University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, November 26
Asheville, NC
2 pm
UNC Asheville
4-2,0-0Big South
73
vs
61
Western Carolina
4-3,0-0SoCon
1
2
F
Western Caro.
31
30
61
UNC Asheville
30
43
73
Strong Second Half Leads Asheville past Western Carolina, 73-61
11.26.2022 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team used a strong second half to power past Western Carolina on Saturday from Kimmel Arena, 73-61. The victory not only improves Asheville's record to 4-2 on the season but it also marks the first time that the Bulldogs have defeated the Catamounts in back-to-back years since 2007 and 2008.
"It was a great atmosphere in Kimmel Arena today and one that this rivalry deserves," said UNC Asheville Head Coach Mike Morrell. "Playing against Western Carolina is always a hard-fought game and it's a great win for us. I'm really appreciative of the people that came out and supported us as their impact definitely helped our team today."
Asheville had a few players have standout days on Saturday. Senior Drew Pember led all scorers with 28 points on a 9-for-14 day from the field to go with six rebounds, and a pair of blocks. Jamon Battle matched a career-high with 19 points after shooting an efficient 7-for-10 from the field. Battle nearly had a double-double with nine rebounds on top of a pair of steals. Finally, Tajion Jones chipped in 12 points with nine of those coming on a trio of makes from beyond the arc. With those 12 points, Jones now ranks seventh on UNC Asheville's all-time scoring list with 1,556 points.
With both teams playing their first game in nearly a week, turnovers popped up quite a bit in the first few minutes of play on Saturday. As Asheville and Western Carolina settled down, however, offense came in bunches.
WCU would rely mainly on points on the paint (20 points), while Asheville went 4-for-6 from 3-point range in the first half. Pember would lead the way for the Bulldogs in the first 20 minutes with 12 points to go along with two of those makes from beyond the arc. Even with the efforts of Pember and the rest of the Bulldogs, the Catamounts led 31-30 at the half.
When the two teams returned for the second half, Western Carolina looked like it might have seized momentum as it reeled off an 8-0 run to build a seven-point lead, 43-36.
Facing its largest deficit of the game to that point, Asheville quickly battled back. A 12-0 run by the Bulldogs quickly changed a six-point lead for Western Carolina into a six-point advantage for Asheville, 50-44 with a little over 10 minutes to go in regulation.
Western Carolina clawed back to get within two points, 57-55, with a little over six minutes to go. Asheville, however, finished the game on a 16-6 run thanks to some key field goals down the stretch and seven made free throws to cap off the victory.
In the final 20 minutes of play, Asheville boosted its field goal percentage to 57.7 percent compared to 37.1 percent from the first half and cut its turnovers in half (10 to five).
The tandem of Pember and Battle was especially productive in the second half to help fuel Asheville's win. The duo combined for 31 points, went 11-for-14 from the field, 9-for-12 from the free throw line, and grabbed eight rebounds in the final 20 minutes of action.
The Bulldogs will be back in action on Tuesday when they pay a visit to North Carolina Central for a non-conference matchup. Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Eagles is set for 7 p.m.
"It was a great atmosphere in Kimmel Arena today and one that this rivalry deserves," said UNC Asheville Head Coach Mike Morrell. "Playing against Western Carolina is always a hard-fought game and it's a great win for us. I'm really appreciative of the people that came out and supported us as their impact definitely helped our team today."
Asheville had a few players have standout days on Saturday. Senior Drew Pember led all scorers with 28 points on a 9-for-14 day from the field to go with six rebounds, and a pair of blocks. Jamon Battle matched a career-high with 19 points after shooting an efficient 7-for-10 from the field. Battle nearly had a double-double with nine rebounds on top of a pair of steals. Finally, Tajion Jones chipped in 12 points with nine of those coming on a trio of makes from beyond the arc. With those 12 points, Jones now ranks seventh on UNC Asheville's all-time scoring list with 1,556 points.
With both teams playing their first game in nearly a week, turnovers popped up quite a bit in the first few minutes of play on Saturday. As Asheville and Western Carolina settled down, however, offense came in bunches.
WCU would rely mainly on points on the paint (20 points), while Asheville went 4-for-6 from 3-point range in the first half. Pember would lead the way for the Bulldogs in the first 20 minutes with 12 points to go along with two of those makes from beyond the arc. Even with the efforts of Pember and the rest of the Bulldogs, the Catamounts led 31-30 at the half.
When the two teams returned for the second half, Western Carolina looked like it might have seized momentum as it reeled off an 8-0 run to build a seven-point lead, 43-36.
Facing its largest deficit of the game to that point, Asheville quickly battled back. A 12-0 run by the Bulldogs quickly changed a six-point lead for Western Carolina into a six-point advantage for Asheville, 50-44 with a little over 10 minutes to go in regulation.
Western Carolina clawed back to get within two points, 57-55, with a little over six minutes to go. Asheville, however, finished the game on a 16-6 run thanks to some key field goals down the stretch and seven made free throws to cap off the victory.
In the final 20 minutes of play, Asheville boosted its field goal percentage to 57.7 percent compared to 37.1 percent from the first half and cut its turnovers in half (10 to five).
The tandem of Pember and Battle was especially productive in the second half to help fuel Asheville's win. The duo combined for 31 points, went 11-for-14 from the field, 9-for-12 from the free throw line, and grabbed eight rebounds in the final 20 minutes of action.
The Bulldogs will be back in action on Tuesday when they pay a visit to North Carolina Central for a non-conference matchup. Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Eagles is set for 7 p.m.
Team Stats
WCU
AVL
FG%
.400
.472
3FG%
.273
.455
FT%
.538
.600
RB
36
41
TO
13
15
STL
9
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
28
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Highlights || Men's Basketball || #2 UNC Asheville vs #5 Longwood (Big South Tournament)
Monday, March 18
Highlights || Men's Basketball || #2 UNC Asheville vs #3 Gardner-Webb (Big South Tournament)
Monday, March 18
Highlights || Men's Basketball || #2 UNC Asheville vs #7 Charleston Southern (Big South Tournament)
Thursday, March 14
Highlights || Men's Basketball || UNC Asheville at Radford
Monday, March 04