on SportsCenter's top-10 plays of the day originally sent the game into overtime tied at 77-all. Teague's block in the game came in the second overtime when he swatted away Keon Johnson's three-point attempt in the closing seconds of the game to help preserve Asheville's win. The Walnut Hills High School product knocked down six three-pointers en route to a career-best 30 points in Asheville's road win at Longwood on Saturday, Feb. 11. Teague, who was 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the game, also had four assists in the Bulldog win.
VANNATTA NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: UNC Asheville men's basketball junior guard Kevin Vannatta was selected to the 2016-17 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District® 3 Men's Basketball first-team. As a first-team selection, Vannatta is now eligible to garner CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. Vannatta as an Accounting major at UNC Asheville presently owns a 3.927 grade point average. "This is a tremendous and well-deserved honor for Kevin," UNC Asheville men's basketball head coach Nick McDevitt said. "He puts a tremendous amount of effort into everything he does in his school work, athletics, community service and other civic activities. Kevin exemplifies the true meaning of the term student-athlete and he is an outstanding ambassador for our University and our basketball program."
HITTING THE OFFENSIVE GLASS: Senior forward Will Weeks picked up seven of his 12 rebounds in the win over Winthrop on the offensive glass. As a team, Asheville collected 15 offensive rebounds with Ahmad Thomas corralling four of his 10 boards on the offensive glass.
ELITE GROUP: With the win over Presbyterian on Thursday, Jan. 26, 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.
SANDWICH ARTIST FOR A GREAT CAUSE: UNC Asheville men's basketball head coach Nick McDevitt recently showed off his Subway Sandwich Artistry skills at the Subway restaurant on 740 Merrimon Ave., Merrimon Square, Asheville, NC 28804. The special appearance by McDevitt at Subway was part of an effort to help raise awareness and support for the fight against cancer through the Coaches vs. Cancer campaign. Bulldog fans, normal Subway lunch lovers and even some of McDevitt's own players came out to support the tremendous cause during McDevitt's appearance from 12-1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Sporting a blue UNC Asheville Adidas polo, a Subway hat and his own personal Subway nameplate, McDevitt by the conclusion of his time at Subway even had people ringing the bell at the end of the line to denote he had made a perfect sandwich. The efforts towards helping this cause are definitely still ongoing as donations can still be made at checkout at local SUBWAY® restaurants through Feb. 28 with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the local Coaches vs. Cancer program. The Coaches vs. Cancer program is a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Locally, the North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association has joined the effort to promote healthy living, raise awareness and support for the fight against cancer. For more information on Coaches vs. Cancer, visit www.cancer.org.
ZILLI BLOCK PARTY: Giacomo Zilli tied his career high with three blocks in the win over Radford. Zilli also had three blocks in an 87-48 win over Johnson & Wales at Kimmel Arena on Nov. 19, 2014.
ESPNU TO TELEVISE UNC ASHEVILLE-GARDNER-WEBB: ESPNU has selected the UNC Asheville at Gardner-Webb men's basketball contest scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23 as its Big South Wildcard Selection broadcast, it was announced by the Big South Conference office. Game time will be 9 pm ET inside Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, N.C. Robert Lee (play-by-play) and Nate Ross (analyst) will handle the call from courtside. "We are extremely thankful to have the opportunity to once again be able to highlight our program on national television," UNC Asheville head men's basketball coach Nick McDevitt said. It will be the second regular-season meeting between the squads, as Asheville prevailed in overtime, 90-85 back on Dec. 31. Bulldogs' freshman MaCio Teague led all scorers with 25 points, while David Robertson added 23. GWU was led by Jamaal Robateau and LaQuincy Rideau with 16 points each. The UNC Asheville at Gardner-Webb game is the fourth and final Big South ESPNU Wildcard broadcast this season. The 2016-17 campaign marked the fourth consecutive year that four regular-season Big South contests appeared on ESPNU.
ZAXBY'S FOWL SHOT: UNC Asheville fans are always strong and vocal behind their team during Bulldog basketball games, but in the second half of home games the rest of this basketball season their enthusiasm for the Bulldogs could mean free Zaxby's. The new Zaxby's "Fowl Shot" promotion kicks in after the under-12 minute media timeout during Bulldog basketball games. For the final 12 minutes of the Bulldog basketball games if a visiting player misses both free throws during a trip to the free throw line a voucher after the game will be handed out to all fans in attendance where they will receive a free Chicken Nibbler courtesy of Zaxby's. The vouchers from Zaxby's must be redeemed within 48 hours at any Zaxby's location.
AMONG THE BEST: Already the single-season program record holder in the category, Ahmad Thomas is currently for for first in the country in total steals with 83. He is fourth in the country in steals per game with 3.07 steals per outing. Thomas with his five steals in the win over Charleston Southern on Feb. 1 became the first Big South player with back-to-back 70-steal campaigns since VMI's Chavis Holmes (2006-08). He is just the fourth overall in Big South Conference history to accomplish the impressive feat. Currently first in the league in steals, Thomas is trying to become the first player to lead the league in steals in consecutive years since Radford's Javonte Green (2013-15).
NEARING 1,000: Junior guards Ahmad Thomas and Kevin Vannatta are both nearing 1,000 points. Currently, Thomas has 988 career points, while Vannatta has scored 859 in his Bulldog career. Asheville senior guard David Robertson is also closing in on 1,000 points in his career as he currently has 866 points in his four-year career.
IT'S A STEAL: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team boasts one of the top defenses in the entire country with the Bulldogs fourth in the country in total steals (256). The Bulldogs are also sixth in the country in steals per game (9.48).
BIG SOUTH UNVEILS NEW BRAND IDENTITY (Per the Big South Conference): "The Big South Conference introduced its new brand identity on Saturday, Jan. 14, that epitomizes the league's strong commitment to its student-athletes and re-establishes the Conference's vitality, personality and longstanding success in NCAA Division I collegiate athletics under a new mantra – 'Where Winners Are Made.'" Full Release: Visit BigSouthSports.com.
UP NEXT: UNC Asheville travels to Buies Creek, N.C. to take on Campbell at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18.
QUOTABLES
"We're looking forward to playing in front of our fans here at Kimmel Arena again on Wednesday night. Presbyterian is a well-coached team and we have to continue to play with a high level of intensity." - Head Coach Nick McDevitt
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (20-7, 12-2 Big South Conference)
Presbyterian (5-20, 1-13 Big South Conference)
Location: Asheville, N.C. / Kimmel Arena
When: Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017 / 7 p.m.
Video: Big South Network
Live Stats: uncabulldogs.com
Twitter: @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
BULLDOG BITES
WEDNESDAY'S GAME: Winners of seven straight and currently tied for first place in the Big South Conference, UNC Asheville men's basketball (20-7, 12-2 Big South Conference) welcomes Presbyterian (5-20, 1-13 Big south Conference) to Kimmel Arena for a 7 p.m. Big South Conference game on Wednesday, Feb. 15. It is the second-to-last home regular-season game of the year for the Bulldogs.
INTO THE TOP 25: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team is ranked 22nd in the latest CollegeInsider.com Men's Basketball Mid-Major Top-25. The Bulldogs have received votes in the Mid-Major Top-25 on 12 different occasions this season, but the Monday, Feb. 13, edition of the poll marks the first time this year that Asheville has cracked the top-25. Last week, the Bulldogs were just one spot out of the poll at what would be No. 26. Asheville is one of two Big South Conference teams in the latest poll as Winthrop is just behind the Bulldogs at No. 24. The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast and Western Athletic. The Bulldogs have beaten numerous teams that were either ranked at the time or are currently ranked in the Mid-Major Top-25 for example in Siena, Elon, Furman and Winthrop. Based on the latest poll, one of the biggest wins of the season for the 22nd-ranked Bulldogs is over Furman, who is currently ranked 12th in the Mid-Major Poll. The Bulldogs picked up a 64-58 road win over the Paladins in Greenville, S.C. on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016. UNC Asheville's 104-101 double overtime win over current 24th-ranked and league foe Winthrop on Thursday, Feb. 9, at Kimmel Arena is also obviously a huge win for the Bulldogs in numerous ways.
SERIES: UNC Asheville and Presbyterian will be meeting for the 27th time in a series that the Bulldogs own an 19-7 all-time series advantage over the Blue Hose.
FASTEST TO 20: UNC Asheville's win over Longwood allowed this year's Bulldog men's basketball team to reach 20 wins in the fewest number of games (27) in the Bulldogs' time in the Big South Conference.
A LOOK AT THE LEAGUE: UNC Asheville's win over Longwood also allowed the Bulldogs to remain tied with Liberty (17-10, 12-2 Big South Conference) for the top spot in the Big South Conference.
NEARING 1,000: Junior guard Ahmad Thomas is closing in on becoming an 1,000-point scorer. After his 22 points in the win over Longwood, Thomas now has 988 points in his Bulldog career. Thomas is also less than 25 rebounds away from becoming just the 56th player in Big South Conference history with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. Thomas presently has 478 career rebounds. Thomas is also just a few steals away from becoming just the sixth player in league history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 steals. Thomas has 173 career steals entering the Presbyterian game.
500 BOARDS: UNC Asheville senior forward Will Weeks became the 83rd player in Big South Conference history with over 500 rebounds when he passed the mark in the Bulldog road win at Longwood on Saturday, Feb. 11. Weeks entering the Presbyterian game now has 503 career rebounds.
FEATURED BY ESPN: UNC Asheville was featured twice by ESPN over a four-day stretch from Feb. 9-12. Asheville was featured on ESPN's official Instagram page on Sunday, Feb. 12, for a tremendous shot from the bleachers inside Kimmel Arena made by Bulldog junior guard Raekwon Miller. The video on ESPN's Instagram page had over 100,000 views in less than an hour. The UNC Asheville men's basketball team was originally featured on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays of the Day after the thrilling 104-101 double overtime win over Winthrop at Kimmel Arena on Thursday, Feb. 9. MaCio Teague's buzzer-beating and game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds of regulation to send the game into overtime was ranked the ninth-best play of the day by ESPN's flagship program. Teague, a freshman guard, would continue his heroics into the second overtime period that eventually ended with the thrilling three-point Bulldog victory. Miller's shot from the bleachers was made while Teague was being interviewed by WLOS News 13 on Sunday, Feb. 12.
STREAKING: With the win over Longwood, UNC Asheville is now in the midst of a seven-game winning streak, which is the longest current winning streak in the Big South Conference. The seven-game winning streak is the third five or more game winning streak of the year for the Bulldogs.
BALANCED TEAM WIN: A total of 12 Bulldogs saw time on the court in the win over Longwood with nine finishing in the scoring column.
SPECIAL LEAGUE STREAK CONTINUES: With the win over High Point, UNC Asheville is assured of at least 10 wins in Big South Conference play for the 10th straight year, which is a new league record.
HOME SWEET HOME: UNC Asheville is currently in the midst of a seven-game home winning streak. The Bulldogs are 11-1 on the year at home. UNC Asheville after the win over Winthrop is now 66-16 all-time at Kimmel Arena, including 46-10 in Big South Conference contests.
FREE BASKETBALL: After the double overtime win over Winthrop, UNC Asheville is now 3-1 on the year in overtime contests.
ABOUT PRESBYTERIAN: The Blue Hose are led by Jo'Vontae Millner's 10.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
BULLDOGS SWEEP WEEKLY BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE AWARDS (2/13/17): It was a clean sweep of the weekly Big South Conference men's basketball awards for UNC Asheville men's basketball with junior guard Ahmad Thomas tabbed Player of the Week and guard MaCio Teague selected the Come Ready Nutrition Big South Conference Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017. In UNC Asheville's two wins on the week, Thomas averaged 24 points, 7.5 rebounds, three steals and two assists per game. In Asheville's thrilling double overtime win over Winthrop at Kimmel Arena on Thursday, Feb. 9, Thomas concluded his efforts with a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three steals and two assists. Thomas was 10-of-13 (76.9 percent) from the free throw line in the Bulldog win over the Eagles. Thomas followed up his performance against the Eagles by finishing his efforts in the Bulldog road victory at Longwood on Saturday, Feb. 11, with 22 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists. The Danville, Va. native was 11-of-16 (68.7 percent) from the field in the road win at Longwood. Overall, the Hargrave Military Product was 19-of-26 (52.8 percent) from the field in the two Bulldog wins. In UNC Asheville's two wins on the week, Teague averaged 27 points, 4.5 assists and three rebounds per game. Teague was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line in Asheville's two wins. He shot 53.1 percent (17-of-32) from the field in the two wins. Teague once again showed why he is one of the best freshmen and really best players in the Big South Conference by finishing his night in the thrilling double overtime win over Winthrop at Kimmel Arena on Thursday, Feb. 9, with 24 points, five assists, four rebounds and one pivotal block. The Cincinnati, Ohio native was a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line in the game.Teague's buzzer-beating three-pointer that was featured on SportsCenter's top-10 plays of the day originally sent the game into overtime tied at 77-all. Teague's block in the game came in the second overtime when he swatted away Keon Johnson's three-point attempt in the closing seconds of the game to help preserve Asheville's win. The Walnut Hills High School product knocked down six three-pointers en route to a career-best 30 points in Asheville's road win at Longwood on Saturday, Feb. 11. Teague, who was 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the game, also had four assists in the Bulldog win.
VANNATTA NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: UNC Asheville men's basketball junior guard Kevin Vannatta was selected to the 2016-17 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District® 3 Men's Basketball first-team. As a first-team selection, Vannatta is now eligible to garner CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. Vannatta as an Accounting major at UNC Asheville presently owns a 3.927 grade point average. "This is a tremendous and well-deserved honor for Kevin," UNC Asheville men's basketball head coach Nick McDevitt said. "He puts a tremendous amount of effort into everything he does in his school work, athletics, community service and other civic activities. Kevin exemplifies the true meaning of the term student-athlete and he is an outstanding ambassador for our University and our basketball program."
HITTING THE OFFENSIVE GLASS: Senior forward Will Weeks picked up seven of his 12 rebounds in the win over Winthrop on the offensive glass. As a team, Asheville collected 15 offensive rebounds with Ahmad Thomas corralling four of his 10 boards on the offensive glass.
ELITE GROUP: With the win over Presbyterian on Thursday, Jan. 26, 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.
SANDWICH ARTIST FOR A GREAT CAUSE: UNC Asheville men's basketball head coach Nick McDevitt recently showed off his Subway Sandwich Artistry skills at the Subway restaurant on 740 Merrimon Ave., Merrimon Square, Asheville, NC 28804. The special appearance by McDevitt at Subway was part of an effort to help raise awareness and support for the fight against cancer through the Coaches vs. Cancer campaign. Bulldog fans, normal Subway lunch lovers and even some of McDevitt's own players came out to support the tremendous cause during McDevitt's appearance from 12-1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Sporting a blue UNC Asheville Adidas polo, a Subway hat and his own personal Subway nameplate, McDevitt by the conclusion of his time at Subway even had people ringing the bell at the end of the line to denote he had made a perfect sandwich. The efforts towards helping this cause are definitely still ongoing as donations can still be made at checkout at local SUBWAY® restaurants through Feb. 28 with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the local Coaches vs. Cancer program. The Coaches vs. Cancer program is a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Locally, the North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association has joined the effort to promote healthy living, raise awareness and support for the fight against cancer. For more information on Coaches vs. Cancer, visit www.cancer.org.
ZILLI BLOCK PARTY: Giacomo Zilli tied his career high with three blocks in the win over Radford. Zilli also had three blocks in an 87-48 win over Johnson & Wales at Kimmel Arena on Nov. 19, 2014.
ESPNU TO TELEVISE UNC ASHEVILLE-GARDNER-WEBB: ESPNU has selected the UNC Asheville at Gardner-Webb men's basketball contest scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23 as its Big South Wildcard Selection broadcast, it was announced by the Big South Conference office. Game time will be 9 pm ET inside Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, N.C. Robert Lee (play-by-play) and Nate Ross (analyst) will handle the call from courtside. "We are extremely thankful to have the opportunity to once again be able to highlight our program on national television," UNC Asheville head men's basketball coach Nick McDevitt said. It will be the second regular-season meeting between the squads, as Asheville prevailed in overtime, 90-85 back on Dec. 31. Bulldogs' freshman MaCio Teague led all scorers with 25 points, while David Robertson added 23. GWU was led by Jamaal Robateau and LaQuincy Rideau with 16 points each. The UNC Asheville at Gardner-Webb game is the fourth and final Big South ESPNU Wildcard broadcast this season. The 2016-17 campaign marked the fourth consecutive year that four regular-season Big South contests appeared on ESPNU.
ZAXBY'S FOWL SHOT: UNC Asheville fans are always strong and vocal behind their team during Bulldog basketball games, but in the second half of home games the rest of this basketball season their enthusiasm for the Bulldogs could mean free Zaxby's. The new Zaxby's "Fowl Shot" promotion kicks in after the under-12 minute media timeout during Bulldog basketball games. For the final 12 minutes of the Bulldog basketball games if a visiting player misses both free throws during a trip to the free throw line a voucher after the game will be handed out to all fans in attendance where they will receive a free Chicken Nibbler courtesy of Zaxby's. The vouchers from Zaxby's must be redeemed within 48 hours at any Zaxby's location.
AMONG THE BEST: Already the single-season program record holder in the category, Ahmad Thomas is currently for for first in the country in total steals with 83. He is fourth in the country in steals per game with 3.07 steals per outing. Thomas with his five steals in the win over Charleston Southern on Feb. 1 became the first Big South player with back-to-back 70-steal campaigns since VMI's Chavis Holmes (2006-08). He is just the fourth overall in Big South Conference history to accomplish the impressive feat. Currently first in the league in steals, Thomas is trying to become the first player to lead the league in steals in consecutive years since Radford's Javonte Green (2013-15).
NEARING 1,000: Junior guards Ahmad Thomas and Kevin Vannatta are both nearing 1,000 points. Currently, Thomas has 988 career points, while Vannatta has scored 859 in his Bulldog career. Asheville senior guard David Robertson is also closing in on 1,000 points in his career as he currently has 866 points in his four-year career.
IT'S A STEAL: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team boasts one of the top defenses in the entire country with the Bulldogs fourth in the country in total steals (256). The Bulldogs are also sixth in the country in steals per game (9.48).
BIG SOUTH UNVEILS NEW BRAND IDENTITY (Per the Big South Conference): "The Big South Conference introduced its new brand identity on Saturday, Jan. 14, that epitomizes the league's strong commitment to its student-athletes and re-establishes the Conference's vitality, personality and longstanding success in NCAA Division I collegiate athletics under a new mantra – 'Where Winners Are Made.'" Full Release: Visit BigSouthSports.com.
UP NEXT: UNC Asheville travels to Buies Creek, N.C. to take on Campbell at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18.
QUOTABLES
"We're looking forward to playing in front of our fans here at Kimmel Arena again on Wednesday night. Presbyterian is a well-coached team and we have to continue to play with a high level of intensity." - Head Coach Nick McDevitt
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