University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
South Carolina State
Men’s basketball to host South Carolina State Saturday
12.03.2020 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team returns to the court on Saturday, hosting South Carolina State (0-3) at 2 p.m.
Missing starters DeVon Baker and Coty Jude, Asheville (0-2) fell to UNC Wilmington and Western Carolina in the Mako Medical Asheville Classic last week. Asheville will face a South Carolina State Bulldog team that sits at 0-3 on the season, falling at Clemson on Wednesday night.
Making their Mark
Despite missing two key starters, Asheville was able to get contributions throughout their lineup, with five players scoring in double figures against UNC Wilmington, including Trent Stephney's career-high 14 points. Evan Clayborne, a graduate transfer from N.C. Central, scored 12 points in his Bulldog debut, adding seven against Western Carolina. While Asheville trails in turnover margin thus far in the young season (-3.5), the Bulldogs have swatted 13 shots and have a slight edge in rebounding margin (+1.0), grabbing 38.0 boards per game.
Battling Back
On Saturday, UNC Asheville trailed Western Carolina by 20 points with just over 15 minutes to play, but climbed back into the game as sophomore Jamon Battle rallied the Bulldogs to force overtime, scoring 16 of his 18 points in the last 25 minutes of the game. Junior guard Tajion Jones was a constant threat, totaling a team-high 24 points, going 5-for-10 from behind the arc.
Scouting South Carolina State
While nobody from South Carolina State is averaging double figures thus far, the Bulldogs are led by Jemal Davis' 9.0 points per game, with five other players scoring 6.7 points or more per contest. On the glass, Latavian Lawrence is pulling in 5.7 rebounds per game while adding 7.0 points per contest. While South Carolina State is averaging 7.0 three-pointers per game, the Bulldogs are shooting just 26 percent from behind the arc and have a rebounding margin of -16.3.
Series History
Asheville and South Carolina State have met seven times in their history, with South Carolina State having won four contests. When the two teams met last season, Lavar Batts, Jr. exploded for a career-high 40 points (14-of-17), but Asheville fell 90-85 in overtime.
How to Watch
The game can be viewed on ESPN+ and locally on CW62. Live stats are also available here.
