University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Wednesday, January 24
Asheville, NC
7:00 PM
UNC Asheville
13-9, 6-3BSC
65
vs
60
Gardner-Webb
10-12, 5-4BSC
1
2
F
Gardner-Webb
31
29
60
UNC Asheville
29
36
65
Photo by: Tommy Moss
UNC Asheville Wins Battle of the Bulldogs With 65-60 League Home Victory over Gardner-Webb
01.24.2018 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – A combined 40 points from Ahmad Thomas and Raekwon Miller allowed UNC Asheville men's basketball to keep up its winning ways at home with the Bulldogs taking a hard-fought 65-60 Big South Conference victory over Gardner-Webb at Kimmel Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018.
UNC Asheville (13-9, 6-3 Big South Conference) owned a 12-6 advantage early in the game after an Ahmad Thomas layup with 14:47 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs would lead 21-12 after another Thomas layup with just under 11 minutes left in the opening half of action.
From there, Gardner-Webb (10-12, 5-4 Big South Conference) would work its way back into the game and would go on to take a 26-25 lead with 5:29 left in the first half. The game would be tied at 29-all after a Thomas dunk with 1:34 to play in the first half, but Gardner-Webb would take a 31-29 lead into intermission.
Gardner-Webb would lead by five at 43-38 with 13:18 to play in the contest, but from there UNC Asheville would go on an 18-2 run over the next almost eight minutes to take a 56-45 lead with 5:20 remaining in the game.
The 11-point lead would not last though with Gardner-Webb pulling to within one at 61-60 with 55 seconds left in the game.
That would prove to be as close as the Runnin' Bulldogs would be able to get with Asheville closing the game on a 4-0 run behind four consecutive made free throws by MaCio Teague.
Ahmad Thomas tied for top honors in the game with 25 points to lead UNC Asheville. He also had five rebounds, four assists and one steal.
UNC Asheville's Raekwon Miller flirted with a triple-double in the game with 15 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals.
Gardner-Webb's D.J. Laster closed out his night with 25 points and six rebounds to lead the Runnin' Bulldogs in their loss to UNC Asheville.
UNC Asheville shot 37.1 percent (23-of-62) as a team in the win. The Bulldogs shot an impressive 87.5 percent (14-of-16) from the charity stripe. Gardner-Webb shot 42.9 percent (21-of-49) as a team in its loss to UNC Asheville.
The Bulldogs forced Gardner-Webb into 15 turnovers in the game with UNC Asheville converting those miscues into 18 points.
BULLDOG BITES
Raekwon the Chef
UNC Asheville's Raekwon Miller dished out a career-best eight assists in the win over Gardner-Webb. Miller's eight assists in the Bulldog win bested his previous career-high of seven set in a UNC Asheville win over Warren Wilson on Dec. 10, 2016.
Home Sweet Home
The win over Gardner-Webb was UNC Asheville's 13th consecutive Big South Conference home victory. The conference win also allowed the Bulldogs to extend their home winning streak overall to 18. UNC Asheville is now 77-16 overall and 52-10 against Big South foes within the friendly confines of Kimmel Arena inside the Sherrill Center. The Bulldogs are 9-0 on the 2017-18 season at Kimmel Arena.
Series
UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb met for the 47th time on Wednesday with Asheville having now won 15 of the last 18 meetings dating back to the 2007-08 season. UNC Asheville has won seven out of the last eight meetings, but Gardner-Webb owns a 27-20 all-time series advantage.
Up Next
It's going to be a special Saturday, Jan. 27, for UNC Asheville athletics. The day will start with UNC Asheville swimming hosting their final home meet of the year at 11 a.m. against North Florida. The meet will serve as Senior Day for the Bulldogs with the festivities scheduled to get underway at approximately 10:40 a.m. at the Justice Center Pool. Later that same day, UNC Asheville women's tennis will also play host to future Big South Conference rival USC Upstate at 3 p.m. at the Asheville Racquet Club Downtown. The UNC Asheville men's tennis team is on the road on Saturday to face Charlotte at 12 p.m.
The full day of Bulldog action also features a Big South Conference basketball doubleheader inside Kimmel Arena. The UNC Asheville women's basketball team will play host to Presbyterian College at 2 p.m. before the UNC Asheville men's basketball team closes out the day by hosting High Point at approximately 4:30 p.m. Both of the games will be featured on ESPN3.
There are tons of fun promotions at the Bulldog basketball doubleheader with the day allowing UNC Asheville athletics to honor all of the elementary and middle school students from the area with A's on their report cards as part of the annual "Bring Your A Game" promotion. The doubleheader will also serve as "Special Olympics Saturday" with UNC Asheville athletics honoring all Special Olympic athletes and volunteers from the area. UNC Asheville will also honor those who served in the local military and ROTC as part of a special "Salute to Service Saturday." All military are free with ID. In addition, the AC Reynolds Rocket Rumble will perform at halftime of the men's basketball game.
UNC Asheville (13-9, 6-3 Big South Conference) owned a 12-6 advantage early in the game after an Ahmad Thomas layup with 14:47 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs would lead 21-12 after another Thomas layup with just under 11 minutes left in the opening half of action.
From there, Gardner-Webb (10-12, 5-4 Big South Conference) would work its way back into the game and would go on to take a 26-25 lead with 5:29 left in the first half. The game would be tied at 29-all after a Thomas dunk with 1:34 to play in the first half, but Gardner-Webb would take a 31-29 lead into intermission.
Gardner-Webb would lead by five at 43-38 with 13:18 to play in the contest, but from there UNC Asheville would go on an 18-2 run over the next almost eight minutes to take a 56-45 lead with 5:20 remaining in the game.
The 11-point lead would not last though with Gardner-Webb pulling to within one at 61-60 with 55 seconds left in the game.
That would prove to be as close as the Runnin' Bulldogs would be able to get with Asheville closing the game on a 4-0 run behind four consecutive made free throws by MaCio Teague.
Ahmad Thomas tied for top honors in the game with 25 points to lead UNC Asheville. He also had five rebounds, four assists and one steal.
UNC Asheville's Raekwon Miller flirted with a triple-double in the game with 15 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals.
Gardner-Webb's D.J. Laster closed out his night with 25 points and six rebounds to lead the Runnin' Bulldogs in their loss to UNC Asheville.
UNC Asheville shot 37.1 percent (23-of-62) as a team in the win. The Bulldogs shot an impressive 87.5 percent (14-of-16) from the charity stripe. Gardner-Webb shot 42.9 percent (21-of-49) as a team in its loss to UNC Asheville.
The Bulldogs forced Gardner-Webb into 15 turnovers in the game with UNC Asheville converting those miscues into 18 points.
BULLDOG BITES
Raekwon the Chef
UNC Asheville's Raekwon Miller dished out a career-best eight assists in the win over Gardner-Webb. Miller's eight assists in the Bulldog win bested his previous career-high of seven set in a UNC Asheville win over Warren Wilson on Dec. 10, 2016.
Home Sweet Home
The win over Gardner-Webb was UNC Asheville's 13th consecutive Big South Conference home victory. The conference win also allowed the Bulldogs to extend their home winning streak overall to 18. UNC Asheville is now 77-16 overall and 52-10 against Big South foes within the friendly confines of Kimmel Arena inside the Sherrill Center. The Bulldogs are 9-0 on the 2017-18 season at Kimmel Arena.
Series
UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb met for the 47th time on Wednesday with Asheville having now won 15 of the last 18 meetings dating back to the 2007-08 season. UNC Asheville has won seven out of the last eight meetings, but Gardner-Webb owns a 27-20 all-time series advantage.
Up Next
It's going to be a special Saturday, Jan. 27, for UNC Asheville athletics. The day will start with UNC Asheville swimming hosting their final home meet of the year at 11 a.m. against North Florida. The meet will serve as Senior Day for the Bulldogs with the festivities scheduled to get underway at approximately 10:40 a.m. at the Justice Center Pool. Later that same day, UNC Asheville women's tennis will also play host to future Big South Conference rival USC Upstate at 3 p.m. at the Asheville Racquet Club Downtown. The UNC Asheville men's tennis team is on the road on Saturday to face Charlotte at 12 p.m.
The full day of Bulldog action also features a Big South Conference basketball doubleheader inside Kimmel Arena. The UNC Asheville women's basketball team will play host to Presbyterian College at 2 p.m. before the UNC Asheville men's basketball team closes out the day by hosting High Point at approximately 4:30 p.m. Both of the games will be featured on ESPN3.
There are tons of fun promotions at the Bulldog basketball doubleheader with the day allowing UNC Asheville athletics to honor all of the elementary and middle school students from the area with A's on their report cards as part of the annual "Bring Your A Game" promotion. The doubleheader will also serve as "Special Olympics Saturday" with UNC Asheville athletics honoring all Special Olympic athletes and volunteers from the area. UNC Asheville will also honor those who served in the local military and ROTC as part of a special "Salute to Service Saturday." All military are free with ID. In addition, the AC Reynolds Rocket Rumble will perform at halftime of the men's basketball game.
Team Stats
GWU
AVL
FG%
.429
.371
3FG%
.278
.217
FT%
.867
.875
RB
36
34
TO
15
9
STL
3
8
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
11
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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