University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Friday, November 18
Atlanta, GA
8:30 pm
UNC Asheville
3-0,0-0Big South
72
vs
64
Texas A&M Commerce
1-3,0-0Southland
1
2
F
UNC Asheville
34
38
72
Tex. A&M-Commerce
21
43
64
Bulldogs withstand late charge from Texas A&M Commerce to improve to 3-0, 72-64
11.19.2022 | Men's Basketball
ATLANTA, Ga. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team withstood a late charge from Texas A&M Commerce in its opening game at the Capitol Classic Friday evening in Atlanta and came away with a 72-64 victory.
Drew Pember once again led the way for Asheville on the night. The Knoxville native scored 22 points to go with 12 rebounds, six blocks. Nick McMullen (11 points) and Tajion Jones (11 points) along with Fletcher Abee (10 points) finished in double figures as well. It marks the third straight game that the Bulldogs have had four different players score in double figures.
"You have to give Texas A&M Commerce a lot of credit," said UNC Asheville Head Coach Mike Morrell afterward. "They've been down in every game so far and they have found a way to come back. I thought our defensive pressure wasn't quite as good in the second half and they took advantage of it. I'm proud of our guys and their resiliency. We called a timeout late to draw up a play and the team executed it with Tajion hitting a big shot like he has done so many times for us before."
Asheville got off to a good start against the Lions on Friday. Pember along with Trent Stephney fueled most of the Bulldog offense in the first 20 minutes as they combined to score 22 of the team's 34 points. The Lions were up 13-9 with a little over 13 minutes to go until halftime but the Bulldogs reeled off a 17-2 run to seize control. Asheville's lead grew to as many as 17 points in the first half before Texas A&M Commerce trimmed the lead to 13, 34-21 going into the break.
The Lions kept battling though. Following a layup by Jamon Battle, the Bulldogs led by 15 points, 61-46. But an 18-3 run by the Lions brought them all the way back to tie the score at 64-64 with 1:42 to go. Asheville, however, weathered the Lion run and scored the final eight points of the game and won Friday's contest, 72-64.
Asheville, now 3-0 for the first time since 2008, will be back in action on Saturday for day two of the Capitol Classic. The Bulldogs will take on Eastern Kentucky, who defeated host Georgia State by a score of 62-61 on a buzzer beater earlier on Friday, at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Drew Pember once again led the way for Asheville on the night. The Knoxville native scored 22 points to go with 12 rebounds, six blocks. Nick McMullen (11 points) and Tajion Jones (11 points) along with Fletcher Abee (10 points) finished in double figures as well. It marks the third straight game that the Bulldogs have had four different players score in double figures.
"You have to give Texas A&M Commerce a lot of credit," said UNC Asheville Head Coach Mike Morrell afterward. "They've been down in every game so far and they have found a way to come back. I thought our defensive pressure wasn't quite as good in the second half and they took advantage of it. I'm proud of our guys and their resiliency. We called a timeout late to draw up a play and the team executed it with Tajion hitting a big shot like he has done so many times for us before."
Asheville got off to a good start against the Lions on Friday. Pember along with Trent Stephney fueled most of the Bulldog offense in the first 20 minutes as they combined to score 22 of the team's 34 points. The Lions were up 13-9 with a little over 13 minutes to go until halftime but the Bulldogs reeled off a 17-2 run to seize control. Asheville's lead grew to as many as 17 points in the first half before Texas A&M Commerce trimmed the lead to 13, 34-21 going into the break.
The Lions kept battling though. Following a layup by Jamon Battle, the Bulldogs led by 15 points, 61-46. But an 18-3 run by the Lions brought them all the way back to tie the score at 64-64 with 1:42 to go. Asheville, however, weathered the Lion run and scored the final eight points of the game and won Friday's contest, 72-64.
Asheville, now 3-0 for the first time since 2008, will be back in action on Saturday for day two of the Capitol Classic. The Bulldogs will take on Eastern Kentucky, who defeated host Georgia State by a score of 62-61 on a buzzer beater earlier on Friday, at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Team Stats
AVL
TAMC
FG%
.424
.373
3FG%
.480
.250
FT%
.667
.583
RB
42
38
TO
13
9
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
7
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
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