University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
9-8,8-4Big South
Radford
11-7,10-2Big South
Men’s basketball falls short against Radford
01.25.2021 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team tried to mount a second consecutive second-half comeback against Radford, but fell 73-63 in Kimmel Arena on Monday night.
The Bulldogs drop to 9-8 overall, but are still a strong 8-4 in conference play, while Radford improves to 11-7 and 10-2 in the Big South.
"They really guard, and they're really physical," Asheville Head Coach Mike Morrell said of Radford. "You've just got to come ready to play from the jump because they don't beat themselves. You just can't keep coming from behind all the time and it working out."
Asheville shot 40.0 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from 3-point range, but was outrebounded 44-27 and gave up 21 second-chance points. DeVon Baker led the Bulldogs in scoring for the third straight game, totaling 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the floor. Lavar Batts, Jr. battled all game, scoring 10 points, going 6-for-8 from the free throw stripe while totaling five assists and four steals. Eight of the nine players that appeared for Asheville scored, with the Bulldog bench outscoring the Radford reserves 34-20.
"I was proud of Lavar, hopefully he can build on that and help us as we move forward. I was proud of his effort, but we didn't get it done as a team, and I don't think anyone is more disappointed about that than LaVar."
How it Happened
Like Sunday, Radford got off to a fast start, scoring 11 of the first 13 points. Baker scored five straight and LJ Thorpe found Coty Jude for a 3-pointer at the top of the key but Radford held a 22-12 advantage. The Highlanders began to pull away, stretching the lead to 22 with 3:58 to play in the first, but the Bulldogs closed the half out on a 13-3 run to make the score 39-27 at the break.
Stephney was aggressive to start the second, finding Evan Clayborne for a slam and grabbing an offensive rebound before finishing in traffic as the Bulldogs cut the deficit to just eight (39-31). Radford pushed the lead back to 14, but Asheville kept climbing, going on an 8-2 run that made the score 66-58 with 4:13 to play.
Batts scored at the rim and knocked down a free throw to pull Asheville within seven with two minutes remaining, but the Bulldogs missed a shot on the ensuing possession and were forced to foul, with Radford closing out the game 73-63.
What's Next
Asheville hits the road for another pivotal series, traveling to Winthrop for a pair of contests on Thursday and Friday. Thursday will be broadcast on ESPNU at 7:00 p.m., with Friday airing on ESPN3 at 6:00 p.m.
"I just know they're really good," Morrell said of Winthrop. "We're going to need to be better to go down there and have an opportunity to win. Their record speaks for itself."
