University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, March 16
Martin, TN
8:00 PM
UNC Asheville
23-10
75
at
89
UT Martin
22-12
1
2
F
UNC Asheville
29
46
75
UT Martin
48
41
89
Season Comes to Close for Bulldogs With Loss to UT Martin in Opening Round of CIT
03.16.2017 | Men's Basketball
MARTIN, Tenn. – UNC Asheville men's basketball put together an impressive second half comeback against UT Martin, but it was not enough for the Bulldogs in an 89-75 loss to the Skyhawks at the Elam Center in the opening round of the 2017 CollegeInsider.com (CIT) Postseason Tournament.
With the loss, UNC Asheville closes its season with an overall record of 23-10.
UT Martin (22-12) would open the game by scoring nine of the first 11 points of the contest, but after a three-pointer by junior guard Ahmad Thomas with 15:09 to play in the opening half the Bulldogs had pulled to within two at 14-12.
The Skyhawks would continue to hold their lead over the next few minutes despite at one point the Bulldogs making seven of their nine field goal attempts. The strong stretch by the Bulldogs from the field coincided with strong work from UT Martin as well with the Skyhawks ahead 30-22 with exactly 10 minutes remaining in half No. 1.
The final 10 minutes of the first half would see UT Martin going ahead by as many as 21 before a last-second putback by Asheville junior guard Kevin Vannatta pulled the Bulldogs to within 19 at 48-29 at intermission.
The Skyhawks shot 66.7 percent (18-of-27), including 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) from beyond the arc, as a team in the first half. UNC Asheville shot 11-of-26 (42.3 percent) as a team in the first stanza.
The Bulldogs commenced the second half on a 15-7 run to pull within 11 of the Skyhawks at 55-44 after a Thomas layup with 13:52 remaining in the contest.
Asheville from there would continue a run that would see the Bulldogs score 21 of the first 31 points of the second half to trail the Skyhawks by just eight points at 58-50 after a Thomas jumper with 11:04 left in the game.
The Bulldogs would keep getting closer over the next few minutes with a three-pointer by freshman Drew Rackley with 9:27 left in the second stanza pulling the Bulldogs to within five points at 60-55. In making the run to get back within two possessions the Bulldogs held the Skyhawks scoreless for over two and a half minutes and once again connected on seven of nine field goals over a stretch.
Asheville would be down just one at 63-62 after a steal by Thomas that led to a dunk by junior guard Raekwon Miller with 6:46 to go in the contest.
The Bulldogs would not be able to grab the lead or get any closer with the Skyhawks picking up the 14-point win.
Three Bulldogs finished in double figures with Thomas leading the way with 22 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block.
Vannatta ended his evening with 18 points, four rebounds and one assist.
Junior forward Alec Wnuk was the final Bulldog in double figures with 14 points and three rebounds.
As a team, the Bulldogs closed out the second half shooting 59.4 percent (19-of-32) to end the game shooting 51.7 percent (30-of-58) as a team. UT Martin shot 59.2 percent (29-of-49) as a team in its win over the Bulldogs.
Jacolby Mobley led UT Martin in its win with a game-high 29 points.
BULLDOG BITES
OVER 900: With his 18 points in the loss to UT Martin, junior guard Kevin Vannatta will enter his senior season in the 2017-18 season with 913 career points.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE: With his 22 points and 11 rebounds, junior guard Ahmad Thomas picked up his fifth double-double of the year.
POSTSEASON PLAY: The appearance in this year's CIT marked UNC Asheville's sixth appearance in a postseason tournament. The Bulldogs have advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times before (2003, 2011, 2012 and 2016) and the NIT (2008) once.
BANNER YEAR WITH BIG SOUTH REGULAR-SEASON TITLE NO. 6: The year may have come to a close with the loss in the CIT, but UNC Asheville men's basketball still had a banner year as the Bulldogs picked up their sixth regular-season title in the 2016-17 season (1996-97, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2007-08, 2011-12 and 2016-17). Asheville head coach Nick McDevitt has been a part of five of the six Big South Conference regular-season crowns either as a player, assistant coach or head coach (1997-98, 2001-02, 2007-08, 2011-12 and 2016-17).
QUOTABLES
"I was real proud of how our group responded to the first half and the hole that we built ourselves. We just can't get down that much to a good team on the road, but again to respond that way and to get it down to one several times, I was real proud of that. Again, we built just too big of a deficit to win this game on the road. Although this was a disappointing loss tonight, I'm also real proud of what these young men have done all season. To win 23 games, to be co-champions of the Big South this year, I'm just really proud of the effort and work they've put in all year long." - Head Coach Nick McDevitt
With the loss, UNC Asheville closes its season with an overall record of 23-10.
UT Martin (22-12) would open the game by scoring nine of the first 11 points of the contest, but after a three-pointer by junior guard Ahmad Thomas with 15:09 to play in the opening half the Bulldogs had pulled to within two at 14-12.
The Skyhawks would continue to hold their lead over the next few minutes despite at one point the Bulldogs making seven of their nine field goal attempts. The strong stretch by the Bulldogs from the field coincided with strong work from UT Martin as well with the Skyhawks ahead 30-22 with exactly 10 minutes remaining in half No. 1.
The final 10 minutes of the first half would see UT Martin going ahead by as many as 21 before a last-second putback by Asheville junior guard Kevin Vannatta pulled the Bulldogs to within 19 at 48-29 at intermission.
The Skyhawks shot 66.7 percent (18-of-27), including 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) from beyond the arc, as a team in the first half. UNC Asheville shot 11-of-26 (42.3 percent) as a team in the first stanza.
The Bulldogs commenced the second half on a 15-7 run to pull within 11 of the Skyhawks at 55-44 after a Thomas layup with 13:52 remaining in the contest.
Asheville from there would continue a run that would see the Bulldogs score 21 of the first 31 points of the second half to trail the Skyhawks by just eight points at 58-50 after a Thomas jumper with 11:04 left in the game.
The Bulldogs would keep getting closer over the next few minutes with a three-pointer by freshman Drew Rackley with 9:27 left in the second stanza pulling the Bulldogs to within five points at 60-55. In making the run to get back within two possessions the Bulldogs held the Skyhawks scoreless for over two and a half minutes and once again connected on seven of nine field goals over a stretch.
Asheville would be down just one at 63-62 after a steal by Thomas that led to a dunk by junior guard Raekwon Miller with 6:46 to go in the contest.
The Bulldogs would not be able to grab the lead or get any closer with the Skyhawks picking up the 14-point win.
Three Bulldogs finished in double figures with Thomas leading the way with 22 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block.
Vannatta ended his evening with 18 points, four rebounds and one assist.
Junior forward Alec Wnuk was the final Bulldog in double figures with 14 points and three rebounds.
As a team, the Bulldogs closed out the second half shooting 59.4 percent (19-of-32) to end the game shooting 51.7 percent (30-of-58) as a team. UT Martin shot 59.2 percent (29-of-49) as a team in its win over the Bulldogs.
Jacolby Mobley led UT Martin in its win with a game-high 29 points.
BULLDOG BITES
OVER 900: With his 18 points in the loss to UT Martin, junior guard Kevin Vannatta will enter his senior season in the 2017-18 season with 913 career points.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE: With his 22 points and 11 rebounds, junior guard Ahmad Thomas picked up his fifth double-double of the year.
POSTSEASON PLAY: The appearance in this year's CIT marked UNC Asheville's sixth appearance in a postseason tournament. The Bulldogs have advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times before (2003, 2011, 2012 and 2016) and the NIT (2008) once.
BANNER YEAR WITH BIG SOUTH REGULAR-SEASON TITLE NO. 6: The year may have come to a close with the loss in the CIT, but UNC Asheville men's basketball still had a banner year as the Bulldogs picked up their sixth regular-season title in the 2016-17 season (1996-97, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2007-08, 2011-12 and 2016-17). Asheville head coach Nick McDevitt has been a part of five of the six Big South Conference regular-season crowns either as a player, assistant coach or head coach (1997-98, 2001-02, 2007-08, 2011-12 and 2016-17).
QUOTABLES
"I was real proud of how our group responded to the first half and the hole that we built ourselves. We just can't get down that much to a good team on the road, but again to respond that way and to get it down to one several times, I was real proud of that. Again, we built just too big of a deficit to win this game on the road. Although this was a disappointing loss tonight, I'm also real proud of what these young men have done all season. To win 23 games, to be co-champions of the Big South this year, I'm just really proud of the effort and work they've put in all year long." - Head Coach Nick McDevitt
Team Stats
AVL
UTM
FG%
.517
.592
3FG%
.333
.591
FT%
.643
.621
RB
28
29
TO
15
15
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
10
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballHighlights || Men's Basketball || #2 UNC Asheville vs #5 Longwood (Big South Tournament)
Monday, March 18
Highlights || Men's Basketball || #2 UNC Asheville vs #3 Gardner-Webb (Big South Tournament)
Monday, March 18
Highlights || Men's Basketball || #2 UNC Asheville vs #7 Charleston Southern (Big South Tournament)
Thursday, March 14
Highlights || Men's Basketball || UNC Asheville at Radford
Monday, March 04