University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, December 17
Johnson City, TN
4 pm
UNC Asheville
8-4,0-0Big South
74
at
73
East Tennessee State
4-8,0-0SoCon
1
2
F
UNC Asheville
38
36
74
ETSU
34
39
73
Pember’s buzzer beater lifts Asheville to a 74-73 win at ETSU
12.17.2022 | Men's Basketball
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team trailed by two points (73-71) with 1.2 seconds remaining on the road at East Tennessee State on Saturday. With time for just one last shot, the Bulldogs gave the ball to Drew Pember and he connected on a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired to lift the Bulldogs past the Buccaneers, 74-73.
Jamon Battle, who scored a career-high 21 points on Saturday, passed the ball in to Pember to give him a chance and the Knoxville, Tennessee native did not miss it as he drained the 3-pointer as time expired to secure the win for Asheville. The victory marks the third straight for the Bulldogs over East Tennessee State.
Pember finished the night with his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points to go with a team-high 12 rebounds and five blocks. Nick McMullen added 14 points, while Alex Caldwell scored nine points off the bench to help the cause.
The Bulldogs held the lead for most of Saturday's matchup with the Buccaneers. Asheville built its advantage through contributions from several different players. Caldwell (three 3-pointers made) and Battle both had nine points in the opening 20 minutes, while Pember's eight rebounds helped Asheville hold the edge on the glass. With these factors working together, Asheville led by four, 38-34, at the break.
Asheville kept the pressure on ETSU when the game resumed for the second half. A steal and a slam dunk from McMullen put Asheville up by 11 points, the team's largest lead of the game, with 9:38 to go in regulation.
ETSU did not go away though. The Buccaneers reeled off an 11-2 run over the next four-plus minutes to take the lead, 65-64. Both ETSU and Asheville would jostle with the lead over the final minutes before the Bulldogs' late game heroics described above gave the Bulldogs the exciting 74-73 victory.
Asheville, now 8-4 on the season, will be back in action on Wednesday when it visits nationally-ranked Arkansas in its final non-conference game of the season. Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Razorbacks is set for 9 p.m. on SEC Network.
Prior to Pember's game-winning shot, ETSU scored a go-ahead layup with eight seconds to go to go up, 73-70. To prevent an Asheville 3-pointer attempt, the Buccaneers fouled Trent Stephney before he could get into the act of shooting. With the Bulldogs in the bonus, Stephney hit the first free throw but missed the second on purpose to give Asheville a chance to tie the game or take the lead. The loose ball was batted out of bounds and the possession was given to the Bulldogs with 1.2 seconds on the clock.BULLDOGS WIN!!!! DREW PEMBER WITH A BUZZER BEATER TO BEAT ETSU IN THE FINAL SECONDS, 74-73! #ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/hl0Vk3qxSo
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) December 17, 2022
Jamon Battle, who scored a career-high 21 points on Saturday, passed the ball in to Pember to give him a chance and the Knoxville, Tennessee native did not miss it as he drained the 3-pointer as time expired to secure the win for Asheville. The victory marks the third straight for the Bulldogs over East Tennessee State.
Pember finished the night with his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points to go with a team-high 12 rebounds and five blocks. Nick McMullen added 14 points, while Alex Caldwell scored nine points off the bench to help the cause.
The Bulldogs held the lead for most of Saturday's matchup with the Buccaneers. Asheville built its advantage through contributions from several different players. Caldwell (three 3-pointers made) and Battle both had nine points in the opening 20 minutes, while Pember's eight rebounds helped Asheville hold the edge on the glass. With these factors working together, Asheville led by four, 38-34, at the break.
Asheville kept the pressure on ETSU when the game resumed for the second half. A steal and a slam dunk from McMullen put Asheville up by 11 points, the team's largest lead of the game, with 9:38 to go in regulation.
ETSU did not go away though. The Buccaneers reeled off an 11-2 run over the next four-plus minutes to take the lead, 65-64. Both ETSU and Asheville would jostle with the lead over the final minutes before the Bulldogs' late game heroics described above gave the Bulldogs the exciting 74-73 victory.
Asheville, now 8-4 on the season, will be back in action on Wednesday when it visits nationally-ranked Arkansas in its final non-conference game of the season. Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Razorbacks is set for 9 p.m. on SEC Network.
Team Stats
AVL
ETSU
FG%
.509
.474
3FG%
.368
.385
FT%
.684
.875
RB
29
32
TO
19
19
STL
9
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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