University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
High Point
Bulldogs Return Home for Big South Showdown with High Point
01.14.2020 | Men's Basketball
GAME NOTES | vs HIGH POINT (PDF)
ASHEVILLE – After earning its first Big South Conference victory of the season on the road, UNC Asheville's men's basketball team is set for two consecutive games at Kimmel Arena, beginning with a 6 p.m., Thursday matchup against High Point.
The first 300 students at the game that sit in Section 12 or 13 will receive a voucher for FREE food at the concession stands.
The Bulldogs (7-7, 1-2) picked up their first victory of conference play, Saturday, when they held off a late run by Charleston Southern to win, 71-69, at Buccaneer Fieldhouse. LJ Thorpe led the way with his second-career double-double, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds, along with a team-high six assists.
The Panthers (3-13, 0-3 Big South) are still searching for their first victory in Big South action. Most recently, they fell 77-62 at Presbyterian, Saturday. The Panthers three league games have come against the three teams at the top of the conference standings – Winthrop, Radford and Presbyterian – who have combined for a 10-record to start conference play.
The Bulldogs hold a 31-24 advantage in the series that dates back to the 1967-68 season – two years before current head coach Tubby Smith would join the team as a student-athlete. High Point won both matchups a season ago in two-possession games. The Panthers won 65-61 in the Millis Center in late January and closed out the regular season with a 79-74 outcome in Kimmel Arena. The Bulldogs most recent victory came the season prior, 84-77, at Kimmel Arena, January 27, 2018.
Thursday's game will be live streamed on ESPN+ with Matt Stradley and Bulldog legend John Williams on the call HERE, while Brian Hall and Mike Gore will have the radio call on News Radio 570 AM that can also be found streaming HERE. Live stats will also be available HERE.
NOTABLY
· The Bulldogs have not turned the ball over more than their opponent in any game so far this season and lead the country in turnover margin at plus-7.8 per game. They rank 12th in the country in fewest total turnovers.
· The Bulldogs force their opponents into 19.8 turnovers per game, which ranks third in the country. They also average 9.8 steals per game, ranking eighth in the nation. Lavar Batts, Jr. leads the Big South and is 37th in the NCAA, averaging 2.1 steals per game, while DeVon Baker (1.9 spg), LJ Thorpe (1.7 spg) and Trent Stephney (1.6 spg) all rank in the top 150 nationally in steals.
· Four Bulldogs rank inside the Top 19 in scoring in the Big South Conference (Tajion Jones – 4th, 16.4; DeVon Baker – 5th, 16.2; Lavar Batts, Jr. – 9th, 13.3; LJ Thorpe – 19th, 11.5). No other team has more than two players in the Top 19.
· LJ Thorpe scored 16 points and tied his career-high with 10 rebounds at Charleston Southern for his second-career double-double. He secured his first-career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds against UT Martin when he became the first player on the current roster to record a double-double in his career.
· According to KenPom, the Bulldogs rank sixth in the country in turnover percentage defense, forcing opponents into turnovers on more than a quarter of their possessions, with 25.6 percent of opponents' possessions ending in a turnover.
· Since being held scoreless in the season opener against Tennessee, Tajion Jones has not scored fewer than 12 points in any game and leads the Bulldogs with 13 double-digit scoring efforts on the year.
· The Dogs are second in Big South and 41st nationally with 9.2 makes per game from beyond the arc. They also rank second in the conference and in the top 100 nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at 35.0. Tajion Jones is second in the league, connecting on 2.4 3-pointers per game, while Coty Jude is fifth in the conference with 2.2 makes per game from distance.
BY THE NUMBERS
· 1 – The Bulldogs have used just one starting lineup all season, and all five starters average double-digits in scoring: (Jones - 16.4; Baker - 16.2; Batts - 13.3; Thorpe - 11.5; Jude - 10.0).
· 2 – All three of the Bulldogs' Big South games this season have been decided by exactly two points; most recently a 71-69 victory at Charleston Southern.
· 5 – Lavar Batts, Jr. recorded five steals against Charleston Southern, marking the second time this season he's recorded five steals and the first since the season opener. He's the only Bulldog with multiple five-steal games in his career.
· 8 – The Bulldogs have forced eight of their last 11 opponents into 20-or-more turnovers. The 25 turnovers they forced against Campbell were the most against a Division I opponent this season.
