University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
5-6, 4-2
Hampton
5-8, 4-4
Career days from Battle, Stephney lift Asheville to win at Hampton
01.10.2021 | Men's Basketball
Bulldogs top Pirates 85-77, earn split
HAMPTON, Va. – Playing its sixth straight road game, the UNC Asheville men's basketball team got a combined 34 points and 11 rebounds from Jamon Battle and Trent Stephney to top Hampton 85-77 on Sunday afternoon and split the regular-season series.
Battle, who scored 18 points earlier this season against Western Carolina, tied his career-high with 18 points on Sunday, grabbing seven rebounds while going 7-for-8 from the floor. Stephney, whose previous career-high for points was 14, matched that total in the first half, adding a bucket in the second to finish the game with 16 points. LJ Thorpe totaled 17 points and knocked down four free throws, with Lavar Batts, Jr. and Coty Jude adding 11. Asheville shot a season-best 52.5 percent from the floor and led for over 35 minutes on Sunday, getting 29 points from its bench.
"In order for them to play that way, your approach must be different," head coach Mike Morrell said of Battle and Stephney's performances. "I thought both of those guys in terms of aggression really led the charge for the entire team."
With the win, Asheville moves to 5-6 on the season, improving to 4-2 in Big South play. Hampton drops to 5-8 on the season and an even 4-4 in conference matchups.
"I thought we stayed aggressive throughout the entirety of the game even when they went on some runs. They got really good players," Morrell said of Hampton. "Right now Davion Warren is arguably the player of the year in the league, so you're not going to hold guys like that scoreless, but I was really proud of our guys, especially defensively and made them make tougher shots today compared to yesterday."
How it Happened
It was the Stephney-Battle show early on, with Battle giving the Bulldogs its first lead after converting a 3-point play to make the score 7-5. After Stephney and Battle scored in the paint, Coty Jude knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 10. Battle and Stephney finished through contact and Lavar Batts, Jr. threw down a thunderous dunk as Asheville took a commanding 30-16 lead.
The Bulldogs kept the Pirates at bay by continuing to knock down free throws, and another trey from Jude extended the advantage to 18. With Hampton trying to cut into the deficit, Stephney finished in the lane and a half-court heave from LJ Thorpe sent Asheville to the locker room with a 45-26 lead.
Thorpe opened the second with an old-fashioned three-point play, as Stephney scored his 16th point of the game to make the score 50-33. Hampton battled back, going on a 13-4 run before Thorpe finished off the glass to push the lead back to double digits.
With the lead just eight, Tajion Jones knocked down his first 3-pointer of the game to push it back to 11, connecting minutes later to put the game out of reach (81-68). With Hampton forced to foul, Thorpe, Battle and the Bulldogs iced the game at the line, with Thorpe snagging a rebound to clinch the 85-77 win.
"He was quiet from a scoring perspective, but his teammates had a good day too," Morrell said of Jones. "I think that's the beauty of our team, we can get balanced scoring. But the three he hit late in the game was really a big one. It was timely. That's what really good players do and he's one of the best players in the league."
What's Next
Asheville is scheduled to return to Kimmel Arena for the first time in over a month, hosting Charleston Southern for a pair of contests on Thursday (4:00 p.m.) and Friday (2:00 p.m.), with both games being broadcast on ESPN+.
"We just try to take everything day-by-day and try to control the things we can control," Morrell said of the adjusted schedule this season. "I've never played six games in a row on the road. I'm really hopeful we can get back into Kimmel Arena this Thursday and Friday against Charleston Southern."
Today's Takeaways
- Trent Stephney scores career-high 16 points (14, vs. UNCW – 11/27/20)
- Jamon Battle ties career-high with 18 points (vs. Western Carolina – 11/28/20)
- Asheville has five scorers in double figures for the third time this season (UNCW, Western Carolina)
- The 85 points is the highest regulation-point total this season for Asheville (90 in OT vs. Western Carolina)
