University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
6-6,5-2Big South
Charleston Southern
1-10,0-7Big South
Hot shooting leads Asheville past Charleston Southern 92-54
01.14.2021 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – After six straight road games, the UNC Asheville men's basketball team returned home to Kimmel Arena on Thursday afternoon, defeating Charleston Southern 92-54.
"We've had six in a row on the road, obviously if you had your choice you'd rather play at home," said UNC Asheville Head Coach Mike Morrell. "But in this climate, when you get the chance to play, it doesn't matter if you play on the moon, we're just really appreciative that we get to play and I thought our guys were really prepared today."
Asheville was red hot from the floor, shooting a season-high 57.1 percent from the floor and a season best 50.0 percent from 3-point range. The 92 points scored was another season high for the Bulldogs, tying their season bests in assists (20) and made 3-pointers (13).
Asheville, which got 43 points from its bench and 40 points in the paint, was led by Tajion Jones' 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting, tying his career-high with seven 3-pointers (7-for-10). The Bulldogs, who had five scorers reach double figures, were also bolstered by the return of Preseason First Team All-Big South member DeVon Baker, who dropped 10 points in his season debut.
"I tell people up until this year, not only have I never coached in a game as a head coach without DeVon, but I've never coached a game where he didn't start," Morrell said of Baker. "I have so much trust in him and I know how excited he was to be back. He's such a good guy first and foremost, but I was really happy to see him out there."
With the win, Asheville now evens its record at 6-6, improving to 5-2 in conference play. Charleston Southern drops to 1-10 overall and 0-7 in Big South play. Â Â
How it Happened
The Bulldogs established a presence down low to start, getting buckets from LJ Thorpe, Jamon Battle and Evan Clayborne to jump out to a 6-0 lead. This was all the room Jones would need to get going, knocking down four straight 3-pointers and scoring inside as Asheville took a commanding 34-17 lead with six minutes to play in the first.
Trent Stephney would get into the lane and convert at the rim and 3-pointers from Baker and Jude sent the Bulldogs into the break up 42-19.
"Because he's scored at such a high level, it overshadows some of the other things he does tremendously well," Morrell said of Jones. "He's a great defender and he's been arguably one of most solid defenders. I thought LJ, I thought Trent, I thought Lavar (Batts. Jr.) did a good job finding him today and when he gets going they look for him a little bit more."
Asheville kept its foot on the pedal in the second, getting a bucket from Thorpe followed by a steal from Lavar Batts, Jr. and a 3-pointer from Jones just seconds into the half. After Charleston Southern scored in transition, Batts quickly outletted to Jones who knocked down his sixth three of the contest.
Jones added another trey and a Clayborne slam made the score 57-29 in favor of the Bulldogs. The team continued to share the ball, getting buckets from Jude, Thorpe, Stephney, Battle and Baker as Asheville cruised to victory.
What's Next
The Bulldogs and Bucs will battle again on Friday, tipping off at 2:00 p.m. The game can be viewed on ESPN3 and heard on ESPN Asheville radio.
"We have a few things we have to clean up tomorrow too," Morrell said. "But I was proud of those guys."
Today's Takeaways
- Tajion Jones ties career-high with seven 3-pointers (vs. Radford – 1/23/20) while setting new season-high marks in points (25) and field goals made (nine)
- DeVon Baker makes season debut, totals 10 points
- Asheville forces a season-high 19 turnovers, ties season-high of 20 assists and 13 made 3-pointers
- Asheville has five scorers in double figures for the second game in a row and fourth time this season
