University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men’s basketball hosts Charleston Southern Saturday afternoon
01.07.2022 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball will host its first Big South game of the 2022 season on Saturday, welcoming Charleston Southern to Kimmel Arena. Tip is scheduled for approximately 4:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the women's game against Longwood - which tips off at 2:00 p.m.
The Matchup
Who: UNC Asheville (9-5, 1-0 Big South) vs. Charleston Southern (3-10, 0-1 Big South)
When: Saturday (1/7) at 4:30 p.m.
Where: Asheville, N.C. – Kimmel Arena
Attendance Update
As a reminder, attendance at all home UNC Asheville basketball games is limited to only family and friends on the participating teams' pass list through January 16. For more information, click here.
How to Follow
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: 570 WWNC
Live tracking: Stats
A Comeback at Campbell
Asheville opened up its Big South campaign this past Wednesday at Campbell, going on a 16-2 run in the last 5:30 of play to claim a 60-54 victory over the preseason North Division favorite Camels. The Bulldogs, who rank fourth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage defense (25.4), held Campbell to just 2-of-12 shooting from downtown. LJ Thorpe and Tajion Jones led the charge, scoring 19 of their 30 points in the last 20 minutes of play, while Drew Pember swatted a career-high eight shots in the win.
A Final Look: Non-conference numbers
- Asheville's 8-5 non-conference record was its best since the 2016-17 squad went 8-5, giving the program eight non-league wins for just the second time in 14 years
- The .615 non-conference winning percentage is tied for third-best all-time in the Division I era
- The .615 winning percentage was also the highest winning percentage in non-conference play since the 2007-08 team went 11-4 (.733)
- .615 is tied for the second-highest non-conference winning percentage since the 1995-96 team went 8-4 (.667)
Scouting the Buccaneers
Charleston Southern enters Saturday with a 3-10 record, falling to Gardner-Webb Wednesday by a score of 88-63. A strength of the Bucs is their ability to rebound, leading Big South teams with 27.8 defensive rebounds per game, ranking third with 11.5 offensive rebounds per game and 52nd nationally in total rebounds per game (39.4). The Charleston Southern offense, which ranks fifth in the Big South (72.2), is led by sophomore guard Tahlik Chavez who is averaging 10.2 points per game. Fellow back-court mate Claudell Harris Jr. is averaging 9.6 points per game while grabbing 3.9 rebounds per contest.
