University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, December 7
Cullowhee, NC
4 p.m.
UNC Asheville
4-3,0-0Big Sout
77
at
78
Western Carolina
7-2,1-0SoCon
1
2
F
UNC Asheville
40
37
77
Western Caro.
33
45
78
Late Free Throw Proves Difference as Bulldogs Fall to Catamounts
12.07.2019 | Men's Basketball
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – A free throw proved to be the difference in a wild Mountain Rivalry affair, as UNC Asheville's men's basketball team fell, 78-77, to Western Carolina, Saturday, at the Ramsey Center.
The Bulldogs (4-3) limited the Catamounts' (7-2, 1-0 SoCon) leading scorer, Mason Faulkner, to just 11 points in the contest, 10 points below his season average. But his 11th point proved the difference-maker in the game, sinking his second of two free throws with four seconds remaining in the game to put WCU on top.
Asheville was led by 18 points, three rebounds and three steals from DeVon Baker, while Lavar Batts, Jr. finished with a career-high 17 points to go along with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Tajion Jones added 13 points and LJ Thorpe put in 12 points and five rebounds.
The Bulldogs held a 40-33 lead after the first half, and held the lead for nearly 19 minutes in the opening frame. Batts led the scoring effort with 12 first half points, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. Thorpe had eight points and five rebounds and Baker had eight points as well in the first half.
With just over 10 minutes left in the half, Thorpe stole the ball away from the Catamounts' Carlos Dotson, sprinted down the middle of the court and found a cutting Baker for an and-one. On the ensuing WCU possession, Baker stole the ball near midcourt and dished to Batts for a wide-open 3-pointer. After a miss by the Catamounts, Baker took the ball down the court and hit an open three, pushing the Bulldogs lead to 24-10.
The Catamounts would battle back, narrowing the lead to five points, 30-25, with 2:52 remaining in the half. The Bulldogs briefly pushed the lead back to double-digits, 40-30, on three from Baker, but the Catamounts answered with a three of their own in the waning seconds of the half.
WCU came out and cut into the Bulldogs' lead, eventually cutting it to two – 49-47 – with 14:33 remaining in the game. The Catamounts would narrow it to two on two more occasions over the next handful of possessions, but again the Bulldogs would push it back up to double digits with a layup from Thorpe with 9:07 remaining.
With Asheville holding a 75-68 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the half, the Catamounts reeled off six straight points to cut the lead to 75-72 with just less than two minutes left in the half. Batts answered with a strong move to the basket and a left-handed layup to end the run.
WCU would keep the pressure on, though, and a 3-pointer from Onno Steger tied the game at 77 apiece with 0:39 remaining in the contest. After a Bulldogs miss from three, Faulkner went to the line with just four seconds remaining. He missed his first attempt, but sank the second to give WCU the final margin. A 3-point attempt from Batts would not go in at the buzzer.
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NOTABLY
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs conclude their three-game road trip with a midweek contest at South Carolina State set for 7 p.m., Wednesday, December 11.
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FROM THE MIND OF MORRELL
"It was a great game. (WCU) did their part. They had a great atmosphere here. That was a fun game. We would've obviously liked to have come out on the other end of it, but I have to do a better job and help those guys at the end. But it was a great atmosphere. It was a fun game to be a part of, and hopefully that can get this rivalry going a little bit more. It's back at our place next year and hopefully we can do our part and have a great atmosphere as well. I'm proud of our guys. Obviously it hurts and it should hurt that we didn't get the win, but I'm proud of them." – Head Coach Mike Morrell
The Bulldogs (4-3) limited the Catamounts' (7-2, 1-0 SoCon) leading scorer, Mason Faulkner, to just 11 points in the contest, 10 points below his season average. But his 11th point proved the difference-maker in the game, sinking his second of two free throws with four seconds remaining in the game to put WCU on top.
Asheville was led by 18 points, three rebounds and three steals from DeVon Baker, while Lavar Batts, Jr. finished with a career-high 17 points to go along with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Tajion Jones added 13 points and LJ Thorpe put in 12 points and five rebounds.
The Bulldogs held a 40-33 lead after the first half, and held the lead for nearly 19 minutes in the opening frame. Batts led the scoring effort with 12 first half points, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. Thorpe had eight points and five rebounds and Baker had eight points as well in the first half.
With just over 10 minutes left in the half, Thorpe stole the ball away from the Catamounts' Carlos Dotson, sprinted down the middle of the court and found a cutting Baker for an and-one. On the ensuing WCU possession, Baker stole the ball near midcourt and dished to Batts for a wide-open 3-pointer. After a miss by the Catamounts, Baker took the ball down the court and hit an open three, pushing the Bulldogs lead to 24-10.
The Catamounts would battle back, narrowing the lead to five points, 30-25, with 2:52 remaining in the half. The Bulldogs briefly pushed the lead back to double-digits, 40-30, on three from Baker, but the Catamounts answered with a three of their own in the waning seconds of the half.
WCU came out and cut into the Bulldogs' lead, eventually cutting it to two – 49-47 – with 14:33 remaining in the game. The Catamounts would narrow it to two on two more occasions over the next handful of possessions, but again the Bulldogs would push it back up to double digits with a layup from Thorpe with 9:07 remaining.
With Asheville holding a 75-68 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the half, the Catamounts reeled off six straight points to cut the lead to 75-72 with just less than two minutes left in the half. Batts answered with a strong move to the basket and a left-handed layup to end the run.
WCU would keep the pressure on, though, and a 3-pointer from Onno Steger tied the game at 77 apiece with 0:39 remaining in the contest. After a Bulldogs miss from three, Faulkner went to the line with just four seconds remaining. He missed his first attempt, but sank the second to give WCU the final margin. A 3-point attempt from Batts would not go in at the buzzer.
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NOTABLY
- With just 15 turnovers compared to 21 for the Catamounts, the Bulldogs have still not turned the ball over more than their opponents in any game this season.
- The Bulldogs recorded 11 steals in the game, led by three apiece from LJ Thorpe and DeVon Baker – a season high for Baker.
- Redshirt sophomore Lavar Batts, Jr. set his Bulldog career high with 17 points in the contest on 7-of-14 shooting. He also set his career high with four rebounds and tied his career best with two made 3-pointers.
- After recording his first-career block at Charlotte in the last game, freshman Jamon Battle set a career high with three blocks against Western Carolina.
- The Bulldogs held the Catamounts' leading scorer – Mason Faulkner – to 11 points in the game, which is 10 points under his season average.
- The Bulldogs led in the game in points in the point (44-42), second-chance points (8-7) and fasbreak points (20-13).
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs conclude their three-game road trip with a midweek contest at South Carolina State set for 7 p.m., Wednesday, December 11.
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FROM THE MIND OF MORRELL
"It was a great game. (WCU) did their part. They had a great atmosphere here. That was a fun game. We would've obviously liked to have come out on the other end of it, but I have to do a better job and help those guys at the end. But it was a great atmosphere. It was a fun game to be a part of, and hopefully that can get this rivalry going a little bit more. It's back at our place next year and hopefully we can do our part and have a great atmosphere as well. I'm proud of our guys. Obviously it hurts and it should hurt that we didn't get the win, but I'm proud of them." – Head Coach Mike Morrell
Team Stats
AVL
WCU
FG%
.492
.528
3FG%
.292
.300
FT%
.571
.640
RB
27
38
TO
15
21
STL
11
5
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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