University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, March 5
Radford, VA
2 p.m.
UNC Asheville
15-16 (8-10)
62
vs
72
Gardner-Webb
16-15 (11-7)
1
2
F
UNC Asheville
31
31
62
Gardner-Webb
36
36
72
Photo by: Big South Conference
UNC Asheville’s Run in the Big South Tournament Comes to Close
03.05.2020 | Men's Basketball
RADFORD, Va. – UNC Asheville's men's basketball team's run in the Hercules Tires Big South Conference Championship came to a close, Thursday afternoon, falling to Gardner-Webb, 72-62, inside the Dedmon Center.
The sixth-seed Bulldogs (15-16, 8-10 Big South) put up a valiant effort against the third-seeded Runnin' Bulldogs (16-15, 11-7 Big South) but could not quite get past the reigning Big South Tournament Champions.
The highlight of the game for Asheville came at the 18:54 mark of the second half, when sophomore DeVon Baker sunk a 3-pointer to eclipse the 1,000-point mark in his career. He became just the third sophomore in program history to reach the milestone. He is only the sixth sophomore in the history of the Big South to do so, and the 34th player overall in Asheville's history.
Baker led the Bulldogs with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting, while adding five rebounds. Coty Jude finished with 16 points, tying his season-high with five made 3-pointers. Lavar Batts, Jr. joined them in double figures with 13 points, while LJ Thorpe finished just one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
Gardner-Webb jumped out to a 16-5 lead at the 13:30 mark, but Jude drained a much-needed 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to jumpstart a 12-1 run over the next 3:10 of game time. A steal in the backcourt and layup high off the glass by Tajion Jones capped the run and tied the game at 17-17.
During the run, Asheville forced five turnovers, and Jamon Battle swatted a Gardner-Webb layup into the baseline bleachers.
The teams traded buckets for most of the remaining portion of the first half, but Gardner-Webb took a five-point lead – 36-31 – into the locker room, which was the largest lead for either side after the Bulldogs' run.
Jude led the Bulldogs at the break with 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting, all from beyond the arc, to go along with three rebounds. Thorpe ended the half with seven points and four rebounds.
Asheville exploded out of the gate in the second half, turning a five-point deficit into a four-point lead at the first media timeout with a 13-4 run over the first 4:17 of the period.
Batts started the run with a pair of free throws, and Baker followed with two consecutive 3-pointers – the first pushing him over 1,000-career points. His second gave the Bulldogs the lead, 39-38 with 18:29 remaining in the second. Thorpe hit a layup and Jude capped the run with his fourth 3-pointer of the game.
The teams again traded baskets for a spell, but with the game tied 55-55 at the 8:13 mark, Gardner-Webb went on a 10-3 run, taking a 65-58 lead with 3:39 left in the game. A pair of free throws by Jones at 1:45 cut the deficit to five points, 67-62, but Gardner-Webb scored the game's final five points for the final margin.
NOTABLY
FROM THE MIND OF MORRELL
"You have to give Gardner-Webb a lot of credit: they played a great game, especially after we went on a run there in the second half. Right now, they're the hottest team in the league, and (head coach) Tim (Craft) has done a great job with that group, especially after they changed their team in the middle of the year.
"I'm really proud of our guys: they were very resilient. We had a banger of a game with Campbell at our place a couple nights ago. To get on a bus to come up here and to play with the energy we played with, we just couldn't make enough plays in the last six or seven minutes of that game. Gardner-Webb had a lot to do with that, so give them credit. I'm proud of our group." – Head coach Mike Morrell
The sixth-seed Bulldogs (15-16, 8-10 Big South) put up a valiant effort against the third-seeded Runnin' Bulldogs (16-15, 11-7 Big South) but could not quite get past the reigning Big South Tournament Champions.
The highlight of the game for Asheville came at the 18:54 mark of the second half, when sophomore DeVon Baker sunk a 3-pointer to eclipse the 1,000-point mark in his career. He became just the third sophomore in program history to reach the milestone. He is only the sixth sophomore in the history of the Big South to do so, and the 34th player overall in Asheville's history.
Baker led the Bulldogs with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting, while adding five rebounds. Coty Jude finished with 16 points, tying his season-high with five made 3-pointers. Lavar Batts, Jr. joined them in double figures with 13 points, while LJ Thorpe finished just one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
Gardner-Webb jumped out to a 16-5 lead at the 13:30 mark, but Jude drained a much-needed 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to jumpstart a 12-1 run over the next 3:10 of game time. A steal in the backcourt and layup high off the glass by Tajion Jones capped the run and tied the game at 17-17.
During the run, Asheville forced five turnovers, and Jamon Battle swatted a Gardner-Webb layup into the baseline bleachers.
The teams traded buckets for most of the remaining portion of the first half, but Gardner-Webb took a five-point lead – 36-31 – into the locker room, which was the largest lead for either side after the Bulldogs' run.
Jude led the Bulldogs at the break with 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting, all from beyond the arc, to go along with three rebounds. Thorpe ended the half with seven points and four rebounds.
Asheville exploded out of the gate in the second half, turning a five-point deficit into a four-point lead at the first media timeout with a 13-4 run over the first 4:17 of the period.
Batts started the run with a pair of free throws, and Baker followed with two consecutive 3-pointers – the first pushing him over 1,000-career points. His second gave the Bulldogs the lead, 39-38 with 18:29 remaining in the second. Thorpe hit a layup and Jude capped the run with his fourth 3-pointer of the game.
The teams again traded baskets for a spell, but with the game tied 55-55 at the 8:13 mark, Gardner-Webb went on a 10-3 run, taking a 65-58 lead with 3:39 left in the game. A pair of free throws by Jones at 1:45 cut the deficit to five points, 67-62, but Gardner-Webb scored the game's final five points for the final margin.
NOTABLY
- With his 3-point make at the 18:54 mark of the second half, DeVon Baker eclipsed 1,000-career points, becoming just the third sophomore in program history to do so and the 34th player all-time at Asheville to reach the mark.
- He currently sits in 32nd all-time at Asheville in scoring with 1,010 points.
- Baker is just the sixth player in the Big South's history to score 1,000 points by his sophomore season.
- The Bulldogs are now 20-13 all-time in Big South Tournament quarterfinal games, and 35-30 all-time in the tournament.
- The Bulldogs forced 11 Gardner-Webb turnovers while only turning it over eight times themselves. It is the 25th game out of 31 this season they have forced more turnovers than their opponents.
- With just eight turnovers, it marked the ninth time this season the Bulldogs have turned it over less than 10 times in a game. They are 7-2 in those games.
- Baker finished the game as the team's leading scorer with 18 points. It's his team-best 10th game he's led the Bulldogs in scoring and his team-best 27th double-figuring scoring effort of the season.
- Coty Jude hit 5-of-8 shots from beyond the 3-point arc, tying his season high of five made 3-pointers, which he hit against High Point, January 16.
- LJ Thorpe finished the game with 10 rebounds, marking the fourth game this season he has secured double-digit rebounds.
- It is the 20th game this season Thorpe has been the team's leading rebounder.
FROM THE MIND OF MORRELL
"You have to give Gardner-Webb a lot of credit: they played a great game, especially after we went on a run there in the second half. Right now, they're the hottest team in the league, and (head coach) Tim (Craft) has done a great job with that group, especially after they changed their team in the middle of the year.
"I'm really proud of our guys: they were very resilient. We had a banger of a game with Campbell at our place a couple nights ago. To get on a bus to come up here and to play with the energy we played with, we just couldn't make enough plays in the last six or seven minutes of that game. Gardner-Webb had a lot to do with that, so give them credit. I'm proud of our group." – Head coach Mike Morrell
Team Stats
AVL
GWU
FG%
.377
.510
3FG%
.320
.278
FT%
.727
.607
RB
29
40
TO
8
11
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
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/ Men's BasketballG
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