University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
4-5,3-1Big South
Longwood
2-8,1-3Big South
Bulldogs battle, suffer first conference loss at Longwood 65-55
12.31.2020 | Men's Basketball
FARMVILLE, Va. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team faced Longwood for the second half of its back-to-back series on Thursday afternoon, this time with the Lancers prevailing 65-55 to hand the Bulldogs their first Big South loss of the season.  Â
Asheville, which was off to its best start in Big South play since 2015-16 (5-0), now sits at 4-5 overall on the season, but is still a strong 3-1 against conference foes. Longwood picks up just its second win of the season (2-8) and grabs its first Big South victory of the year, moving to 1-3 in conference play.
On Deck: ESPNU
Asheville has another quick turnaround, returning home to host Presbyterian for a pair of games on Monday and Tuesday from Kimmel Arena. Monday's game, which will be broadcast on ESNPU, will tip off at 5:00 p.m., while Tuesday will tip at 2:00 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
Notable Performances
For the sixth time this season, Tajion Jones led the Bulldogs in scoring, totaling 19 points on the afternoon, knocking down five 3-pointers for the second consecutive game. LJ Thorpe scored 10 points, dished out six assists and grabbed five rebounds, while Evan Clayborne was dominant on the glass, hauling in a career-high 13 rebounds in the effort. Although they struggled from behind the arc (8-for-28 from 3-point range), the Bulldogs outrebounded the Lancers 39-36, including 12 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second-chance points. Â
The Rundown
Jude and Jones knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to start the game, but Longwood would embark on a 13-0 run to take an 18-6 lead. Lavar Batts, Jr. would end the five-minute drought at the 11:47 mark, getting into the lane and converting a layup. Getting buckets from Jamon Battle, Trent Stephney and Thorpe, the Bulldogs were able to cut the deficit to five with just over four minutes left in the half. The Lancers kept Asheville at bay, however, taking a 36-28 lead into the break.
Batts continued to work his way to the rim in the second, with Thorpe converting in traffic to make the score 45-42 in favor of the Lancers. Longwood would extend its lead to five as the teams traded buckets from here, with Jones' fifth 3-pointer of the afternoon making the score 57-52 at the 5:02 mark.
Neither team would score for the next three minutes, but a Justin Hill layup beat the shot clock to make the score 59-52. After another Longwood bucket, Batts fed Battle who got fouled and knocked down the free throw to cut the deficit to six with 1:25 remaining. On the next Asheville possession, Clayborne had his shot blocked and the Bulldogs were forced to foul, as the Lancers iced the game at the free throw line to earn the series split.
Today's Takeaways
- Jones leads the Bulldogs in scoring for the third straight game, and sixth time overall this season, totaling 907 points so far in his career
- The junior has hit three or more 3-pointers in all but one game this season, draining five or more four times
- Graduate transfer Evan Clayborne's 13 rebounds breaks his previous record of nine (vs. Howard with N.C. Central)
