University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
Don's Day: Bulldogs to Honor Gilmore on Saturday at Kimmel Arena in Regular Season Finale
03.01.2019 | Men's Basketball
Game Notes
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (4-25, 2-13 Big South)
High Point (15-14, 8-7 Big South)
Location: Asheville, N.C./Kimmel Arena
Date/Time: Saturday, March 2/4:30 p.m.
Video: ESPN+
Talent: Matt Stradley (PBP), John Williams (Analyst)
Radio: 570 WWNC-Asheville
Talent - Brian Hall (PBP), Mike Gore (Analyst)
Live Stats: uncabulldogs.com
Twitter: @UNCAvlMBB #IWWD #ThePursuit
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - UNC Asheville will honor lone senior Donovan Gilmore before Saturday's regular season finale against High Point at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 2, at Kimmel Arena. The Bulldogs will also honor manager Ryan Oliva.
The game will be part of a doubleheader at Kimmel Arena with the women's basketball team hosting Charleston Southern at 2 p.m.
BULLDOG BITES
FRESHMEN SHINING: UNC Asheville men's basketball is the only program in NCAA Division I men's basketball to have four freshmen score 20 or more points in a single game (LJ Thorpe, DeVon Baker, Coty Jude and Tajion Jones) this season.
TAKING CARE OF THE BASKETBALL: The Bulldogs had a season-low six turnovers in the road win over USC Upstate on Feb. 13. The Bulldogs only had one turnover in the second half. UNC Asheville scored 12 points off turnovers.
SEASON SWEEP: With its road win over USC Upstate on Feb. 13, UNC Asheville collected a Big South sweep over the Spartans. In addition to its 57-53 win over USC Upstate in Spartanburg, the Bulldogs also picked up the win in their first-ever league meeting with the Spartans in a 71-62 victory over USC Upstate at Kimmel Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 30.
COTY JUDE NAMED BIG SOUTH CO-FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (2/04): For the second time this season, UNC Asheville freshman forward Coty Jude was selected as the Big South Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week. Jude actually shared Freshman of the Week honors with Gardner-Webb's Jose Perez. The league office made the official announcement on Monday, Feb. 4, 2019. The Fort Gay, W. Va. native led all freshmen in the Big South on the week with 20.5 points per game in 39.5 minutes per game. He also averaged 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. Jude shot an impressive 66.7 percent (12-of-18) from the field overall in UNC Asheville's two games. He was even more impressive from beyond the arc where he shot 9-of-13 (69.2 percent). He also connected on 72.7 percent (8-of-11) of his free throw attempts. In UNC Asheville's win over USC Upstate on Wednesday, Jan. 30, at Kimmel Arena, Jude finished with 17 points, three rebounds and three steals. In UNC Asheville's narrow overtime loss at Gardner-Webb on Saturday, Feb. 2, Jude ended his efforts with a career-best 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He hit five of his seven (71.4 percent) three-point attempts. Jude also had seven boards in the game.
CAREER DAY FOR JUDE: For the second time this season, UNC Asheville's Coty Jude finished with over 20 points in the road game at Gardner-Webb on Feb. 2. Jude's 24 at Gardner-Webb bested his original career high of 21 he set earlier this season at UT Martin.
THREE OVER 40 MINUTES: UNC Asheville had three play 40 or more minutes in the road game at Gardner-Webb on Feb. 2 with freshmen Coty Jude (43), DeVon Baker (41) and Cress Worthy (40) all setting career-bests in playing time. Tajion Jones played 38 minutes just one game after never leaving the floor in UNC Asheville's home win over USC Upstate on Jan. 30.
STRONG ON THE BOARDS: UNC Asheville out-rebounded USC Upstate, 40-25, in the home win over the Spartans on Jan. 30. The 40 rebounds were the second-most on the year for the Bulldogs as a team and the most in an NCAA Division I game.
DON'S SECOND DOUBLE-DOUBLE DAY: Donovan Gilmore's double-double against USC Upstate on Jan. 30 was the second of his career and his first in Big South Conference play. In finishing with a career-best 17 points and 11 rebounds against USC Upstate, Gilmore secured five of his 11 rebounds on the offensive glass. The 11 rebounds tied Gilmore with Stephen Edoka for the single-game season high for the Bulldogs. Edoka brought down 11 rebounds in UNC Asheville's season-opening win over St. Andrews.
NEVER LEAVING THE FLOOR: Tajion Jones in the league home win over USC Upstate on Jan. 30 became the first Bulldog to play all 40 minutes of a regulation game since Kevin Vannatta and Raekwon Miller both played all 40 minutes in UNC Asheville's Big South Tournament win over Charleston Southern at Kimmel Arena on Thursday, March 1, 2018.
STRONG FROM THE FIELD: UNC Asheville as a team shot a season-best 54.9 percent (28-of-51) in the road game at Gardner-Webb on Feb. 2. The Bulldogs have now had four games overall on the season where they shot 50 percent or better from the floor as a team.
BABY BULLDOGS LEARNING ON THE FLY: UNC Asheville had freshmen play a season-best 190 of its 200 minutes in its league game with Winthrop on Monday, Jan. 21, 2019. According to KenPom research, that is the most freshman minutes in a single game since Bradley had 188 in 2016. It's the most in KenPom's database overall dating back to the 2012-13 season.
MORE ABOUT THE BABY BULLDOGS: KenPom lists UNC Asheville as the least experienced team in the country and through current NCAA research the Bulldogs are the youngest team in the country. On the year, UNC Asheville has had 76 percent (4,436 of 5,825) of its minutes played by freshmen. The top four in minutes for the Bulldogs are all freshmen (DeVon Baker, Tajion Jones, Coty Jude and Cress Worthy). In league play, 2,418 of 3,025 minutes (80 percent) have been logged by freshmen.
STRONG FROM THE FREE THROW LINE: The Bulldogs are shooting an impressive 74.8 percent (154-of-206) in league play. Currently among the top 50 in the entire country in the category, the Bulldogs are shooting 74.1 percent (301-of-406) from the free throw line as a team on the year.
ONE OF THE TOPS: In a recent Mid-Major Madness article on Jan. 24, 2019, UNC Asheville's assistant coaches were ranked among the top-10 (fourth) new assistant coaching tandems in mid-major NCAA Division I basketball.
STILL SCORING: For the ninth time this season, DeVon Baker scored 20 or more points with his 20 in the home win over USC Upstate on Jan. 30. Baker has scored in double figures 25 times this season for the Bulldogs overall. He has scored in double figures in 20 out of UNC Asheville's last 21 games.
SEEGARS BLOCK PARTY: Jalen Seegars tied his career high in blocks with his three blocks in the game at High Point. Seegars now has three games this season where he has three blocks.
PERFECT FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE: For the third time in program history in UNC Asheville's game against Radford on Jan. 19, 2019, a Bulldog team finished perfect from the free throw line with 10 or more attempts. The Bulldogs went 12-of-12 from the free throw line against Radford. In the 2015-16 season UNC Asheville went 14-of-14 in a game with Charleston Southern. UNC Asheville was an impressive 24-of-24 in a game with High Point in the 1999-2000 season. UNC Asheville finished a game perfect from the free throw line for the second time this season in the game against Radford. In addition to going 12-of-12 against the Highlanders the Bulldogs also went 3-of-3 against Furman.
COOKING IT UP: DeVon Baker's 22 points in the second half against Radford marked the first time since MaCio Teague dropped 22 in the second half at Campbell on Feb. 1, 2018, that a Bulldog has scored 20 or more in a single half.
LAWSON HAS ANOTHER CAREER DAY: In tying his career high with 14 points in the overtime game at Gardner-Webb on Feb. 2, Luke Lawson also went a perfect 5-of-5 from the field overall. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc.
BAKER NAMED BIG SOUTH FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (1/14): For the second time this season, UNC Asheville's DeVon Baker was chosen as the Big South Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week. The league office made the official announcement on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. In UNC Asheville's two games on the week, Baker averaged 13.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game. In UNC Asheville's narrow road league loss at Longwood on Thursday, Jan. 10, Baker finished with 14 points to go along with a career-best six assists. He also had two rebounds and a steal. In UNC Asheville's road conference loss at Hampton on Saturday, Jan. 12, Baker finished with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists. In both games he was 5-of-6 from the free throw line to end the week 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) from the free throw line overall.
BAKER NAMED BIG SOUTH FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (12/27): UNC Asheville men's basketball freshman guard DeVon Baker was chosen as the Big South Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week. The league office made the official announcement on Thursday, Dec. 27, 2018. Baker is the second Bulldog to be named Big South Freshman of the Week this season. Coty Jude was named the league's Freshman of the Week as well on Dec. 10. In UNC Asheville's two games on the week, Baker averaged 26.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game. Baker shot an impressive 45.9 percent (17-of-37) from the field overall on the week. He hit 50 percent (5-of-10) of his three-point attempts and 93.3 percent (14-of-15) of his free throw attempts. In UNC Asheville's narrow road loss at Stetson on Dec. 18, Baker finished with a career-best 31 points to go along with four assists and two rebounds. In UNC Asheville's win over Milligan on Dec. 21, Baker finished with 22 points, a career-best five assists, two rebounds and one block.
NCAA FEATURES UNC ASHEVILLE: The NCAA featured UNC Asheville men's basketball on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018. The NCAA featured the Bulldogs on Instagram for their efforts as part of their partnership with the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County. The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Buncombe County had the unique opportunity to shop with the Bulldogs on Thursday, Dec. 13, at the Target at 115 River Hills Rd. Please visit HERE to see the Bulldogs featured by the NCAA on Instagram. If you also have not yet had the chance to catch the special feature by WLOS on the special event, please visit HERE.
SHOPPING WITH THE BULLDOGS: The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Buncombe County had the unique opportunity to shop with the Bulldogs on Thursday, Dec. 13, at the Target at 115 River Hills Rd. The event allowed the UNC Asheville men's basketball team and the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County to shop for the holidays together at Target. In addition, UNC Asheville women's basketball head coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick and some members of her team joined Mike Morrell and UNC Asheville men's basketball for the special evening. Numerous other coaches and staff and friends of the Bulldogs also took part in helping to make the holidays great for the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County. The partnership between the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Buncombe County is built around supporting the Boys & Girls Club mission of establishing a safe place to learn, play and grow. As part of the event, 40 individuals from the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County received $100 each to shop with the Bulldogs at Target. The special evening also featured a chance to meet Santa and much more for the 40 individuals from the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County. Each of the 40 also received special signed posters from the UNC Asheville men's and women's basketball teams. They also received tickets to a future UNC Asheville basketball game. Learn more HERE. To see a special look back at the event, please visit HERE.
SECOND TIME WITH TWO OVER 20: UNC Asheville had two players finish with over 20 points in a single game for the second time this season in the win over Milligan with Tajion Jones posting 30 and DeVon Baker scoring 22. Coty Jude (21) and DeVon Baker (20) both had over 20 in UNC Asheville's game at UT Martin.
COTY JUDE NAMED BIG SOUTH FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (12/10): UNC Asheville freshman forward Coty Jude was named the Big South Conference Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week on Monday, Dec. 10. Jude averaged 13.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game during the week for the Bulldogs. He finished the week shooting 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from the field. He was perfect from the charity stripe on the week (6-for-6). Jude had eight points at No. 8 Auburn and in UNC Asheville's game with Western Carolina, Jude finished with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting. He was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc in the game.
ONE OF THE YOUNGEST STAFFS IN NATION: Head Coach Mike Morrell is joined on the sideline by assistant coaches Kyle Perry, R.J. Evans and Mike Moynihan along with Director of Basketball Operations Corey Guderyahn. The UNC Asheville men's basketball coaching staff is one of the youngest in the country. In fact, the staff is the fifth-youngest in the country at an average age of 33 years and 274 days.
EVEN MORE ABOUT THE BABY BULLDOGS: In addition to 76 percent of UNC Asheville's minutes being played by freshmen, the Bulldogs were in the top-5 youngest in NCAA Division I in every major statistical category entering the 2018-19 season according to NCAA research. The Bulldogs returned just 5.5 percent of their points from last season and 2.9 percent of their starts. In total, the Bulldogs returned only 141 points from the 2017-18 season.
HOME SWEET HOME: UNC Asheville is now 85-29 overall and 55-18 against Big South foes within the friendly confines of Kimmel Arena inside the Sherrill Center.
BULLDOG BLOCK PARTY: UNC Asheville ended the game with Western Carolina with a team single-game best nine blocks as a team. UNC Asheville now has two games this year with six or more blocks as a team in a single game. UNC Asheville had six blocks, including five in the first half, in its game at NC State.
STINGY BULLDOG DEFENSE: Auburn had entered the game with UNC Asheville owning the largest scoring margin of victory in the entire country, but the Bulldogs held the Tigers to their lowest point total of the season at the time. Auburn had scored 101 against South Alabama, 88 against Washington, 103 against Mississippi College, 88 against Xavier, 73 against Arizona and 99 against Saint Peter's. Even in their loss to Duke prior to the game, Auburn had scored 72.
BAKER NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT: UNC Asheville's DeVon Baker was named to the 2018 KEMI Northern Kentucky Basketball Classic All-Tournament Team after the conclusion of the tournament. Baker averaged 16.3 points and 2.0 steals per game in UNC Asheville's three games in the tournament.
BULLDOGS OPEN FIRST SEASON UNDER MIKE MORRELL WITH WIN: The Mike Morrell era of UNC Asheville men's basketball started off in emphatic fashion with the Bulldogs picking up a dominating 87-47 victory over St. Andrews at Kimmel Arena on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. UNC Asheville basically led from start-to-finish in the win over St. Andrews with the Bulldogs leading by as many as 41 before securing the 40-point win.
FIRST HEAD COACHING VICTORY: After the Bulldog victory over St. Andrews, UNC Asheville Director of Athletics Janet R. Cone presented Mike Morrell a commemorative ball to congratulate him on his inaugural win. The UNC Asheville men's basketball team then congratulated Morrell in the locker room for starting his career off the right way.
WELCOME TO THE FAMILY: UNC Asheville men's basketball head coach Mike Morrell announced the addition of AJ McBride on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018. A 6-foot-1 guard out of Houston, Texas, McBride joins the Bulldogs out of Manvel High School. He plays his AAU basketball for the Houston Clippers. McBride was a first-team All-District selection last year for Manvel High School. He is just the third from his school to earn a NCAA Division I men's basketball scholarship.
FIRST SEASON-OPENING WIN SINCE 2012: UNC Asheville secured its first season-opening win since 2012 with the win over St. Andrews. UNC Asheville had last opened its regular season with a win in the 2012-13 season when the Bulldogs knocked off Mountain Rival Western Carolina, 71-61. In 2013 the Bulldogs fell to Kentucky in the season opener before falling to Wake Forest in the season opener in 2014. In 2015 the Bulldogs dropped their opener at Tennessee and then in 2016 the Bulldogs fell at VCU. The Bulldogs dropped their season opener at Rhode Island last season.
MORRELL TAKES PART IN FIRST BIG SOUTH MEDIA DAY: First-year men's basketball head coach Mike Morrell took part in his first Big South Basketball Media Day on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at the Renaissance Suites Hotel. Both the UNC Asheville men's and women's basketball teams took part in the annual media gathering in Charlotte, N.C. Donovan Gilmore also took part in Big South Media Days with the Bulldog senior forward participating in a league photo/video shoot on Monday, Oct. 22. On Tuesday, Oct. 23, Morrell spent time talking with the numerous media in attendance in addition to making multiple appearances on a variety of ESPN platforms. One of the youngest teams in the country with only 2.9 percentage of their starts returning and 5.5 percent of their points returning, UNC Asheville was picked eighth in the Big South Men's Basketball Preseason Poll.
WATCH THE BULLDOGS ON BSN ON ESPN+: All of UNC Asheville's home men's and women's basketball games that are not on ESPN3 or picked by an ESPN linear network will be streamed live on ESPN+, which is now the exclusive streaming home of Big South Network live-event productions. A minimum of 900 Big South Network events will air annually on ESPN+, the first-ever multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company's Direct-to-Consumer and International division in partnership with ESPN. It offers fans thousands of additional live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN's linear TV or digital networks. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year). ESPN+ is an integrated part of the completely redesigned ESPN App. To learn more and to sign up for BSN on ESPN+, please visit uncabulldogs.com and visit the MEDIA tab.
To see the full games notes, please visit HERE. To see the 2018-19 UNC Asheville media guide, please visit HERE.
SERIES/ABOUT HIGH POINT
SERIES: The Bulldogs own a 31-23 all-time series lead over High Point.
ABOUT HIGH POINT: The Panthers travel to UNC Asheville owning a 15-14 overall record on the 2018-19 season. High Point is 8-7 in league play. Jahaad Proctor presently leads two Panthers averaging in double figures with 19.2 points per game.
FOLLOW IT LIVE
You can catch the BSN on ESPN+ broadcast live HERE. To listen to the radio broadcast, please visit HERE. You can follow along via live stats HERE.
UP NEXT
UNC Asheville men's basketball will next compete in the 2019 Big South Men's Basketball Championship.
THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (4-25, 2-13 Big South)
High Point (15-14, 8-7 Big South)
Location: Asheville, N.C./Kimmel Arena
Date/Time: Saturday, March 2/4:30 p.m.
Video: ESPN+
Talent: Matt Stradley (PBP), John Williams (Analyst)
Radio: 570 WWNC-Asheville
Talent - Brian Hall (PBP), Mike Gore (Analyst)
Live Stats: uncabulldogs.com
Twitter: @UNCAvlMBB #IWWD #ThePursuit
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - UNC Asheville will honor lone senior Donovan Gilmore before Saturday's regular season finale against High Point at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 2, at Kimmel Arena. The Bulldogs will also honor manager Ryan Oliva.
The game will be part of a doubleheader at Kimmel Arena with the women's basketball team hosting Charleston Southern at 2 p.m.
BULLDOG BITES
FRESHMEN SHINING: UNC Asheville men's basketball is the only program in NCAA Division I men's basketball to have four freshmen score 20 or more points in a single game (LJ Thorpe, DeVon Baker, Coty Jude and Tajion Jones) this season.
TAKING CARE OF THE BASKETBALL: The Bulldogs had a season-low six turnovers in the road win over USC Upstate on Feb. 13. The Bulldogs only had one turnover in the second half. UNC Asheville scored 12 points off turnovers.
SEASON SWEEP: With its road win over USC Upstate on Feb. 13, UNC Asheville collected a Big South sweep over the Spartans. In addition to its 57-53 win over USC Upstate in Spartanburg, the Bulldogs also picked up the win in their first-ever league meeting with the Spartans in a 71-62 victory over USC Upstate at Kimmel Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 30.
COTY JUDE NAMED BIG SOUTH CO-FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (2/04): For the second time this season, UNC Asheville freshman forward Coty Jude was selected as the Big South Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week. Jude actually shared Freshman of the Week honors with Gardner-Webb's Jose Perez. The league office made the official announcement on Monday, Feb. 4, 2019. The Fort Gay, W. Va. native led all freshmen in the Big South on the week with 20.5 points per game in 39.5 minutes per game. He also averaged 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. Jude shot an impressive 66.7 percent (12-of-18) from the field overall in UNC Asheville's two games. He was even more impressive from beyond the arc where he shot 9-of-13 (69.2 percent). He also connected on 72.7 percent (8-of-11) of his free throw attempts. In UNC Asheville's win over USC Upstate on Wednesday, Jan. 30, at Kimmel Arena, Jude finished with 17 points, three rebounds and three steals. In UNC Asheville's narrow overtime loss at Gardner-Webb on Saturday, Feb. 2, Jude ended his efforts with a career-best 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He hit five of his seven (71.4 percent) three-point attempts. Jude also had seven boards in the game.
CAREER DAY FOR JUDE: For the second time this season, UNC Asheville's Coty Jude finished with over 20 points in the road game at Gardner-Webb on Feb. 2. Jude's 24 at Gardner-Webb bested his original career high of 21 he set earlier this season at UT Martin.
THREE OVER 40 MINUTES: UNC Asheville had three play 40 or more minutes in the road game at Gardner-Webb on Feb. 2 with freshmen Coty Jude (43), DeVon Baker (41) and Cress Worthy (40) all setting career-bests in playing time. Tajion Jones played 38 minutes just one game after never leaving the floor in UNC Asheville's home win over USC Upstate on Jan. 30.
STRONG ON THE BOARDS: UNC Asheville out-rebounded USC Upstate, 40-25, in the home win over the Spartans on Jan. 30. The 40 rebounds were the second-most on the year for the Bulldogs as a team and the most in an NCAA Division I game.
DON'S SECOND DOUBLE-DOUBLE DAY: Donovan Gilmore's double-double against USC Upstate on Jan. 30 was the second of his career and his first in Big South Conference play. In finishing with a career-best 17 points and 11 rebounds against USC Upstate, Gilmore secured five of his 11 rebounds on the offensive glass. The 11 rebounds tied Gilmore with Stephen Edoka for the single-game season high for the Bulldogs. Edoka brought down 11 rebounds in UNC Asheville's season-opening win over St. Andrews.
NEVER LEAVING THE FLOOR: Tajion Jones in the league home win over USC Upstate on Jan. 30 became the first Bulldog to play all 40 minutes of a regulation game since Kevin Vannatta and Raekwon Miller both played all 40 minutes in UNC Asheville's Big South Tournament win over Charleston Southern at Kimmel Arena on Thursday, March 1, 2018.
STRONG FROM THE FIELD: UNC Asheville as a team shot a season-best 54.9 percent (28-of-51) in the road game at Gardner-Webb on Feb. 2. The Bulldogs have now had four games overall on the season where they shot 50 percent or better from the floor as a team.
BABY BULLDOGS LEARNING ON THE FLY: UNC Asheville had freshmen play a season-best 190 of its 200 minutes in its league game with Winthrop on Monday, Jan. 21, 2019. According to KenPom research, that is the most freshman minutes in a single game since Bradley had 188 in 2016. It's the most in KenPom's database overall dating back to the 2012-13 season.
MORE ABOUT THE BABY BULLDOGS: KenPom lists UNC Asheville as the least experienced team in the country and through current NCAA research the Bulldogs are the youngest team in the country. On the year, UNC Asheville has had 76 percent (4,436 of 5,825) of its minutes played by freshmen. The top four in minutes for the Bulldogs are all freshmen (DeVon Baker, Tajion Jones, Coty Jude and Cress Worthy). In league play, 2,418 of 3,025 minutes (80 percent) have been logged by freshmen.
STRONG FROM THE FREE THROW LINE: The Bulldogs are shooting an impressive 74.8 percent (154-of-206) in league play. Currently among the top 50 in the entire country in the category, the Bulldogs are shooting 74.1 percent (301-of-406) from the free throw line as a team on the year.
ONE OF THE TOPS: In a recent Mid-Major Madness article on Jan. 24, 2019, UNC Asheville's assistant coaches were ranked among the top-10 (fourth) new assistant coaching tandems in mid-major NCAA Division I basketball.
STILL SCORING: For the ninth time this season, DeVon Baker scored 20 or more points with his 20 in the home win over USC Upstate on Jan. 30. Baker has scored in double figures 25 times this season for the Bulldogs overall. He has scored in double figures in 20 out of UNC Asheville's last 21 games.
SEEGARS BLOCK PARTY: Jalen Seegars tied his career high in blocks with his three blocks in the game at High Point. Seegars now has three games this season where he has three blocks.
PERFECT FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE: For the third time in program history in UNC Asheville's game against Radford on Jan. 19, 2019, a Bulldog team finished perfect from the free throw line with 10 or more attempts. The Bulldogs went 12-of-12 from the free throw line against Radford. In the 2015-16 season UNC Asheville went 14-of-14 in a game with Charleston Southern. UNC Asheville was an impressive 24-of-24 in a game with High Point in the 1999-2000 season. UNC Asheville finished a game perfect from the free throw line for the second time this season in the game against Radford. In addition to going 12-of-12 against the Highlanders the Bulldogs also went 3-of-3 against Furman.
COOKING IT UP: DeVon Baker's 22 points in the second half against Radford marked the first time since MaCio Teague dropped 22 in the second half at Campbell on Feb. 1, 2018, that a Bulldog has scored 20 or more in a single half.
LAWSON HAS ANOTHER CAREER DAY: In tying his career high with 14 points in the overtime game at Gardner-Webb on Feb. 2, Luke Lawson also went a perfect 5-of-5 from the field overall. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc.
BAKER NAMED BIG SOUTH FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (1/14): For the second time this season, UNC Asheville's DeVon Baker was chosen as the Big South Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week. The league office made the official announcement on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. In UNC Asheville's two games on the week, Baker averaged 13.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game. In UNC Asheville's narrow road league loss at Longwood on Thursday, Jan. 10, Baker finished with 14 points to go along with a career-best six assists. He also had two rebounds and a steal. In UNC Asheville's road conference loss at Hampton on Saturday, Jan. 12, Baker finished with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists. In both games he was 5-of-6 from the free throw line to end the week 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) from the free throw line overall.
BAKER NAMED BIG SOUTH FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (12/27): UNC Asheville men's basketball freshman guard DeVon Baker was chosen as the Big South Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week. The league office made the official announcement on Thursday, Dec. 27, 2018. Baker is the second Bulldog to be named Big South Freshman of the Week this season. Coty Jude was named the league's Freshman of the Week as well on Dec. 10. In UNC Asheville's two games on the week, Baker averaged 26.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game. Baker shot an impressive 45.9 percent (17-of-37) from the field overall on the week. He hit 50 percent (5-of-10) of his three-point attempts and 93.3 percent (14-of-15) of his free throw attempts. In UNC Asheville's narrow road loss at Stetson on Dec. 18, Baker finished with a career-best 31 points to go along with four assists and two rebounds. In UNC Asheville's win over Milligan on Dec. 21, Baker finished with 22 points, a career-best five assists, two rebounds and one block.
NCAA FEATURES UNC ASHEVILLE: The NCAA featured UNC Asheville men's basketball on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018. The NCAA featured the Bulldogs on Instagram for their efforts as part of their partnership with the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County. The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Buncombe County had the unique opportunity to shop with the Bulldogs on Thursday, Dec. 13, at the Target at 115 River Hills Rd. Please visit HERE to see the Bulldogs featured by the NCAA on Instagram. If you also have not yet had the chance to catch the special feature by WLOS on the special event, please visit HERE.
SHOPPING WITH THE BULLDOGS: The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Buncombe County had the unique opportunity to shop with the Bulldogs on Thursday, Dec. 13, at the Target at 115 River Hills Rd. The event allowed the UNC Asheville men's basketball team and the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County to shop for the holidays together at Target. In addition, UNC Asheville women's basketball head coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick and some members of her team joined Mike Morrell and UNC Asheville men's basketball for the special evening. Numerous other coaches and staff and friends of the Bulldogs also took part in helping to make the holidays great for the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County. The partnership between the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Buncombe County is built around supporting the Boys & Girls Club mission of establishing a safe place to learn, play and grow. As part of the event, 40 individuals from the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County received $100 each to shop with the Bulldogs at Target. The special evening also featured a chance to meet Santa and much more for the 40 individuals from the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Buncombe County. Each of the 40 also received special signed posters from the UNC Asheville men's and women's basketball teams. They also received tickets to a future UNC Asheville basketball game. Learn more HERE. To see a special look back at the event, please visit HERE.
SECOND TIME WITH TWO OVER 20: UNC Asheville had two players finish with over 20 points in a single game for the second time this season in the win over Milligan with Tajion Jones posting 30 and DeVon Baker scoring 22. Coty Jude (21) and DeVon Baker (20) both had over 20 in UNC Asheville's game at UT Martin.
COTY JUDE NAMED BIG SOUTH FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (12/10): UNC Asheville freshman forward Coty Jude was named the Big South Conference Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week on Monday, Dec. 10. Jude averaged 13.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game during the week for the Bulldogs. He finished the week shooting 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from the field. He was perfect from the charity stripe on the week (6-for-6). Jude had eight points at No. 8 Auburn and in UNC Asheville's game with Western Carolina, Jude finished with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting. He was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc in the game.
ONE OF THE YOUNGEST STAFFS IN NATION: Head Coach Mike Morrell is joined on the sideline by assistant coaches Kyle Perry, R.J. Evans and Mike Moynihan along with Director of Basketball Operations Corey Guderyahn. The UNC Asheville men's basketball coaching staff is one of the youngest in the country. In fact, the staff is the fifth-youngest in the country at an average age of 33 years and 274 days.
EVEN MORE ABOUT THE BABY BULLDOGS: In addition to 76 percent of UNC Asheville's minutes being played by freshmen, the Bulldogs were in the top-5 youngest in NCAA Division I in every major statistical category entering the 2018-19 season according to NCAA research. The Bulldogs returned just 5.5 percent of their points from last season and 2.9 percent of their starts. In total, the Bulldogs returned only 141 points from the 2017-18 season.
HOME SWEET HOME: UNC Asheville is now 85-29 overall and 55-18 against Big South foes within the friendly confines of Kimmel Arena inside the Sherrill Center.
BULLDOG BLOCK PARTY: UNC Asheville ended the game with Western Carolina with a team single-game best nine blocks as a team. UNC Asheville now has two games this year with six or more blocks as a team in a single game. UNC Asheville had six blocks, including five in the first half, in its game at NC State.
STINGY BULLDOG DEFENSE: Auburn had entered the game with UNC Asheville owning the largest scoring margin of victory in the entire country, but the Bulldogs held the Tigers to their lowest point total of the season at the time. Auburn had scored 101 against South Alabama, 88 against Washington, 103 against Mississippi College, 88 against Xavier, 73 against Arizona and 99 against Saint Peter's. Even in their loss to Duke prior to the game, Auburn had scored 72.
BAKER NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT: UNC Asheville's DeVon Baker was named to the 2018 KEMI Northern Kentucky Basketball Classic All-Tournament Team after the conclusion of the tournament. Baker averaged 16.3 points and 2.0 steals per game in UNC Asheville's three games in the tournament.
BULLDOGS OPEN FIRST SEASON UNDER MIKE MORRELL WITH WIN: The Mike Morrell era of UNC Asheville men's basketball started off in emphatic fashion with the Bulldogs picking up a dominating 87-47 victory over St. Andrews at Kimmel Arena on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. UNC Asheville basically led from start-to-finish in the win over St. Andrews with the Bulldogs leading by as many as 41 before securing the 40-point win.
FIRST HEAD COACHING VICTORY: After the Bulldog victory over St. Andrews, UNC Asheville Director of Athletics Janet R. Cone presented Mike Morrell a commemorative ball to congratulate him on his inaugural win. The UNC Asheville men's basketball team then congratulated Morrell in the locker room for starting his career off the right way.
WELCOME TO THE FAMILY: UNC Asheville men's basketball head coach Mike Morrell announced the addition of AJ McBride on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018. A 6-foot-1 guard out of Houston, Texas, McBride joins the Bulldogs out of Manvel High School. He plays his AAU basketball for the Houston Clippers. McBride was a first-team All-District selection last year for Manvel High School. He is just the third from his school to earn a NCAA Division I men's basketball scholarship.
FIRST SEASON-OPENING WIN SINCE 2012: UNC Asheville secured its first season-opening win since 2012 with the win over St. Andrews. UNC Asheville had last opened its regular season with a win in the 2012-13 season when the Bulldogs knocked off Mountain Rival Western Carolina, 71-61. In 2013 the Bulldogs fell to Kentucky in the season opener before falling to Wake Forest in the season opener in 2014. In 2015 the Bulldogs dropped their opener at Tennessee and then in 2016 the Bulldogs fell at VCU. The Bulldogs dropped their season opener at Rhode Island last season.
MORRELL TAKES PART IN FIRST BIG SOUTH MEDIA DAY: First-year men's basketball head coach Mike Morrell took part in his first Big South Basketball Media Day on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at the Renaissance Suites Hotel. Both the UNC Asheville men's and women's basketball teams took part in the annual media gathering in Charlotte, N.C. Donovan Gilmore also took part in Big South Media Days with the Bulldog senior forward participating in a league photo/video shoot on Monday, Oct. 22. On Tuesday, Oct. 23, Morrell spent time talking with the numerous media in attendance in addition to making multiple appearances on a variety of ESPN platforms. One of the youngest teams in the country with only 2.9 percentage of their starts returning and 5.5 percent of their points returning, UNC Asheville was picked eighth in the Big South Men's Basketball Preseason Poll.
WATCH THE BULLDOGS ON BSN ON ESPN+: All of UNC Asheville's home men's and women's basketball games that are not on ESPN3 or picked by an ESPN linear network will be streamed live on ESPN+, which is now the exclusive streaming home of Big South Network live-event productions. A minimum of 900 Big South Network events will air annually on ESPN+, the first-ever multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company's Direct-to-Consumer and International division in partnership with ESPN. It offers fans thousands of additional live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN's linear TV or digital networks. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year). ESPN+ is an integrated part of the completely redesigned ESPN App. To learn more and to sign up for BSN on ESPN+, please visit uncabulldogs.com and visit the MEDIA tab.
To see the full games notes, please visit HERE. To see the 2018-19 UNC Asheville media guide, please visit HERE.
SERIES/ABOUT HIGH POINT
SERIES: The Bulldogs own a 31-23 all-time series lead over High Point.
ABOUT HIGH POINT: The Panthers travel to UNC Asheville owning a 15-14 overall record on the 2018-19 season. High Point is 8-7 in league play. Jahaad Proctor presently leads two Panthers averaging in double figures with 19.2 points per game.
FOLLOW IT LIVE
You can catch the BSN on ESPN+ broadcast live HERE. To listen to the radio broadcast, please visit HERE. You can follow along via live stats HERE.
UP NEXT
UNC Asheville men's basketball will next compete in the 2019 Big South Men's Basketball Championship.
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/ Men's BasketballMonday, March 18
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