University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
UNC Asheville Hits Road for First Time in Big South Conference Play to Take on High Point
01.02.2018 | Men's Basketball
Game Notes
Looking Back on the Non-Conference Schedule (Video and Photos)
2017-18 UNC Asheville Men's Basketball Media Guide
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (8-6, 1-0 Big South Conference)
High Point (5-7, 0-1 Big South Conference)
Location: High Point, N.C./Millis Center
Date/Time: Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018/7 p.m.
Video: Big South Network
Radio: 570 WWNC-Asheville/1440 WMXF-Waynesville
Talent - Brian Hall (PBP)
Live Stats: uncabulldogs.com
Twitter: @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
HIGH POINT, N.C. - UNC Asheville will next travel for its first Big South Conference road game of the year on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018. UNC Asheville and High Point are slated to tip things off at 7 p.m.
The game will be streamed live by the Big South Network. The game will also be available on the radio on 570 WWNC-Asheville/1440 WMXF-Waynesville.
BULLDOG BITES
LOOKING TO GO 2-0 IN LEAGUE PLAY: UNC Asheville with a win over High Point would go 2-0 in league play for the first time since 2014-15 when the Bulldogs opened conference play with three straight wins over Radford, Gardner-Webb and Liberty.
NEARING MORE HISTORY: Ahmad Thomas is already just the sixth player in Big South Conference men's basketball history with over 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 steals. Thomas is nearing becoming just the second player in league history with over 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 200 steals and 200 assists. Thomas ended the conference opener against Campbell with 1,289 points, 596 rebounds, 214 steals and 197 assists.
SERIES: UNC Asheville's 74-71 win over the Panthers at the Millis Center on Feb. 4, 2017, last season gave the Bulldogs their first regular season league sweep of High Point since the 2011-12 season. UNC Asheville now owns a 30-21 all-time series advantage over the Panthers.
ABOUT HIGH POINT: The Panthers welcome the Bulldogs owning an overall record of 5-7 on the 2017-18 season. High Point is 0-1 in league play after opening things up in conference action with a 76-60 road loss to Winthrop on Dec. 30, 2017. Junior guard Andre Fox leads the way for High Point with 17.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
FOLLOW IT LIVE: You can watch all of the action live HERE. You can also listen live on the radio broadcast HERE. You can keep up via live stats HERE.
STRONG IN CONFERENCE OPENERS: UNC Asheville after its win over Campbell on Dec. 30, 2017, has now won 20 of its last 22 Big South Conference openers.
FIVE IN DOUBLE FIGURES IN LEAGUE GAME: With five Bulldogs (Ahmad Thomas, Alec Wnuk, MaCio Teague, Kevin Vannatta and Raekwon Miller) finishing the league win over Campbell on Dec. 30, 2017, in double figures it marked the first time UNC Asheville had five or more players in double figures in conference play since the double overtime win over Winthrop at Kimmel Arena on Feb. 9, 2017. In the win over the Eagles, Ahmad Thomas, MaCio Teague, Kevin Vannatta, David Robertson and Will Weeks all finished their efforts in double figures.
HOME SWEET HOME: UNC Asheville's league-opening win over Campbell was its 15th straight home victory. UNC Asheville is now 6-0 on the 2017-18 season and 74-16 all-time at Kimmel Arena. The Bulldogs are 49-10 all-time in Big South Conference contests at Kimmel Arena.
WHAT A PAIR: UNC Asheville senior duo Ahmad Thomas and Kevin Vannatta are the 24th pair in Big South Conference history of four-year classmates to each score over 1,000 points during the same four-year span. Thomas with 1,289 career points and Vannatta with 1,078 career points right now have a combined total of 2,367, which places them in the top-20 in the category in league history. Thomas and Vannatta are the fifth set of Bulldog teammates with the achievement in Asheville's Big South era.
TEAGUE TABBED BIG SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK (12/27): For the second straight year on Dec. 27, UNC Asheville's MaCio Teague was selected the Big South Men's Basketball Player of the Week. The league office made the official announcement on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017. One year earlier on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016, Teague also garnered league Player of the Week honors. In total, Teague has now received honors from the league six times. In addition to his now two Dec. 27 Big South Player of the Week honors, Teague was also chosen Big South Freshman of the Week four times last season (Nov. 21, Jan. 2, Jan. 9 and Feb. 13). A sophomore guard, Teague averaged 21.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.5 assists per game in two games on the week for the Bulldogs.
HUGE WIN OVER UNCG IN MANY WAYS: The Bulldog win over UNCG came just days after the Spartans had knocked off NC State in Raleigh, N.C. It also gave the Bulldogs a top-100 RPI win, as UNCG was 83rd in the RPI released by the NCAA on Dec. 19. UNCG was 6-0 at home in the 2017-18 season before the Bulldog come-from-behind win.
DELVING INTO TEAGUE'S DOUBLE-DOUBLE: MaCio Teague's third career double-double in the win over UNCG was made possible by an 11-of-13 performance at the charity stripe. Teague was 6-of-12 from the field overall en route to his 25 points. He picked up two of his 11 boards on the offensive glass.
DOUBLE IT UP: With the three double-doubles in the win over Milligan it marked the first time since the thrilling double overtime win over Winthrop last year that two or more Bulldogs had double-doubles in the same game. The win over Milligan also marks the first time since that win over the Eagles that five or more Bulldogs scored in double figures in the same game with six Bulldogs securing double-digit scoring outputs against the Buffaloes.
CAREER DAY FOR RAEKWON MILLER: Miller's first career double-double in the win over Milligan was made possible by a day where he knocked down a career-high tying four three-pointers and was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. He was 5-of-9 from the field overall. His 19 points bested his previous career high of 18 set in UNC Asheville's win over Siena last season. His 10 boards bested his previous career high of seven in UNC Asheville's win over Brevard last year.
BLOCK PARTY: UNC Asheville's 10 blocks in the win over Milligan marked the first time since an 80-55 Big South Conference win over Gardner-Webb on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, at Kimmel Arena that the Bulldogs had blocked 10 or more as a team in a single game.
DON'S DAY: In securing his first double-digit rebound day as a Bulldog, Donovan Gilmore picked up six of his 16 rebounds in the win over Milligan on the offensive glass. He was 6-of-10 from the field overall in finishing with the 13 points.
20 AND OVER TIMES TWO: With Ahmad Thomas (24) and MaCio Teague (22) both finishing with over 20 points in the win over USC Upstate it marked the first time that two Bulldogs have scored over 20 in a single game since the duo last accomplished the same feat in back-to-back wins over Winthrop (Feb. 9, 2017) and Longwood (Feb. 11, 2017) last season.
NO. 15: Ahmad Thomas' double-double against Clemson allowed him to secure his 15th career double-double for the Bulldogs.
TOP-20: Ahmad Thomas' 24 points in the win over USC Upstate allowed him to move into the top-20 all-time at UNC Asheville in total scoring. Thomas with 1,289 career points is currently 18th in program history.
SPARTANBURG SUPREMACY: UNC Asheville took out both of the NCAA Division I programs from Spartanburg with the Bulldogs first besting Wofford, 85-65, on Sunday, Nov. 26, before collecting a 82-70 win over USC Upstate on Wednesday, Nov. 29.
RUNNING: The Bulldogs in the win over USC Upstate for the second straight game had a huge run that changed the complexion of the contest. A 26-2 run by UNC Asheville men's basketball over a roughly six-minute stretch in the second half allowed the Bulldogs to pick up an impressive 85-65 non-conference home win over Wofford on Sunday, Nov. 26, at Kimmel Arena. UNC Asheville's 20-2 run in the first half of the win over USC Upstate allowed the Bulldogs to never look back.
1,000-POINT SCORER: UNC Asheville senior guard Kevin Vannatta scored eight points in the win over Wofford to become the 33rd member of the prestigious 1,000-point club at UNC Asheville and the 149th in Big South history to accomplish the feat. Vannatta now has 1,078 career points as a Bulldog
ASSISTING ON THE BIG WIN: MaCio Teague's eight assists in the win over Wofford were a career-best. It eclipsed his previous best mark of seven in last year's thrilling 79-77 overtime win at Coastal Carolina.
FIRST HALF HEROICS: MaCio Teague's 20 points in the first half against Austin Peay marked the second time in his career that he has scored 20 or more in the first half. Teague also had 24 points in the first half in UNC Asheville's 91-69 Big South Conference road win over Longwood on Feb. 11, 2017.
CAREER DAY FOR ALEC WNUK: In collecting his career-best 19 points in the narrow loss to Vanderbilt, Alec Wnuk also made a career-best seven field goals and tied his career-high for three-pointers made with two. He was 7-of-11 overall and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
STRONG ON THE GLASS: The Bulldogs out-rebounded one of the top teams in the SEC in Vanderbilt, 36-32. The Bulldogs held a 12-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. Ahmad Thomas and MaCio Teague each had three offensive boards in the game.
BULLDOGS PICKED TO WIN BIG SOUTH: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team was picked to win the Big South Conference at the annual league Media Day on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the Renaissance Suites Hotel. UNC Asheville's choice as preseason No. 1 marks the first time since the 2011-12 preseason poll that the Bulldogs have been tabbed to finish first. The Bulldogs have now been picked five times (1989-90, 1997-98, 2002-03, 2011-12 and 2017-18) to win the league in the official preseason poll.
Looking Back on the Non-Conference Schedule (Video and Photos)
2017-18 UNC Asheville Men's Basketball Media Guide
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (8-6, 1-0 Big South Conference)
High Point (5-7, 0-1 Big South Conference)
Location: High Point, N.C./Millis Center
Date/Time: Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018/7 p.m.
Video: Big South Network
Radio: 570 WWNC-Asheville/1440 WMXF-Waynesville
Talent - Brian Hall (PBP)
Live Stats: uncabulldogs.com
Twitter: @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
HIGH POINT, N.C. - UNC Asheville will next travel for its first Big South Conference road game of the year on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018. UNC Asheville and High Point are slated to tip things off at 7 p.m.
The game will be streamed live by the Big South Network. The game will also be available on the radio on 570 WWNC-Asheville/1440 WMXF-Waynesville.
BULLDOG BITES
LOOKING TO GO 2-0 IN LEAGUE PLAY: UNC Asheville with a win over High Point would go 2-0 in league play for the first time since 2014-15 when the Bulldogs opened conference play with three straight wins over Radford, Gardner-Webb and Liberty.
NEARING MORE HISTORY: Ahmad Thomas is already just the sixth player in Big South Conference men's basketball history with over 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 steals. Thomas is nearing becoming just the second player in league history with over 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 200 steals and 200 assists. Thomas ended the conference opener against Campbell with 1,289 points, 596 rebounds, 214 steals and 197 assists.
SERIES: UNC Asheville's 74-71 win over the Panthers at the Millis Center on Feb. 4, 2017, last season gave the Bulldogs their first regular season league sweep of High Point since the 2011-12 season. UNC Asheville now owns a 30-21 all-time series advantage over the Panthers.
ABOUT HIGH POINT: The Panthers welcome the Bulldogs owning an overall record of 5-7 on the 2017-18 season. High Point is 0-1 in league play after opening things up in conference action with a 76-60 road loss to Winthrop on Dec. 30, 2017. Junior guard Andre Fox leads the way for High Point with 17.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
FOLLOW IT LIVE: You can watch all of the action live HERE. You can also listen live on the radio broadcast HERE. You can keep up via live stats HERE.
STRONG IN CONFERENCE OPENERS: UNC Asheville after its win over Campbell on Dec. 30, 2017, has now won 20 of its last 22 Big South Conference openers.
FIVE IN DOUBLE FIGURES IN LEAGUE GAME: With five Bulldogs (Ahmad Thomas, Alec Wnuk, MaCio Teague, Kevin Vannatta and Raekwon Miller) finishing the league win over Campbell on Dec. 30, 2017, in double figures it marked the first time UNC Asheville had five or more players in double figures in conference play since the double overtime win over Winthrop at Kimmel Arena on Feb. 9, 2017. In the win over the Eagles, Ahmad Thomas, MaCio Teague, Kevin Vannatta, David Robertson and Will Weeks all finished their efforts in double figures.
HOME SWEET HOME: UNC Asheville's league-opening win over Campbell was its 15th straight home victory. UNC Asheville is now 6-0 on the 2017-18 season and 74-16 all-time at Kimmel Arena. The Bulldogs are 49-10 all-time in Big South Conference contests at Kimmel Arena.
WHAT A PAIR: UNC Asheville senior duo Ahmad Thomas and Kevin Vannatta are the 24th pair in Big South Conference history of four-year classmates to each score over 1,000 points during the same four-year span. Thomas with 1,289 career points and Vannatta with 1,078 career points right now have a combined total of 2,367, which places them in the top-20 in the category in league history. Thomas and Vannatta are the fifth set of Bulldog teammates with the achievement in Asheville's Big South era.
TEAGUE TABBED BIG SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK (12/27): For the second straight year on Dec. 27, UNC Asheville's MaCio Teague was selected the Big South Men's Basketball Player of the Week. The league office made the official announcement on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017. One year earlier on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016, Teague also garnered league Player of the Week honors. In total, Teague has now received honors from the league six times. In addition to his now two Dec. 27 Big South Player of the Week honors, Teague was also chosen Big South Freshman of the Week four times last season (Nov. 21, Jan. 2, Jan. 9 and Feb. 13). A sophomore guard, Teague averaged 21.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.5 assists per game in two games on the week for the Bulldogs.
HUGE WIN OVER UNCG IN MANY WAYS: The Bulldog win over UNCG came just days after the Spartans had knocked off NC State in Raleigh, N.C. It also gave the Bulldogs a top-100 RPI win, as UNCG was 83rd in the RPI released by the NCAA on Dec. 19. UNCG was 6-0 at home in the 2017-18 season before the Bulldog come-from-behind win.
DELVING INTO TEAGUE'S DOUBLE-DOUBLE: MaCio Teague's third career double-double in the win over UNCG was made possible by an 11-of-13 performance at the charity stripe. Teague was 6-of-12 from the field overall en route to his 25 points. He picked up two of his 11 boards on the offensive glass.
DOUBLE IT UP: With the three double-doubles in the win over Milligan it marked the first time since the thrilling double overtime win over Winthrop last year that two or more Bulldogs had double-doubles in the same game. The win over Milligan also marks the first time since that win over the Eagles that five or more Bulldogs scored in double figures in the same game with six Bulldogs securing double-digit scoring outputs against the Buffaloes.
CAREER DAY FOR RAEKWON MILLER: Miller's first career double-double in the win over Milligan was made possible by a day where he knocked down a career-high tying four three-pointers and was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. He was 5-of-9 from the field overall. His 19 points bested his previous career high of 18 set in UNC Asheville's win over Siena last season. His 10 boards bested his previous career high of seven in UNC Asheville's win over Brevard last year.
BLOCK PARTY: UNC Asheville's 10 blocks in the win over Milligan marked the first time since an 80-55 Big South Conference win over Gardner-Webb on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, at Kimmel Arena that the Bulldogs had blocked 10 or more as a team in a single game.
DON'S DAY: In securing his first double-digit rebound day as a Bulldog, Donovan Gilmore picked up six of his 16 rebounds in the win over Milligan on the offensive glass. He was 6-of-10 from the field overall in finishing with the 13 points.
20 AND OVER TIMES TWO: With Ahmad Thomas (24) and MaCio Teague (22) both finishing with over 20 points in the win over USC Upstate it marked the first time that two Bulldogs have scored over 20 in a single game since the duo last accomplished the same feat in back-to-back wins over Winthrop (Feb. 9, 2017) and Longwood (Feb. 11, 2017) last season.
NO. 15: Ahmad Thomas' double-double against Clemson allowed him to secure his 15th career double-double for the Bulldogs.
TOP-20: Ahmad Thomas' 24 points in the win over USC Upstate allowed him to move into the top-20 all-time at UNC Asheville in total scoring. Thomas with 1,289 career points is currently 18th in program history.
SPARTANBURG SUPREMACY: UNC Asheville took out both of the NCAA Division I programs from Spartanburg with the Bulldogs first besting Wofford, 85-65, on Sunday, Nov. 26, before collecting a 82-70 win over USC Upstate on Wednesday, Nov. 29.
RUNNING: The Bulldogs in the win over USC Upstate for the second straight game had a huge run that changed the complexion of the contest. A 26-2 run by UNC Asheville men's basketball over a roughly six-minute stretch in the second half allowed the Bulldogs to pick up an impressive 85-65 non-conference home win over Wofford on Sunday, Nov. 26, at Kimmel Arena. UNC Asheville's 20-2 run in the first half of the win over USC Upstate allowed the Bulldogs to never look back.
1,000-POINT SCORER: UNC Asheville senior guard Kevin Vannatta scored eight points in the win over Wofford to become the 33rd member of the prestigious 1,000-point club at UNC Asheville and the 149th in Big South history to accomplish the feat. Vannatta now has 1,078 career points as a Bulldog
ASSISTING ON THE BIG WIN: MaCio Teague's eight assists in the win over Wofford were a career-best. It eclipsed his previous best mark of seven in last year's thrilling 79-77 overtime win at Coastal Carolina.
FIRST HALF HEROICS: MaCio Teague's 20 points in the first half against Austin Peay marked the second time in his career that he has scored 20 or more in the first half. Teague also had 24 points in the first half in UNC Asheville's 91-69 Big South Conference road win over Longwood on Feb. 11, 2017.
CAREER DAY FOR ALEC WNUK: In collecting his career-best 19 points in the narrow loss to Vanderbilt, Alec Wnuk also made a career-best seven field goals and tied his career-high for three-pointers made with two. He was 7-of-11 overall and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
STRONG ON THE GLASS: The Bulldogs out-rebounded one of the top teams in the SEC in Vanderbilt, 36-32. The Bulldogs held a 12-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. Ahmad Thomas and MaCio Teague each had three offensive boards in the game.
BULLDOGS PICKED TO WIN BIG SOUTH: The UNC Asheville men's basketball team was picked to win the Big South Conference at the annual league Media Day on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the Renaissance Suites Hotel. UNC Asheville's choice as preseason No. 1 marks the first time since the 2011-12 preseason poll that the Bulldogs have been tabbed to finish first. The Bulldogs have now been picked five times (1989-90, 1997-98, 2002-03, 2011-12 and 2017-18) to win the league in the official preseason poll.
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