University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
9-9, 8-5BSC
Winthrop
16-0, 13-0BSC
Asheville’s second-half rally falls just short at Winthrop
01.28.2021 | Men's Basketball
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Trailing by 17 with just over four minutes to play, the UNC Asheville men's basketball team mounted a huge comeback, cutting the deficit to two with eight seconds to play, but ultimately ran out of time, falling at Winthrop 84-80 on Thursday night.
The Bulldogs, which outscored the Eagles 19-8 in the last four-plus minutes of play, were extremely efficient shooting, going 57.7 percent from the floor and 64.7 percent from 3-point range (both season-highs), but struggled to take care of the ball which led to 31 points off turnovers for the Eagles.
"Tonight was a different type of deficit. We didn't dig this one early," said UNC Asheville Head Coach Mike Morrell. "Proud of our guys' effort, but we have to do a better job of taking care of the basketball and limiting them to one shot if we want to win."
Tajion Jones did his best to repeat the Radford comeback (Sunday), scoring 12 second-half points to end up with a team-leading 20 for the game, going 6-for-8 from 3-point range. DeVon Baker ended up with 15 points, while Coty Jude totaled 12 and Trent Stephney 11. Winthrop, which had five scorers reach double figures, was led by Josh Corbin's 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting (6-for-8 from 3-point range), getting 50 total points from its bench.
"They play fast, we play fast. The game is fast," Morrell said of the style of play and early turnovers. "I thought they did a better job of taking care of the ball in the second and that's where they stretched the lead out."
Asheville is an even 9-9 overall this season, falling to 8-5 in conference play. Winthrop, which is ranked No. 2 in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25, improves to 16-0 and a perfect 13-0 in Big South play.
What's Next
After playing its fifth game in 10 days, Asheville will return to the court on Friday for the series finale, tipping off at 6:00 p.m. from the Winthrop Coliseum. The game can be seen on ESPN3 and heard on 570 WNNC.
"The Winthrop-Asheville rivalry is a rivalry for a reason so we aren't thrilled with losing," said Morrell. "But we're excited to get a chance to play tomorrow."
Today's Takeaways
- Sixth time this season Asheville has hit 10 or more 3-pointers (11-for-17)
- Season-highs in field goal percentage (57.7) and 3-point field goal percentage (64.7)
- Sixth time Tajion Jones has scored 20 or more points and sixth time the redshirt junior has hit 5-plus 3-pointers (6-for-8)
- Fourth loss by just three or less points in 2020-21
How it Happened
Baker picked up where he left off, draining a 3-pointer to get the Bulldogs on the board. The Eagles took a slight lead, but Asheville tied the game at 16-16 when Lavar Batts, Jr. found Stephney for a corner trey. Moments later, Jude took a pass from Baker and converted, but the Eagles answered with a 13-0 run. Stephney would break the almost four-minute scoring drought and Jones started to heat up, scoring eight points in the last three minutes as the Bulldogs went into the break down just seven (38-31).
Baker opened up the second with a jumper followed by a 3-pointer from Jude as the Bulldogs cut the deficit to just three. Once again, Winthrop responded, doubling up Asheville 12-6 to take a 51-42 lead. Thorpe began to get to the rim as the Bulldogs cut the deficit to six, but after Baker had to sit out with a knee injury, Winthrop jumped back in front by 12.
"When DeVon went out there, it kind of stunned us a bit," Morrell said. "Went through a stretch where we weren't able to put a ton of pressure on Winthrop, but I was proud of our guys for fighting back."
The Eagles would stretch their lead to 17 with just over four minutes to play when Jones connected from downtown and the Bulldogs began to climb back into the contest. Stephney worked his way into the lane and Jones knocked down three-straight triples to make the score 78-73 with 52 seconds to play. While Winthrop would struggle from the line down the stretch, a Batts drive and pair of free throws from Stephney set up Jude for a contested 3-pointer which made the score 82-80 at the eight-second mark. From here, the Eagles hit two free throws and Asheville missed its last attempt, falling by four.
