University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, November 16
Asheville, NC
6 p.m.
UNC Asheville
2-2,0-0Big Sout
79
vs
49
Brevard
0-2,0-0USA Sout
1
2
F
Brevard
18
31
49
UNC Asheville
44
35
79
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
Bulldogs Down Brevard in First Home Game of the Season
11.16.2019 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE – After playing its first three games on the road, UNC Asheville's men's basketball team played in Kimmel Arena for the first time this season, taking down Brevard, 79-49, Saturday night.
The story of the game turned out to be the Bulldogs (2-2) intensity on the defensive end, as they forced the Tornados (0-3) into 31 turnovers on the night, which included 12 Bulldog steals. Asheville forced Brevard into three 10-second backcourt violations. Overall in the game, Lavar Batts, Jr. led the way with three steals, while LJ Thorpe, Tajion Jones and DeVon Baker each recorded two steals apiece.
In the first half, the Bulldogs forced Brevard into 17 turnovers, which included eight steals by the home team. The relentless defensive effort allowed the Bulldogs to take a 44-18 lead into the locker room at the half.
For the second consecutive game, Jones led the way in scoring for the Bulldogs with 16 points, while freshman Jamon Battle added 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
All 14 players on the roster saw at least eight minutes of action in the game, with 12 players getting in the scoring column for the Bulldogs.
Â
NOTABLY
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs play host to St. Andrews, Thursday, November 21 at 6 p.m. inside Kimmel Arena.
Â
FROM THE MIND OF MORRELL
On the defensive intensity:
"I thought the defensive intensity was really good in the first half, but it dipped off when we took out the majority of our starters. I thought the intensity went down, which if we want to continue to get better and compete in our league at the level that we want to, that can't happen. I thought Brevard did a much better job in the second half being aggressive, thus they got to the free throw line and scored a few more points in the second half. I thought the first half defensive intensity was really good. It's something we made a huge emphasis on after the Wake Forest game. I was proud of that. We said we don't want to take the winning feeling for granted, but we definitely could've been better in the second half."
On the performances of the freshmen:
"I thought Doc (Jamon Battle) and AJ (McBride) were good. I thought Doc was especially good. I thought Cress Worthy – even though he's a sophomore – I thought he was the player of the game for us. I thought his intensity was great. I thought his mindset was great. I thought he was good on offense, and he'll play more minutes because of it. It was good to get him out there. He led us in minutes for a reason because he played well. I thought all of those guys gave us some good stuff. We can shoot the basketball better, we have shot the basketball better and we will shoot it better moving forward."
– Head Coach Mike Morrell
Â
The story of the game turned out to be the Bulldogs (2-2) intensity on the defensive end, as they forced the Tornados (0-3) into 31 turnovers on the night, which included 12 Bulldog steals. Asheville forced Brevard into three 10-second backcourt violations. Overall in the game, Lavar Batts, Jr. led the way with three steals, while LJ Thorpe, Tajion Jones and DeVon Baker each recorded two steals apiece.
In the first half, the Bulldogs forced Brevard into 17 turnovers, which included eight steals by the home team. The relentless defensive effort allowed the Bulldogs to take a 44-18 lead into the locker room at the half.
For the second consecutive game, Jones led the way in scoring for the Bulldogs with 16 points, while freshman Jamon Battle added 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
All 14 players on the roster saw at least eight minutes of action in the game, with 12 players getting in the scoring column for the Bulldogs.
Â
NOTABLY
- Freshman Jamon Battle scored a career-best 13 points, reaching double-digit points for the first time as a Bulldog.
- Freshman AJ McBride scored six points on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor, marking his first points as a Bulldog.
- Sophomore Cress Worthy led the team with three of the team's 16 assists, marking the 12 time in his career he's led the team in assists in a game.
- Redshirt junior Jeremy Peck led the team with six rebounds, marking the sixth time in career he's led the squad in boards.
- The Bulldogs dominated in points in the paint, outscoring Brevard 52-16.
- UNC Asheville has not committed more turnovers than any of its opponents this season. Brevard turned the ball over 31 times compared to Asheville's 11, which led to a 32-7 advantage in points off turnovers for the home team.
- The Bulldogs also held a decided advantage in fast-break points at 25-5.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs play host to St. Andrews, Thursday, November 21 at 6 p.m. inside Kimmel Arena.
Â
FROM THE MIND OF MORRELL
On the defensive intensity:
"I thought the defensive intensity was really good in the first half, but it dipped off when we took out the majority of our starters. I thought the intensity went down, which if we want to continue to get better and compete in our league at the level that we want to, that can't happen. I thought Brevard did a much better job in the second half being aggressive, thus they got to the free throw line and scored a few more points in the second half. I thought the first half defensive intensity was really good. It's something we made a huge emphasis on after the Wake Forest game. I was proud of that. We said we don't want to take the winning feeling for granted, but we definitely could've been better in the second half."
On the performances of the freshmen:
"I thought Doc (Jamon Battle) and AJ (McBride) were good. I thought Doc was especially good. I thought Cress Worthy – even though he's a sophomore – I thought he was the player of the game for us. I thought his intensity was great. I thought his mindset was great. I thought he was good on offense, and he'll play more minutes because of it. It was good to get him out there. He led us in minutes for a reason because he played well. I thought all of those guys gave us some good stuff. We can shoot the basketball better, we have shot the basketball better and we will shoot it better moving forward."
– Head Coach Mike Morrell
Â
Team Stats
BC
AVL
FG%
.387
.431
3FG%
.167
.156
FT%
.632
.571
RB
37
41
TO
31
11
STL
5
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ 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