University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, February 13
Asheville, NC
6 p.m.
UNC Asheville
11-13,5-8Big So
73
vs
71
Longwood
10-17,5-9Big So
1
2
F
Longwood
34
37
71
UNC Asheville
37
36
73
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
Bulldogs Hold Off Late Charge from Longwood for Thrilling Home Victory
02.13.2020 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE – Ahead two points with less than 10 seconds in the game, DeVon Baker calmly stepped up to the line and sunk two critical free throws, helping UNC Asheville's men's basketball team emerge with a 73-71 victory against Longwood on their home floor, Thursday night.
Leading 71-66 with 45 seconds remaining, the Bulldogs (11-13, 5-8 Big South) fouled Longwood's Jordan Cintron as he sunk a layup, and Cintron hit his free throw to narrow the gap to 71-69. Things continued not to go the Bulldogs way, as they turned the ball over and then fouled the Lancers' (10-17, 5-9 Big South) Shabooty Phillips with 16 seconds remaining.
The crowd of 1,615 inside Kimmel Arena rose to its collective feet and made life tough for Phillips. The 82 percent free throw shooter missed his first attempt, and his second bounced off the rim and out of bounds to the Bulldogs.
After a timeout, the Bulldogs were able to get a tough inbounds play in, and Baker drew a foul from the Lancers with nine seconds remaining. After he hit his free throws, the Lancers made a layup with less than a second remaining for the final margin, but the Bulldogs held on for the two-point victory.
Baker had an ultra-efficient day, scoring 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor, including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. He also drained his lone free throw attempts in the game's most critical moments.
LJ Thorpe and Tajion Jones tied as the game's leading scorers, finishing with 18 points apiece, and each had five rebounds and two assists. Thorpe hit 7-of-15 attempts from the floor, and drew 10 fouls in the game, including four charges. Jones hit 7-of-12 shots, including three 3-pointers.
Coty Jude also had an efficient outing, hitting 5-of-6 shots, including 3-of-4 from three, to finish with 13 points in the game. He drained a three with 1:57 left in the game on a feed from Jones that put the Bulldogs up, 70-63, after the Lancers had cut the lead to four just 20 seconds earlier.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick advantage, opening on an 11-0 run to start the game, with Jones scoring eight of those points on two made 3-pointers and a layup.
After Longwood cut the lead to two, 19-17, the Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run, capped by another Jones layup at the 7:42 mark to push the lead back up to 11 points, 28-17. Longwood would battle back, twice cutting the lead to one point, and the Bulldogs went into the locker room at halftime with a 37-34 lead.
A 3-pointer by Jude with 7:06 remaining in the game put the Bulldogs up 12 points – their largest lead of the game – and they led 67-57 at the final media timeout with 3:43 left in the game before Longwood began to chip away and make the game close late.
Â
NOTABLY
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs have a quick turnaround, as they host Charleston Southern in Kimmel Arena, Saturday, as part of a Bulldog Basketball doubleheader. The game is set to tip off at 4:30 p.m., but will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women's game.
Saturday's game will serve as Senior Day for Jeremy Peck, who will be honored before the game.
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FROM THE MIND OF MORRELL
"It was a great crowd tonight and I think it was probably our best weeknight crowd of the year, so I really appreciate everybody that came out. We had a good student section over there, and that really helped us, especially late. I think we probably made it a little harder on ourselves than we needed to at the end, but we've got plenty of experience being in two point games. It was nice to come out on the right end of one. Those two free throws by DeVon (Baker) were huge, late. We have to do a better job making free throws so we don't put ourselves in those positions, but I'm really proud of him for making those free throws late. I thought LJ Thorpe was terrific tonight. Nothing on that stat sheet from him is that surprising, but to take four charges is just amazing. Great team win for us, especially when it comes to the league standings, and I'm just really proud of our guys."
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Leading 71-66 with 45 seconds remaining, the Bulldogs (11-13, 5-8 Big South) fouled Longwood's Jordan Cintron as he sunk a layup, and Cintron hit his free throw to narrow the gap to 71-69. Things continued not to go the Bulldogs way, as they turned the ball over and then fouled the Lancers' (10-17, 5-9 Big South) Shabooty Phillips with 16 seconds remaining.
The crowd of 1,615 inside Kimmel Arena rose to its collective feet and made life tough for Phillips. The 82 percent free throw shooter missed his first attempt, and his second bounced off the rim and out of bounds to the Bulldogs.
After a timeout, the Bulldogs were able to get a tough inbounds play in, and Baker drew a foul from the Lancers with nine seconds remaining. After he hit his free throws, the Lancers made a layup with less than a second remaining for the final margin, but the Bulldogs held on for the two-point victory.
Baker had an ultra-efficient day, scoring 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor, including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. He also drained his lone free throw attempts in the game's most critical moments.
LJ Thorpe and Tajion Jones tied as the game's leading scorers, finishing with 18 points apiece, and each had five rebounds and two assists. Thorpe hit 7-of-15 attempts from the floor, and drew 10 fouls in the game, including four charges. Jones hit 7-of-12 shots, including three 3-pointers.
Coty Jude also had an efficient outing, hitting 5-of-6 shots, including 3-of-4 from three, to finish with 13 points in the game. He drained a three with 1:57 left in the game on a feed from Jones that put the Bulldogs up, 70-63, after the Lancers had cut the lead to four just 20 seconds earlier.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick advantage, opening on an 11-0 run to start the game, with Jones scoring eight of those points on two made 3-pointers and a layup.
After Longwood cut the lead to two, 19-17, the Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run, capped by another Jones layup at the 7:42 mark to push the lead back up to 11 points, 28-17. Longwood would battle back, twice cutting the lead to one point, and the Bulldogs went into the locker room at halftime with a 37-34 lead.
A 3-pointer by Jude with 7:06 remaining in the game put the Bulldogs up 12 points – their largest lead of the game – and they led 67-57 at the final media timeout with 3:43 left in the game before Longwood began to chip away and make the game close late.
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NOTABLY
- DeVon Baker scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-3 from three. It is the first time in his career he has shot 100 percent from 3-point range while taking more than one attempt.
- The Bulldogs hit 59.6 percent (28-of-47) of their shot attempts, they're highest shooting percentage of the season. It is the fifth time this season they have shot 50 percent or better, and they are 5-0 in those games, including each of their past three victories.
- The Bulldogs sunk 11-of-20 3-point field goals, marking the ninth game this season they have hit 10 or more shots from distance.
- The 55 percent shooting from 3-point range is the highest of the season, and just the second time the Bulldogs have hit better than 50 percent from distance this season. It eclipses the 52.9 percent they shot against Hampton, January 18.
- With the two-point victory, six of the Bulldogs Big South games have been decided by exactly two points. They are 2-4 in those games.
- With four assists in the first half, Coty Jude tied his career-high, which he set last season against Coastal Carolina, November 17, 2018.
- The Bulldogs led in points in the paint 34-to-30, second-chance points 10-9, and fast-break points 13-to-0.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs have a quick turnaround, as they host Charleston Southern in Kimmel Arena, Saturday, as part of a Bulldog Basketball doubleheader. The game is set to tip off at 4:30 p.m., but will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women's game.
Saturday's game will serve as Senior Day for Jeremy Peck, who will be honored before the game.
Â
FROM THE MIND OF MORRELL
"It was a great crowd tonight and I think it was probably our best weeknight crowd of the year, so I really appreciate everybody that came out. We had a good student section over there, and that really helped us, especially late. I think we probably made it a little harder on ourselves than we needed to at the end, but we've got plenty of experience being in two point games. It was nice to come out on the right end of one. Those two free throws by DeVon (Baker) were huge, late. We have to do a better job making free throws so we don't put ourselves in those positions, but I'm really proud of him for making those free throws late. I thought LJ Thorpe was terrific tonight. Nothing on that stat sheet from him is that surprising, but to take four charges is just amazing. Great team win for us, especially when it comes to the league standings, and I'm just really proud of our guys."
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Team Stats
LWU
AVL
FG%
.443
.596
3FG%
.417
.550
FT%
.636
.462
RB
33
26
TO
16
17
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
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