University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Wednesday, January 8
Asheville, NC
6 p.m.
UNC Asheville
6-7,0-2Big Sout
62
vs
64
Campbell
10-5,1-2Big Sou
1
2
F
Campbell
45
19
64
UNC Asheville
28
34
62
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
Bulldogs Comeback Bid Falls Just Short Against Campbell
01.08.2020 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE – Trailing by 17 points at halftime, UNC Asheville's men's basketball team clawed its way back to tie the game late in the second half, but fell just short against Campbell, 64-62, Wednesday night in Big South Conference action from Kimmel Arena.
Trailing 45-28 at halftime, the Bulldogs (6-7, 0-2 Big South) opened the second half on a 9-0 run, led by two buckets from DeVon Baker, to cut the deficit to 45-37 with 15:46 remaining in the game. Baker finished the game with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting, in addition to three steals.
Tajion Jones led the team in scoring for the sixth time this season, finishing the game with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting as well. Lavar Batts, Jr. also scored in double-digits, racking up 13 points on a 5-of-9 effort from the floor.
The Bulldogs outscored the Camels 34-19 in the second half, playing with a much greater intensity on the defensive end, forcing 14 second-half Campbell turnovers. The Bulldogs were also much more purposeful offensively, with crisper passing and more determined drives, they turned it over just four times in the second half.
The Camels (10-5, 1-2 Big South), bumped the lead back up to double digits a couple times after the 9-0 Bulldogs run, but the home team kept fighting back, eventually drawing even, 56-56, on a 3-pointer from Jones, assisted by Trent Stephney, with 4:51 remaining.
Campbell quickly answered with a 3-pointer and an and-one to push the lead back up to six, 62-56, just 30 seconds later.
The teams went nearly two minutes without scoring before a strong take to the basket by Batts resulted in an and-one opportunity, though he would miss the free throw. After a Campbell turnover on the ensuing possession, Batts hit an impressive contested jump shot in the paint to narrow the gap to 62-60 with 1:32 remaining.
The Bulldogs had a pair of opportunities to tie the game with less than 30 second remaining, but an attempt near the basket by LJ Thorpe rolled off the rim, and the put-back attempt by Coty Jude also nearly missed.
After Campbell's Jordan Whitfield hit two free throws, Thorpe followed up on a miss from three with a put-back layup just before the buzzer for the game's final margin.
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NOTABLY
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs return to the road in Big South play with a trip to Charleston Southern. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m., Saturday, January 11.
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FROM THE MIND OF MORRELL
"Our effort in the second half was really good. Obviously, it was a tale of two halves. You dig yourself a 17-point hole in the first half. Honestly, it was a tough half: probably our worst half of the year in terms of our energy, our execution, defensively, you name it. And then to be able to flip it at halftime, come out and hold (Campbell) to almost 30 percent from the field and 19 points, hopefully we can take that and get better: learn a lesson from it. It's another opportunity when we're tied there in the last minutes of the game and just weren't able to execute and score when we needed to. We got the stops, got right back in the game, forced 25 turnovers, but it's another game when they shoot over 50 percent from the field. It's hard to win when you allow that."
Trailing 45-28 at halftime, the Bulldogs (6-7, 0-2 Big South) opened the second half on a 9-0 run, led by two buckets from DeVon Baker, to cut the deficit to 45-37 with 15:46 remaining in the game. Baker finished the game with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting, in addition to three steals.
Tajion Jones led the team in scoring for the sixth time this season, finishing the game with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting as well. Lavar Batts, Jr. also scored in double-digits, racking up 13 points on a 5-of-9 effort from the floor.
The Bulldogs outscored the Camels 34-19 in the second half, playing with a much greater intensity on the defensive end, forcing 14 second-half Campbell turnovers. The Bulldogs were also much more purposeful offensively, with crisper passing and more determined drives, they turned it over just four times in the second half.
The Camels (10-5, 1-2 Big South), bumped the lead back up to double digits a couple times after the 9-0 Bulldogs run, but the home team kept fighting back, eventually drawing even, 56-56, on a 3-pointer from Jones, assisted by Trent Stephney, with 4:51 remaining.
Campbell quickly answered with a 3-pointer and an and-one to push the lead back up to six, 62-56, just 30 seconds later.
The teams went nearly two minutes without scoring before a strong take to the basket by Batts resulted in an and-one opportunity, though he would miss the free throw. After a Campbell turnover on the ensuing possession, Batts hit an impressive contested jump shot in the paint to narrow the gap to 62-60 with 1:32 remaining.
The Bulldogs had a pair of opportunities to tie the game with less than 30 second remaining, but an attempt near the basket by LJ Thorpe rolled off the rim, and the put-back attempt by Coty Jude also nearly missed.
After Campbell's Jordan Whitfield hit two free throws, Thorpe followed up on a miss from three with a put-back layup just before the buzzer for the game's final margin.
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NOTABLY
- UNC Asheville outscored Campbell 34-19 in the second half and held the visitors to just 31.8 shooting from the field and 14.3 percent from three in the second half.
- The Bulldogs forced 25 Campbell turnovers while turning it over 15 times themselves. The Bulldogs have not turned the ball over more than their opponent in any game this season.
- With 25 turnovers forced, the Bulldogs have forced eight of their past 10 opponents into 20 or more turnovers.
- The 25 turnovers are the most the Bulldogs have forced against a Division I opponent this season, and it trails only the 31 they forced against Brevard.
- The Bulldogs recorded 12 steals against the Camels, marking the ninth game they have recorded double-digit steals this season. Trent Stephney led the way with four, while DeVon Baker contributed three.
- The four steals by Stephney tied his career high, which he set at Charlotte, December 3, 2019.
- The Bulldogs led the Camels in points off turnovers, 24-18. They also led in second-chance points 7-5. Asheville pulled down 10 offensive rebounds compared to just four for Campbell.
- Tajion Jones led the Bulldogs in scoring for the second consecutive game, finishing with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor. It is the team-best sixth time he's led the Bulldogs in scoring this season.
- Jones has scored at least 12 points in 12 consecutive games.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs return to the road in Big South play with a trip to Charleston Southern. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m., Saturday, January 11.
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FROM THE MIND OF MORRELL
"Our effort in the second half was really good. Obviously, it was a tale of two halves. You dig yourself a 17-point hole in the first half. Honestly, it was a tough half: probably our worst half of the year in terms of our energy, our execution, defensively, you name it. And then to be able to flip it at halftime, come out and hold (Campbell) to almost 30 percent from the field and 19 points, hopefully we can take that and get better: learn a lesson from it. It's another opportunity when we're tied there in the last minutes of the game and just weren't able to execute and score when we needed to. We got the stops, got right back in the game, forced 25 turnovers, but it's another game when they shoot over 50 percent from the field. It's hard to win when you allow that."
Team Stats
CAMPB
AVL
FG%
.542
.397
3FG%
.467
.313
FT%
.500
.611
RB
35
31
TO
25
15
STL
8
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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