University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Big South Closes Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship With Win Over Mountain West
03.31.2018 | Men's Basketball
SAN ANTONIO – UNC Asheville standouts Ahmad Thomas and Kevin Vannatta closed out their time competing as Bulldogs in perfect fashion – with a win.
Representing the Big South along with Liam O'Reilly of Gardner-Webb and Reggie Dillard of Presbyterian College at the inaugural Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship, the Bulldog duo helped guide the league to a 2-1 record.
The Big South closed out the event with a 2-1 record after a dominating 21-14 victory over the Mountain West Conference on Saturday, March 31.
The Big South opened the event with a dominating 21-9 win over the Missouri Valley Conference. The Big South dropped its only game of pool play in a thriller, 21-17, to the America East Conference.
The America East advanced to the quarterfinals by going a perfect 3-0 in pool play, but the Big South represented extremely well with the two wins.
The two victories allowed the Big South to finish with $2,000.
Thomas and Vannatta are the only pair ever of four-year Big South classmates each with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists during the same four-year span. The duo is the fourth four-year teammates with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds, and on the scoring side, they are the 24th pair of 1,000-point scoring four-year teammates.
Thomas with 1,626 career points and Vannatta with 1,243 career points had a combined total of 2,869, which places them in the top-10 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.
Vannatta ended his prolific career with UNC Asheville with the most minutes played in program history (4,165) and tied for the most games played in program history (130). The Academic All-American finished his career with 1,243 points, 574 rebounds and 378 assists. Vannatta represents UNC Asheville and the Big South Conference on the NCAA Division I SAAC. He is also on the Men's Basketball Oversight Committee.
Thomas concluded his UNC Asheville career as the only player in Big South men's basketball history with over 1,500 points (1,626), 700 rebounds (705), 250 steals (251) and 250 assists (256). Thomas' 251 steals are a UNC Asheville program-best. Thomas is a two-time first-team All-Big South Conference and NABC District 3 selection. Thomas ended his career with back-to-back Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Representing the Big South along with Liam O'Reilly of Gardner-Webb and Reggie Dillard of Presbyterian College at the inaugural Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship, the Bulldog duo helped guide the league to a 2-1 record.
The Big South closed out the event with a 2-1 record after a dominating 21-14 victory over the Mountain West Conference on Saturday, March 31.
The Big South opened the event with a dominating 21-9 win over the Missouri Valley Conference. The Big South dropped its only game of pool play in a thriller, 21-17, to the America East Conference.
The America East advanced to the quarterfinals by going a perfect 3-0 in pool play, but the Big South represented extremely well with the two wins.
The two victories allowed the Big South to finish with $2,000.
Thomas and Vannatta are the only pair ever of four-year Big South classmates each with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists during the same four-year span. The duo is the fourth four-year teammates with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds, and on the scoring side, they are the 24th pair of 1,000-point scoring four-year teammates.
Thomas with 1,626 career points and Vannatta with 1,243 career points had a combined total of 2,869, which places them in the top-10 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.
Vannatta ended his prolific career with UNC Asheville with the most minutes played in program history (4,165) and tied for the most games played in program history (130). The Academic All-American finished his career with 1,243 points, 574 rebounds and 378 assists. Vannatta represents UNC Asheville and the Big South Conference on the NCAA Division I SAAC. He is also on the Men's Basketball Oversight Committee.
Thomas concluded his UNC Asheville career as the only player in Big South men's basketball history with over 1,500 points (1,626), 700 rebounds (705), 250 steals (251) and 250 assists (256). Thomas' 251 steals are a UNC Asheville program-best. Thomas is a two-time first-team All-Big South Conference and NABC District 3 selection. Thomas ended his career with back-to-back Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Players Mentioned
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