University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Monday, February 10
Hampton, VA
7 p.m.
UNC Asheville
10-13, 4-8
70
at
80
Hampton
11-13, 6-5
1
2
F
UNC Asheville
27
43
70
Hampton
35
45
80
Career Night from Thorpe Not Enough as Bulldogs Fall to Pirates on the Road
02.10.2020 | Men's Basketball
HAMPTON, Va. – Despite a career night from redshirt sophomore LJ Thorpe, UNC Asheville's men's basketball team fell at Hampton, 80-70, Monday night inside the Convocation Center.
Thorpe became just the second player in program history with a triple-double, leading the team with 17 points and career-highs with 13 rebounds and 10 assists. He is the first Bulldog with a triple-double since Kenny George did so against Campbell in 2007. He also became the first in the program to record double-digit assists in a game since J.P. Primm had 11 against High Point in 2010.
Behind Thorpe, the Bulldogs (10-3, 4-8 Big South) jumped out to a quick start. The two teams traded buckets out of the gates, with DeVon Baker scoring first on jumper. Baker would finish the game with 15 points.
Thorpe would net the next five points, scoring on two aggressive layups – the second drawing a foul in which he converted the and-one opportunity. Another strong drive by Thorpe put the Bulldogs up six points at the 14:38 mark.
The Pirates (11-13, 6-5) would continue to keep the game close, with the Bulldogs holding one-point leads at the under-12 and under-8 media timeouts. Hampton would close out the first half on a 16-7 run to take a 35-27 lead into the locker room.
After shooting 34.5 percent from the floor in the first half, the Bulldogs found a rhythm in the second half, shooting 53.6 percent and scoring 43 points. Baker scored 11 points in the second half, as did Coty Jude, who came up big after a scoreless first half.
Tajion Jones also finished the night in double figures, scoring 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three.
Though the Bulldogs discovered an offensive spark in the second 20 minutes, the Pirates did as well, scoring 45 points in the second half.
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NOTABLY
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will return to Kimmel Arena for a 6 p.m. contest, Thursday, February 13 in a rematch against Longwood.
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Thorpe became just the second player in program history with a triple-double, leading the team with 17 points and career-highs with 13 rebounds and 10 assists. He is the first Bulldog with a triple-double since Kenny George did so against Campbell in 2007. He also became the first in the program to record double-digit assists in a game since J.P. Primm had 11 against High Point in 2010.
Behind Thorpe, the Bulldogs (10-3, 4-8 Big South) jumped out to a quick start. The two teams traded buckets out of the gates, with DeVon Baker scoring first on jumper. Baker would finish the game with 15 points.
Thorpe would net the next five points, scoring on two aggressive layups – the second drawing a foul in which he converted the and-one opportunity. Another strong drive by Thorpe put the Bulldogs up six points at the 14:38 mark.
The Pirates (11-13, 6-5) would continue to keep the game close, with the Bulldogs holding one-point leads at the under-12 and under-8 media timeouts. Hampton would close out the first half on a 16-7 run to take a 35-27 lead into the locker room.
After shooting 34.5 percent from the floor in the first half, the Bulldogs found a rhythm in the second half, shooting 53.6 percent and scoring 43 points. Baker scored 11 points in the second half, as did Coty Jude, who came up big after a scoreless first half.
Tajion Jones also finished the night in double figures, scoring 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three.
Though the Bulldogs discovered an offensive spark in the second 20 minutes, the Pirates did as well, scoring 45 points in the second half.
Â
NOTABLY
- LJ Thorpe finished with his first-career triple double, scoring 17 points to go along with 13 rebounds and 10 assists. He became just the second player in program history to record a triple-double and the first since Kenny George at Campbell, November 17, 2007 (George had 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks).
- Thorpe led the team in points, rebounds and assists in a game for the third time this season.
- The 10 assists set a career-high for Thorpe. He becomes the first Bulldog to reach double-digit assists in a game since J.P. Primm notched 11 against High Point, March 2, 2010.
- Thorpe set a career-best with 13 rebounds, topping his previous career-high of 10 he accomplished twice this season, most recently at Charleston Southern, January 11. It is the third double-figure rebounding game of his career.
- Thorpe has recorded at least seven rebounds in seven Big South games this season.
- The Bulldogs held Hampton's leading scorer Jermaine Marrow to his season-low in made field goals with five.
- DeVon Baker was the Bulldogs' second-leading scorer with 15 points, tying him with Thorpe for the team lead in double-digit scoring games with 19.
- The Bulldogs forced Hampton into 14 turnovers while turning it over 12 times themselves. The Bulldogs have turned the ball over more than their opponents in only two games this season.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will return to Kimmel Arena for a 6 p.m. contest, Thursday, February 13 in a rematch against Longwood.
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Team Stats
AVL
HAM-MBB
FG%
.439
.476
3FG%
.231
.267
FT%
.609
.640
RB
31
44
TO
12
14
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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