University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, November 9
Charleston, SC
12 p.m.
UNC Asheville
1-1,0-0Big Sout
91
at
76
The Citadel
0-1,0-0SoCon
1
2
F
UNC Asheville
57
34
91
The Citadel
38
38
76
Two Bulldogs Eclipse 20 Points as UNC Asheville Runs Past The Citadel
11.09.2019 | Men's Basketball
CHARLESTON S.C. – UNC Asheville's men's basketball team jumped out to a quick start in the first half that propelled it to a 91-76 victory against The Citadel, Saturday afternoon, at McAlister Field House.
It marks the first nonconference road victory for UNC Asheville in the Mike Morrell Era, who is in his second season at the helm of the program.
Sophomore DeVon Baker responded with gusto after a pedestrian performance against Tennessee, leading the way with 25 points, five rebounds and three assists. Tajion Jones also had a big game, pouring in 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting. He also added seven rebounds and three assists.
LJ Thorpe scored in double figures for the second-straight game, adding 12 points and eight rebounds while Jax Levitch contributed 11 points and nine rebounds.
As a team, Asheville shot 56.9 percent (33-of-58) from the field and 47.8 percent (11-23) from behind the three-point line.
The two teams scored early and often, as UNC Asheville (1-1) held a 13-11 lead at the first media timeout. It remained close through the first 12 minutes of the first half, but Asheville began to pull away as the minutes ticked away in the first period.
Behind 14 first-half points from Baker and Jones on a combined 12-of-14 shooting effort, the Bulldogs took a 57-38 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Bulldogs shot better than 60 percent from the field and three in the first half, hitting 68.8 percent and 64.3 percent, respectively.
The Citadel (0-1), known for its pace of play, found its groove in the second half. After a layup by Levitch at the 14:44 mark gave Asheville a 26-point lead, The Citadel began to chip away at the lead, cutting at down to 12 inside the final minute, but UNC Asheville was able to hit three free throws down the stretch and close out the game with a 15-point margin of victory.
NOTABLY
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. to take on Wake Forest in a 7 p.m., Wednesday, contest.
FROM THE MIND OF MORRELL
"I'm really proud. Anytime you can go on the road and get a win is huge, especially with a team like ours that is so young and just looking for opportunities to be able teach them. To have that winning feeling is something that we never take for granted. I'm just really excited about how they responded. The Citadel, Coach (Duggar) Baucom's is such a good coach, you knew in the second half they'd make a run, especially with the way they play, the way they shoot. I'm just really proud of our guys for staying the course. We went through a lull there where we didn't get to the basket as much, but we got some big stops there toward the end and made some free throws. I'm extremely proud of them. I thought Tajion (Jones) and DeVon (Baker) were terrific today, but I also thought that Jax Levitch might've been the MVP for our team. He just made toughness play after toughness play. I'm just proud of the whole group." – Head Coach Mike Morrell
It marks the first nonconference road victory for UNC Asheville in the Mike Morrell Era, who is in his second season at the helm of the program.
Sophomore DeVon Baker responded with gusto after a pedestrian performance against Tennessee, leading the way with 25 points, five rebounds and three assists. Tajion Jones also had a big game, pouring in 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting. He also added seven rebounds and three assists.
LJ Thorpe scored in double figures for the second-straight game, adding 12 points and eight rebounds while Jax Levitch contributed 11 points and nine rebounds.
As a team, Asheville shot 56.9 percent (33-of-58) from the field and 47.8 percent (11-23) from behind the three-point line.
The two teams scored early and often, as UNC Asheville (1-1) held a 13-11 lead at the first media timeout. It remained close through the first 12 minutes of the first half, but Asheville began to pull away as the minutes ticked away in the first period.
Behind 14 first-half points from Baker and Jones on a combined 12-of-14 shooting effort, the Bulldogs took a 57-38 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Bulldogs shot better than 60 percent from the field and three in the first half, hitting 68.8 percent and 64.3 percent, respectively.
The Citadel (0-1), known for its pace of play, found its groove in the second half. After a layup by Levitch at the 14:44 mark gave Asheville a 26-point lead, The Citadel began to chip away at the lead, cutting at down to 12 inside the final minute, but UNC Asheville was able to hit three free throws down the stretch and close out the game with a 15-point margin of victory.
NOTABLY
- The victory against The Citadel marks the first nonconference road victory for head coach Mike Morrell at UNC Asheville.
- It is the first time UNC Asheville has eclipsed 90 points in a game since scoring 98 in a double overtime loss to USC in the NIT, March 13, 2018. It's the first time it reached 90 points in regulation since defeating Longwood, 90-80, January 9, 2018.
- DeVon Baker lead the team in scoring for the 18th time in his career and eclipsed the 20-point threshold for the 10th time in his career.
- Tajion Jones recorded the fourth 20-point game of his career, dropping 23 points against The Citadel.
- LJ Thorpe added 12 points to be the only Bulldog to score in double-digits in both games so far this season.
- Jax Levitch recorded his first double-digit game as a Bulldog with 11 points.
- With nine rebounds, Levitch has led the Bulldogs in rebounds in both games so far this season.
- With four players in double figures (Baker – 25; Jones – 23, Thorpe – 12; Levitch – 11) the Bulldogs had four score in double figure for the first time since February 2, 2019 at Gardner-Webb.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. to take on Wake Forest in a 7 p.m., Wednesday, contest.
FROM THE MIND OF MORRELL
"I'm really proud. Anytime you can go on the road and get a win is huge, especially with a team like ours that is so young and just looking for opportunities to be able teach them. To have that winning feeling is something that we never take for granted. I'm just really excited about how they responded. The Citadel, Coach (Duggar) Baucom's is such a good coach, you knew in the second half they'd make a run, especially with the way they play, the way they shoot. I'm just really proud of our guys for staying the course. We went through a lull there where we didn't get to the basket as much, but we got some big stops there toward the end and made some free throws. I'm extremely proud of them. I thought Tajion (Jones) and DeVon (Baker) were terrific today, but I also thought that Jax Levitch might've been the MVP for our team. He just made toughness play after toughness play. I'm just proud of the whole group." – Head Coach Mike Morrell
Team Stats
AVL
CIT
FG%
.569
.529
3FG%
.478
.600
FT%
.700
.565
RB
36
23
TO
19
19
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
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