University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, January 30
Asheville, NC
6 p.m.
UNC Asheville
vs
Gardner-Webb
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
UNC Asheville Hosts Gardner-Webb in Thursday Night Showdown
01.28.2020 | Men's Basketball
GAME NOTES | vs GARDNER-WEBB
ASHEVILLE – After a four-day break following a stretch of five games in 10 days, UNC Asheville's men's basketball team will return to action when it hosts Gardner-Webb in a 6 p.m. contest, Thursday, inside Kimmel Arena.
Thursday's game will serve as academic recognition night for Bulldog student-athletes, as the 158 Athletic Honor Roll members will be honored at halftime.
The Bulldogs (9-10, 3-5 Big South) finished up a stretch of five games in 10 days, Saturday, falling 80-63 at USC Upstate. LJ Thorpe led the Bulldogs in points, rebounds and assists against the Spartans, marking the second time in four games he led the team in all three categories. The Dogs last time on the Kimmel Arena floor, they took down preseason Big South Conference favorite Radford, 80-67, behind a season-high 29 points from Tajion Jones and 20 points from Thorpe.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (7-12, 3-4 Big South) are coming off of a 92-83 overtime defeat at home to Charleston Southern over the weekend. Prior to that, they took down High Point, 79-76, Thursday night on the road, and the Runnin' Bulldogs are 2-1 on the road in league play.
Gardner-Webb holds a 30-20 lead in the all-time series, and has won three games in a row. The last time the two teams met in Asheville, Gardner-Webb won, 65-55, February 21, 2019. DeVon Baker led the way with 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. In the first game between the teams last season in Boiling Springs, the Bulldogs fell be the narrowest of margins, 82-81, overtime. Coty Jude led all scorers with 24 points.
Thursday's game will be live streamed on ESPN+ HERE with Matt Stradley and Bulldog legend John Williams on the call. Brian Hall and Mike Gore will have the radio call on News Radio 570 AM, which can also be found streaming HERE. Live stats will also be available HERE.
NOTABLY
BY THE NUMBERS
ASHEVILLE – After a four-day break following a stretch of five games in 10 days, UNC Asheville's men's basketball team will return to action when it hosts Gardner-Webb in a 6 p.m. contest, Thursday, inside Kimmel Arena.
Thursday's game will serve as academic recognition night for Bulldog student-athletes, as the 158 Athletic Honor Roll members will be honored at halftime.
The Bulldogs (9-10, 3-5 Big South) finished up a stretch of five games in 10 days, Saturday, falling 80-63 at USC Upstate. LJ Thorpe led the Bulldogs in points, rebounds and assists against the Spartans, marking the second time in four games he led the team in all three categories. The Dogs last time on the Kimmel Arena floor, they took down preseason Big South Conference favorite Radford, 80-67, behind a season-high 29 points from Tajion Jones and 20 points from Thorpe.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (7-12, 3-4 Big South) are coming off of a 92-83 overtime defeat at home to Charleston Southern over the weekend. Prior to that, they took down High Point, 79-76, Thursday night on the road, and the Runnin' Bulldogs are 2-1 on the road in league play.
Gardner-Webb holds a 30-20 lead in the all-time series, and has won three games in a row. The last time the two teams met in Asheville, Gardner-Webb won, 65-55, February 21, 2019. DeVon Baker led the way with 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. In the first game between the teams last season in Boiling Springs, the Bulldogs fell be the narrowest of margins, 82-81, overtime. Coty Jude led all scorers with 24 points.
Thursday's game will be live streamed on ESPN+ HERE with Matt Stradley and Bulldog legend John Williams on the call. Brian Hall and Mike Gore will have the radio call on News Radio 570 AM, which can also be found streaming HERE. Live stats will also be available HERE.
NOTABLY
- The Bulldogs rank third in the country in turnover margin at plus-6.7 per game, and they rank 23rd 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 18.4 turnovers per game, which ranks 10th in the country. They also average 9.0 steals per game, ranking 19th in the nation. Lavar Batts, Jr. is second in the Big South, averaging 1.9 steals per game, while LJ Thorpe (1.7 spg), DeVon Baker (1.6 spg) and Trent Stephney (1.5 spg) all rank in the Top 12 in the conference.
- Four Bulldogs rank inside the Top 15 in scoring in the Big South Conference (Tajion Jones – 5th, 16.1; DeVon Baker – 6th, 15.7; LJ Thorpe – 11th, 13.3; Lavar Batts, Jr. – 13th, 12.9). No other team has more than two in the Top 15.
- The Bulldogs are averaging 77.4 points per game, ranking 46th in the country and third 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 17.5 more points per game than it did last season.
- The Dogs rank first in the Big South and 52nd nationally, hitting 36.2 percent from three, and they are second in the conference and 44th nationally with 9.0 makes per game from beyond the arc. Tajion Jones is tied for first in the conference, hitting 2.5 3-pointers per game. Against St. Andrews, the Bulldogs drained a program-record 19 3-pointers.
- According to KenPom, the Bulldogs rank 15th in the country in turnover percentage defense, forcing opponents into turnovers on nearly a quarter of their possessions, with 24.1 percent of opponents' possessions ending in a turnover.
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 two teams in Division I to only use one starting lineup (Buffalo).
- 7 – Tajion Jones hit 7-of-11 3-pointers against Radford, which set his career-high in makes. He leads the Big South with 2.47 made 3-pointers a game.
- 7.4 – LJ Thorpe is fifth in the Big South in rebounding during conference games, averaging 7.4 boards per game. He has pulled down at least seven rebounds in six of eight league games so far.
- 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.
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