University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, December 29
Asheville, NC
4 pm
UNC Asheville
9-5,1-0Big South
62
vs
58
Radford
6-8,0-1Big South
1
2
F
Radford
28
30
58
UNC Asheville
30
32
62
Men’s Basketball grinds out a 62-58 win over Radford to begin Big South play
12.29.2022 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team defeated Radford to begin its Big South schedule on Thursday afternoon from Kimmel Arena by a score of 62-58. With Thursday's victory, Asheville is now 9-5 overall and 1-0 in Big South play.
The tandem of Caleb Burgess and Drew Pember led the way for the Bulldogs on the scoresheet on Thursday with 12 points each. Burgess, who set a new season-high with those 12 points, also dished out five assists to help the cause. Fletcher Abee (10 points, 3-for-4 from the field) and Nick McMullen (10 points, five rebounds) both finished the game in double figures as well to round out the stat leaders for the Bulldogs.
The first 20 minutes of Thursday's game was a back-and-forth battle as each team tried to seize the momentum. Overall, there were 16 lead changes in the first 20 minutes. Led by Abee and McMullen, who each had eight points in the half, Asheville at one point built its lead to six with 2:19 remaining before halftime. However, the Highlanders answered back with a 6-2 run to close out the half to make the score 30-28 Asheville as the teams headed to the locker room for halftime.
Radford kept coming at the Bulldogs when the game resumed for the second half. The Highlanders eventually built a five-point lead, 44-39, with a little over 12 minutes to go in the game, which was their largest lead of the game.
Asheville continued to battle though. After being held quiet for most of the game, both Pember and Tajion Jones knocked down some shots down the stretch to put the Bulldogs back in front.
A pair of made free throws by Pember made the score 56-55 Asheville with 2:56 to go. These makes from the line began an 8-3 run by the Bulldogs to finish off the 62-58 win.
The victory marks the third straight season that Asheville has won its Big South opener. It marks the first time that Asheville has won three consecutive conference openers since 2013 through 2015. Additionally, the win boosts Asheville's home record to 5-0 this season. It's the first time Asheville has been 5-0 at home since the 2017-18 campaign.
Asheville will be back in action on Saturday when it visits Winthrop for another Big South matchup. Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Eagles is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
The tandem of Caleb Burgess and Drew Pember led the way for the Bulldogs on the scoresheet on Thursday with 12 points each. Burgess, who set a new season-high with those 12 points, also dished out five assists to help the cause. Fletcher Abee (10 points, 3-for-4 from the field) and Nick McMullen (10 points, five rebounds) both finished the game in double figures as well to round out the stat leaders for the Bulldogs.
The first 20 minutes of Thursday's game was a back-and-forth battle as each team tried to seize the momentum. Overall, there were 16 lead changes in the first 20 minutes. Led by Abee and McMullen, who each had eight points in the half, Asheville at one point built its lead to six with 2:19 remaining before halftime. However, the Highlanders answered back with a 6-2 run to close out the half to make the score 30-28 Asheville as the teams headed to the locker room for halftime.
Radford kept coming at the Bulldogs when the game resumed for the second half. The Highlanders eventually built a five-point lead, 44-39, with a little over 12 minutes to go in the game, which was their largest lead of the game.
Asheville continued to battle though. After being held quiet for most of the game, both Pember and Tajion Jones knocked down some shots down the stretch to put the Bulldogs back in front.
Tajion for three to put the Bulldogs back in front! #ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/vWgI8k4UPS
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) December 29, 2022
A pair of made free throws by Pember made the score 56-55 Asheville with 2:56 to go. These makes from the line began an 8-3 run by the Bulldogs to finish off the 62-58 win.
The victory marks the third straight season that Asheville has won its Big South opener. It marks the first time that Asheville has won three consecutive conference openers since 2013 through 2015. Additionally, the win boosts Asheville's home record to 5-0 this season. It's the first time Asheville has been 5-0 at home since the 2017-18 campaign.
Asheville will be back in action on Saturday when it visits Winthrop for another Big South matchup. Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Eagles is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Rad
AVL
FG%
.386
.478
3FG%
.421
.529
FT%
.600
.692
RB
32
31
TO
15
19
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
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