Short Trek to Spartanburg Ahead as Bulldogs Take on USC Upstate, Saturday

GAME NOTES | at USC UPSTATE

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – UNC Asheville's men's basketball team will conclude a run of five games in 10 days when it travels to Spartanburg, S.C., to take on USC Upstate in a 4 p.m., Saturday contest inside the G.B. Hodge Center.

The Bulldogs (9-9, 3-4 Big South) are coming off two straight victories, including an impressive 80-67 result against preseason Big South Conference favorite Radford, Thursday night in Kimmel Arena. Tajion Jones led the way with a season-best 29 points, which included a career-high seven made 3-pointers. LJ Thorpe added 20 points as the duo both hit the 20-point mark for the second time in three games.

The Spartans (7-13, 2-5 Big South) are coming off of a showdown with league-leader Winthrop, Thursday night, in which they fell, 79-53, in Rock Hill. The Spartans are 1-2 at home in league play, scoring a 10-point victory against Hampton in their conference home opener.

UNC Asheville holds a 12-6 advantage in the all-time series and has won five in a row. The Bulldogs won both meetings against the Spartans last year, accounting for their two victories in conference play a season ago. In the most recent meeting, the Bulldogs traveled to Spartanburg and took down the Spartans, 57-53, February 13, 2019. Tajion Jones led with 17 points while DeVon Baker added 16 in a game that featured six ties and 14 lead changes.

Saturday's game will be live streamed on ESPN+ HERE. Brian Hall and Mike Gore will have the radio call on ESPN Asheville 92.9 FM, 880 AM and 1400 AM, which can also be found streaming HERE. Live stats will also be available HERE.

NOTABLY

Tajion Jones scored a season-high 29 points against Radford, his team-leading eighth 20-point performance this season. He has two back-to-back 20-point efforts on the season and is the only player on the roster to have multiple back-to-back 20-point games in his career.
For the second time in three games Tajion Jones and LJ Thorpe each scored at least 20 points in the same game, as Jones scored 29 and Thorpe had 20 against Radford. The duo each eclipsed 20 points against Hampton. It marked the fourth time this season two Bulldogs scored 20 or more in the same game, as Jones and DeVon Baker accomplished the feat twice, against UT Martin (12/14/19) and at The Citadel (11/9/19).
The Bulldogs rank second in the country in turnover margin at plus-7.1 per game, and they rank 27th 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 18.8 turnovers per game, which ranks sixth in the country. They also average 9.3 steals per game, ranking 14th in the nation. Lavar Batts, Jr. leads the Big South and is 43rd in the NCAA, averaging 2.0 steals per game, while DeVon Baker (1.7 spg), LJ Thorpe (1.7 spg) and Trent Stephney (1.5 spg) all rank in the Top 10 in the conference.
Tajion Jones leads the Big South and is 12th nationally, hitting 44.3 percent of his 3-point attempts. The Dogs rank first in the Big South and 51st nationally, hitting 36.4 percent from three, and they are second in the conference and 38th nationally with 9.3 makes per game from beyond the arc. Against St. Andrews, the Bulldogs drained a program-record 19 3-pointers.
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 24.6 percent of opponents' possessions ending in a turnover.
The Bulldogs are averaging 78.2 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 18.3 more points per game than it did last season.
Four Bulldogs rank inside the Top 15 in scoring in the Big South Conference (Tajion Jones – 4th, 16.5; DeVon Baker – 5th, 15.9; LJ Thorpe – 11th, 13.0; Lavar Batts, Jr. – 12th, 13.0). No other team has more than two in the Top 15.

BY THE NUMBERS

1 – The Bulldogs have used just one starting lineup all season, and all five starters average double-digits scoring. Asheville is one of three teams in Division I to only use one starting lineup (Buffalo, Miami).
4 – Last season's victory at USC Upstate was the Bulldogs' lone road victory of the season. This year, they already have four road victories (The Citadel, Charlotte, Charleston Southern, Longwood).
7 – Tajion Jones hit 7-of-11 3-pointers against Radford, which set his career-high in makes from beyond the arc. He leads the Big South with 2.61 made 3-pointers per game.
8 – 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 eighth-youngest team, according to KenPom.
50 – The Bulldogs hit 52 percent from the field against Radford, marking the third time this season they shot 50 percent or better in a game. They hit 56.9 percent against The Citadel and 50 percent against Charlotte. They are 3-0 in those games.