Bulldogs Travel to Longwood for Monday Night Big South Action

GAME NOTES | at LONGWOOD

FARMVILLE, Va. – UNC Asheville's men's basketball takes to the road for its third game in five days when it travels to Longwood for a 7 p.m., contest, Monday, January 20, inside Willett Hall.

It will be the first time this season the Bulldogs play a game on a Monday.

The Bulldogs (7-9, 1-4) hosted Hampton in a thriller Saturday afternoon, coming up just short against the Pirates, 88-86. LJ Thorpe recorded the first 30-point effort of his career, finishing with 31 points to lead the team. He also led the team with nine rebounds and four assists.

The Lancers (6-13, 1-5 Big South) also played Saturday afternoon, falling to Campbell on the road, 68-58. They are 0-2 so far in conference play at home this season.

UNC Asheville owns an 11-2 advantage in the series, though Longwood won last season's lone meeting, 67-62, in Farmville. DeVon Baker led the Dogs in scoring with 14 points, while Cress Worthy added 11. Prior to last season's meetings, the Bulldogs had won nine-in-a-row against the Lancers. The most recent Bulldogs' victory in Farmville and in the series came February 7, 2018, as the Dogs won 78-73.

Monday's game will be live streamed on ESPN+ HERE and live stats will also be available HERE.

NOTABLY

Redshirt sophomore LJ Thorpe scored a career-high 31 points against Hampton to lead the team in scoring. He also led the squad in rebounds with nine and assists with four. He became the first Bulldog to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists in a game since Ahmad Thomas did so against Presbyterian, February 3, 2018.
With 31 points from LJ Thorpe and 21 from Tajion Jones against Hampton, it marked the third time two Bulldogs scored 20-or-more points in the same game this season. Jones and DeVon Baker accomplished the feat twice, against UT Martin (12/14/19) and at The Citadel (11/9/19).
Four Bulldogs rank inside the Top 15 in scoring in the Big South Conference (Tajion Jones – 5th, 16.4; DeVon Baker – 6th, 15.8; Lavar Batts, Jr. – 11th, 13.3; LJ Thorpe – 13th, 12.8). No other team has more than two in the Top 15.
Tajion Jones leads the conference and ranks 13th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage, hitting at a 43.5 percent clip from beyond the arc. Against St. Andrews, the Bulldogs drained a program-record 19 3-pointers. The Dogs rank first in the Big South and 62nd nationally, hitting 35.9 percent from three, and they are second in the conference and 41st nationally with 9.2 makes per game from beyond the arc.
The Bulldogs rank third in the country in turnover margin at plus-7.3 per game, and they rank 14th in the country in fewest total turnovers. The Bulldogs have turned the ball over more than their opponent in only one game this season.
The Bulldogs force their opponents into 19.1 turnovers per game, which ranks sixth in the country. They also average 9.5 steals per game, ranking 12th in the nation. Lavar Batts, Jr. leads the Big South and is 49th in the NCAA, averaging 2.0 steals per game, while DeVon Baker (1.9 spg), LJ Thorpe (1.6 spg) and Trent Stephney (1.6 spg) all rank in the Top 10 in the conference.
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 15 double-digit scoring efforts on the year.
According to KenPom, the Bulldogs rank 10th in the country in turnover percentage defense, forcing opponents into turnovers on nearly a quarter of their possessions, with 24.7 percent of opponents' possessions ending in a turnover.
The Bulldogs are averaging 78.6 points per game, ranking 34th in the country and second in the Big South. The Bulldogs finished the 2018-19 campaign ranked 349th nationally in scoring, averaging 59.9 points per game. The team is averaging 18.7 more points per game than it did last season.

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 - 15.8; Batts - 13.3; Thorpe - 12.8; Jude - 10.1).
2 – All five of the Bulldogs' Big South games this season have been decided by exactly two points.
9 – Despite returning 83.6 percent of its minutes from a season ago, UNC Asheville still possesses one of the 10 youngest rosters in the country, ranking as the 9th-youngest team, according to KenPom.
21 – With 21 points against Hampton, Tajion Jones recorded his seventh 20-plus-point game of the season. He has scored exactly 21 points in five games this season.
30 – With 31 points against Hampton, LJ Thorpe became the third Bulldog to have a 30-point game this season, joining Lavar Batts, Jr. (40, SC State) and DeVon Baker (37, UT Martin). He is the fourth player with a career 30-point game (Tajion Jones).

Bulldogs Travel to Longwood for Monday Night Big South Action

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Players Mentioned

DeVon Baker

Lavar Batts, Jr.

Tajion Jones

Trent Stephney

LJ Thorpe

Cress Worthy

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

Bulldogs Travel to Longwood for Monday Night Big South Action

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Players Mentioned

DeVon Baker

Lavar Batts, Jr.

Tajion Jones

Trent Stephney

LJ Thorpe

Cress Worthy

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