University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, January 13
Rock Hill, S.C.
7:00 p.m.
UNC Asheville
10-6,2-1Big South
80
at
86
Winthrop
9-6,2-0Big South
1
2
OT 1
F
UNC Asheville
36
39
5
80
Winthrop
39
36
11
86
Men’s basketball forces OT, falls just shy 86-80 at Winthrop
01.13.2022 | Men's Basketball
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Trailing by five with just under five minutes to play, the UNC Asheville men's basketball team rallied behind LJ Thorpe's 24 points to force overtime, ultimately falling 86-80 at the Big South preseason favorite Winthrop on Thursday night.
"I felt good because Drew (Pember) was still in the game," said UNC Asheville Head Coach Mike Morrell of forcing overtime "We were being really aggressive in the pick and roll tonight and I was worried about him picking up his fifth, but I thought the officials did a good job of letting the teams play. It reminded me of our game here last year where we got down but we came back because we were able to get some stops. We weren't able to get those stops this time, but Winthrop had a lot to do with that."
Drew Pember scored 23 points for the Bulldogs, while Thorpe led all scorers with 24 points – 22 of which came in the last 25 minutes of play.
"For people who've gotten to see him, it's easy to appreciate his game," Morrell said of Thorpe. "He's a guy that's just grown year after year for us."
What's Next
The loss snaps the Bulldogs' four-game winning streak, moving their record to 10-6 overall and 2-1 in Big South. Winthrop improves to 9-6 on the season and is 2-0 in conference play thus far. Asheville return to Kimmel Arena for its next matchup, hosting USC Upstate at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Standout Stats
Pember was locked in from the start, scoring the first seven points for the Bulldogs. Just before the under-12 timeout, LJ Thorpe hit a turnaround jumper that gave Asheville a 12-11 advantage. With Winthrop looking to take control, Pember knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers and scored inside to give the big man 15 points early. The Eagles responded with a 10-2 run to close the half, taking a 39-36 lead into the break.
Trent Stephney opened the second with an elbow jumper and a three. With Pember sitting due to foul trouble, Winthrop would take a 63-58 lead, but a technical foul on D.J. Burns Jr. allowed the Bulldogs to cut the deficit to three. Thorpe was unstoppable down the stretch, hitting a turnaround, drive and a stepback to cut the deficit to two (69-67) with under four remaining.
After Winthrop took a 73-71 lead, a Stephney steal led to a beautiful dish from Thorpe to Battle to even the game at 73-73 with 1:28 to play. Winthrop's Cory Hightower put the Eagles up with 26 to play, but Thorpe was there to answer in the lane and send the Bulldogs to their first overtime game this season.
The Eagles scored the first two buckets of overtime, but Thorpe made a tough driving layup to his left to make the score 79-77. After a Chase Claxton dunk, Thorpe converted a three-point play to give Asheville a fighting chance with 34 seconds to play, but the Eagles added three more points at the line to take the contest.
"I felt good because Drew (Pember) was still in the game," said UNC Asheville Head Coach Mike Morrell of forcing overtime "We were being really aggressive in the pick and roll tonight and I was worried about him picking up his fifth, but I thought the officials did a good job of letting the teams play. It reminded me of our game here last year where we got down but we came back because we were able to get some stops. We weren't able to get those stops this time, but Winthrop had a lot to do with that."
Drew Pember scored 23 points for the Bulldogs, while Thorpe led all scorers with 24 points – 22 of which came in the last 25 minutes of play.
"For people who've gotten to see him, it's easy to appreciate his game," Morrell said of Thorpe. "He's a guy that's just grown year after year for us."
What's Next
The loss snaps the Bulldogs' four-game winning streak, moving their record to 10-6 overall and 2-1 in Big South. Winthrop improves to 9-6 on the season and is 2-0 in conference play thus far. Asheville return to Kimmel Arena for its next matchup, hosting USC Upstate at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Standout Stats
- Thorpe scores season-high 24 points, second-highest point total of career (31 pts vs. Hampton – 1/18/20)
- Pember scores 23-plus points for third time in last five games
- Asheville shoots 46.8% from the floor, 43.5% from 3-point range
- Bulldogs hold Winthrop to 4-of-17 shooting from 3-point range (23.5%)
Pember was locked in from the start, scoring the first seven points for the Bulldogs. Just before the under-12 timeout, LJ Thorpe hit a turnaround jumper that gave Asheville a 12-11 advantage. With Winthrop looking to take control, Pember knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers and scored inside to give the big man 15 points early. The Eagles responded with a 10-2 run to close the half, taking a 39-36 lead into the break.
Trent Stephney opened the second with an elbow jumper and a three. With Pember sitting due to foul trouble, Winthrop would take a 63-58 lead, but a technical foul on D.J. Burns Jr. allowed the Bulldogs to cut the deficit to three. Thorpe was unstoppable down the stretch, hitting a turnaround, drive and a stepback to cut the deficit to two (69-67) with under four remaining.
After Winthrop took a 73-71 lead, a Stephney steal led to a beautiful dish from Thorpe to Battle to even the game at 73-73 with 1:28 to play. Winthrop's Cory Hightower put the Eagles up with 26 to play, but Thorpe was there to answer in the lane and send the Bulldogs to their first overtime game this season.
The Eagles scored the first two buckets of overtime, but Thorpe made a tough driving layup to his left to make the score 79-77. After a Chase Claxton dunk, Thorpe converted a three-point play to give Asheville a fighting chance with 34 seconds to play, but the Eagles added three more points at the line to take the contest.
Team Stats
UNC-A
Win
FG%
.468
.530
3FG%
.435
.235
FT%
.667
.600
RB
33
40
TO
19
16
STL
8
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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