University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, January 18
Asheville, NC
2 p.m.
UNC Asheville
7-9,1-4Big Sout
86
vs
88
Hampton
8-10,3-2Big Sou
1
2
F
Hampton
47
41
88
UNC Asheville
43
43
86
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
Bulldogs Fall in Nail-Biter Despite Career Day from Thorpe
01.18.2020 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE – Redshirt sophomore LJ Thorpe scored a career-high 31 points, but UNC Asheville's men's basketball team fell to Hampton in a tightly-contested game, 88-86, Saturday afternoon in Kimmel Arena.
Thorpe finished the game shooting 11-of-19 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line. He also led the Bulldogs (7-9, 1-4 Big South) in rebounds with nine and assists with four, becoming the first Bulldog since Ahmad Thomas in 2018 to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists.
Redshirt sophomore Tajion Jones scored 21 points on the afternoon, his team-leading seventh time this season he has finished with 20-or-more points. Sophomore DeVon Baker scored 16 points, while redshirt sophomore Lavar Batts, Jr. added 12.
It was evident from the get-go that the game was going to be an offensive showcase, as Hampton (8-10, 3-2 Big South) held a 13-12 at the first media timeout. The teams combined to shoot 10-of-13 from the floor in the first four-and-a-half minutes of the game.
The majority of the first half was tightly contested, though Hampton started to create a little distance toward the end, leading by as much as nine points with 1:13 left in the half. A 3-pointer and two free throws from Thorpe down the stretch narrowed the Pirates' lead to 47-43 at the half.
Jones scored 16 points in the first half, including a 4-of-4 effort from beyond the arc while Thorpe had 15 points.
In the second half, the Bulldogs continued to put pressure on Hampton offensively, but the Pirates continued to manage a response and hold the Dogs at arm's length. Three times during the half Asheville cut the lead to one point – the last time with 11 seconds remaining – but was never able to take the lead.
The Bulldogs trailed 87-80 until Baker hit a pull-up jumper for two at the one-minute mark. After Hampton missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Thorpe scored on a driving layup attempt with 0:43 to narrow the lead to three. The Pirates missed both free throws on their next possession, and Batts followed with a strong drive to the hoop, drawing a foul. He would hit both of his free throws to make the score 87-86 with 11 seconds left.
The Pirates Jermaine Marrow – who finished with 26 points – split his free throw attempts with 4.9 seconds remaining to make the score 88-86. The Bulldogs pushed the ball quickly up the court, but Thorpe was forced to take an off-balance 3-point attempt that bounced off the rim as time expired.
Hampton's Ben Stanley led all scorers in the game with 33 points.
Â
NOTABLY
UP NEXT
It's another quick turnaround for the Bulldogs as they hit the road for their first Monday contest of the year. They are set to take on Longwood in Farmville, Va., with tipoff set for 7 p.m., January 20.
Â
FROM THE MIND OF MORRELL
"I think you have to really give credit to Hampton: they made some big shots down the stretch. They gave us a couple opportunities there with some missed free throws. (Ben) Stanley and (Jermaine) Morrow were just the two best players in the gym, along with LJ (Thorpe). Morrow played like he was one of the best players in the country, and Stanley was really, really good, especially in the first half. I thought our guys battled. I think that's been a theme all year. It was a season-low forcing turnovers for us, which is part of our identity.
"I'm proud of the fight of our guys. I thought (Hampton) made it hard on DeVon (Baker), and then he got going there late, which really helped us. I'm really proud of Jeremy Peck for the minutes he gave us – he'll continue to play. He earned it and he deserves it. Lavar (Batts) really battled foul trouble all game. There at the end of the game, we had a shot down two (points) and Lavar was trying to get to the rim and wasn't able to get there. That was kind of the story of the game: another two-point loss. Right now, I think there's a lot of focus on us being so close and I know our guys really feel that, as they should. Five straight games of two-point games: I don't know if that's a record, but it has to be close. We just have to find more ways to come out on the right end of it. We've done it in the past and it's just kind of hampered us here to start league play."
On the fan support:
"I thought they've been awesome the last two games. We can't thank our fans enough. I think they recognize our guys are playing really hard and they're giving it everything they've got. We just have to give our fans more in terms of I know they want a different result, and there's a process that goes along with that. We just have to honor that process more throughout the course of the game. Our guys will bounce back. They do throughout the course of the game and I'm really, really proud of them for that." – Head Coach Mike Morrell
Thorpe finished the game shooting 11-of-19 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line. He also led the Bulldogs (7-9, 1-4 Big South) in rebounds with nine and assists with four, becoming the first Bulldog since Ahmad Thomas in 2018 to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists.
Redshirt sophomore Tajion Jones scored 21 points on the afternoon, his team-leading seventh time this season he has finished with 20-or-more points. Sophomore DeVon Baker scored 16 points, while redshirt sophomore Lavar Batts, Jr. added 12.
It was evident from the get-go that the game was going to be an offensive showcase, as Hampton (8-10, 3-2 Big South) held a 13-12 at the first media timeout. The teams combined to shoot 10-of-13 from the floor in the first four-and-a-half minutes of the game.
The majority of the first half was tightly contested, though Hampton started to create a little distance toward the end, leading by as much as nine points with 1:13 left in the half. A 3-pointer and two free throws from Thorpe down the stretch narrowed the Pirates' lead to 47-43 at the half.
Jones scored 16 points in the first half, including a 4-of-4 effort from beyond the arc while Thorpe had 15 points.
In the second half, the Bulldogs continued to put pressure on Hampton offensively, but the Pirates continued to manage a response and hold the Dogs at arm's length. Three times during the half Asheville cut the lead to one point – the last time with 11 seconds remaining – but was never able to take the lead.
The Bulldogs trailed 87-80 until Baker hit a pull-up jumper for two at the one-minute mark. After Hampton missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Thorpe scored on a driving layup attempt with 0:43 to narrow the lead to three. The Pirates missed both free throws on their next possession, and Batts followed with a strong drive to the hoop, drawing a foul. He would hit both of his free throws to make the score 87-86 with 11 seconds left.
The Pirates Jermaine Marrow – who finished with 26 points – split his free throw attempts with 4.9 seconds remaining to make the score 88-86. The Bulldogs pushed the ball quickly up the court, but Thorpe was forced to take an off-balance 3-point attempt that bounced off the rim as time expired.
Hampton's Ben Stanley led all scorers in the game with 33 points.
Â
NOTABLY
- Redshirt sophomore LJ Thorpe scored a career-high 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line. He surpassed his previous career-high of 24 points set last season against Charleston Southern, February 9, 2019.
- Thorpe's 11 made field goals and 19 attempted field goals also set career-highs, surpassing the nine made and 12 attempted he recorded in the season opener at Tennessee, November 5, 2019.
- It is the first  30-point game of Thorpe's career, and he became the third Bulldog this season to eclipse 30 points, joining DeVon Baker and Lavar Batts, Jr. He is the fourth Bulldog with a 30-point game in his career, joining Baker, Batts and Tajion Jones.
- Thorpe also led the team in rebounds (9) and assists (4). He became the first Bulldog to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists in the same game since Ahmad Thomas did so against Presbyterian, February 3, 2018.
- Jones scored 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three. Along with 31 points from Thorpe, it is the third time this season two Bulldogs have eclipsed 20 points in the same game, as Jones and Baker did so against The Citadel and UT Martin. It is the first time a pair outside of Baker and Jones has accomplished the feat in the past two seasons.
- Jones leads the team with seven 20-point performances this season, and it is the fifth time this season he has scored 21 points.
- Jeremy Peck played a season-high 13 minutes and finished with a season-high four rebounds.
- The Bulldogs outrebounded the Pirates 34-31, the sixth time this season they have outrebounded their opponent. The Bulldogs are now 5-1 in those games.
- All five of UNC Asheville's Big South games have been decided by exactly two points.
- The Bulldogs turned the ball over 13 times while forcing nine Pirates turnovers, marking the first time all season the Bulldogs' opponent turned the ball over fewer times.
UP NEXT
It's another quick turnaround for the Bulldogs as they hit the road for their first Monday contest of the year. They are set to take on Longwood in Farmville, Va., with tipoff set for 7 p.m., January 20.
Â
FROM THE MIND OF MORRELL
"I think you have to really give credit to Hampton: they made some big shots down the stretch. They gave us a couple opportunities there with some missed free throws. (Ben) Stanley and (Jermaine) Morrow were just the two best players in the gym, along with LJ (Thorpe). Morrow played like he was one of the best players in the country, and Stanley was really, really good, especially in the first half. I thought our guys battled. I think that's been a theme all year. It was a season-low forcing turnovers for us, which is part of our identity.
"I'm proud of the fight of our guys. I thought (Hampton) made it hard on DeVon (Baker), and then he got going there late, which really helped us. I'm really proud of Jeremy Peck for the minutes he gave us – he'll continue to play. He earned it and he deserves it. Lavar (Batts) really battled foul trouble all game. There at the end of the game, we had a shot down two (points) and Lavar was trying to get to the rim and wasn't able to get there. That was kind of the story of the game: another two-point loss. Right now, I think there's a lot of focus on us being so close and I know our guys really feel that, as they should. Five straight games of two-point games: I don't know if that's a record, but it has to be close. We just have to find more ways to come out on the right end of it. We've done it in the past and it's just kind of hampered us here to start league play."
On the fan support:
"I thought they've been awesome the last two games. We can't thank our fans enough. I think they recognize our guys are playing really hard and they're giving it everything they've got. We just have to give our fans more in terms of I know they want a different result, and there's a process that goes along with that. We just have to honor that process more throughout the course of the game. Our guys will bounce back. They do throughout the course of the game and I'm really, really proud of them for that." – Head Coach Mike Morrell
Team Stats
HAMP
AVL
FG%
.571
.491
3FG%
.400
.529
FT%
.571
.724
RB
31
34
TO
9
13
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ 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