University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, February 12
Spartanburg, S.C.
4:00 p.m.
UNC Asheville
14-11,6-6Big South
83
at
56
USC Upstate
10-14,7-5Big South
1
2
F
UNC Asheville
35
48
83
USC Upstate
23
33
56
Men’s basketball scores 83-56 victory at USC Upstate Saturday
02.12.2022 | Men's Basketball
Pember leads the way with 29 points
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The UNC Asheville Men's Basketball team traveled down the mountain to Spartanburg on Saturday, defeating the USC Upstate Spartans in a Big South Divisional matchup at the G.B. Hodge Center 83-56.
Drew Pember led all scorers with 29 points, going 14-of-16 from the free-throw line, grabbing six rebounds in the process. LJ Thorpe poured in 19 points going 8-of-12 from the floor, while Tajion Jones scored 12. As a unit, the Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the floor while holding the Spartans to just 3-of-14 shooting from downtown (21.4%) and winning the turnover battle 16-11.
Where they Stand
The win improves Asheville's overall record to 14-11, moving the Bulldogs to an even 6-6 in conference play, evening the regular-season series with Upstate at one win apiece. The Spartans, meanwhile, drop to 10-14 and 7-5 in league play, sitting just ahead of Asheville in the South Division.
"I think any time you don't get the job done and you get another chance to see a team there's extra motivation, but it's not like we went out of our way to blow that up. It's a conference game, they are all really important," UNC Asheville head coach Mike Morrell said. "We put a complete 40 minutes together today. Really proud of our guys for going on the road and finding a way to get a win."
The Game at a Glance
On Defending the 3-pointer:
"Conference wise, they've (Upstate) really shot the ball well. They got really good shooters, so we wanted to make a concerted effort to guard that line like we always do and just try to make it tough on them. They have made shots on a high level. We didn't have a choice, you have to be able to guard that line or you're not going to have a chance to beat Upstate."
On Quay Kimble:
"Big, big spark to us in the first half. He's capable of that. He's played a lot of college basketball. Really, really good shooter. Quay was sick for a little and these last couple games he's really given us a great spark off the bench. He was huge for us today."
How it Happened
Jones scored the first five points of the game, but Upstate kept the game close early. Quay Kimble drew a charge and a Pember block led to a flush from Jamon Battle to make the score 17-6. Kimble hit a stepback 3-pointer and floater leading to an alley-oop from Thorpe to Battle as the Bulldogs took control with a 35-23 lead at the break.
The Bulldogs knocked down a couple of threes early to extend their lead to 14. Upstate cut the deficit back to 10, but LJ Thorpe scored in the paint and set up Pember for a slam to make the advantage 64-41. After USC Upstate received back-to-back technicals, Asheville would cruise to the victory, with a Silas Mason slam serving as the exclamation point.
Drew Pember led all scorers with 29 points, going 14-of-16 from the free-throw line, grabbing six rebounds in the process. LJ Thorpe poured in 19 points going 8-of-12 from the floor, while Tajion Jones scored 12. As a unit, the Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the floor while holding the Spartans to just 3-of-14 shooting from downtown (21.4%) and winning the turnover battle 16-11.
Where they Stand
The win improves Asheville's overall record to 14-11, moving the Bulldogs to an even 6-6 in conference play, evening the regular-season series with Upstate at one win apiece. The Spartans, meanwhile, drop to 10-14 and 7-5 in league play, sitting just ahead of Asheville in the South Division.
"I think any time you don't get the job done and you get another chance to see a team there's extra motivation, but it's not like we went out of our way to blow that up. It's a conference game, they are all really important," UNC Asheville head coach Mike Morrell said. "We put a complete 40 minutes together today. Really proud of our guys for going on the road and finding a way to get a win."
The Game at a Glance
- Asheville shoots 50 percent from the floor (27-of-54), holds Upstate to 21.4 percent shooting from 3-point range (3-of-14)
- Pember scores 27-plus points for third time this season, 20-plus points for 7th time
- Thorpe scores 17-plus for third straight game
- Win is the largest conference road win in program history
- Bulldogs turn 11 turnovers into 23 points, outrebound Spartans 33-27
On Defending the 3-pointer:
"Conference wise, they've (Upstate) really shot the ball well. They got really good shooters, so we wanted to make a concerted effort to guard that line like we always do and just try to make it tough on them. They have made shots on a high level. We didn't have a choice, you have to be able to guard that line or you're not going to have a chance to beat Upstate."
On Quay Kimble:
"Big, big spark to us in the first half. He's capable of that. He's played a lot of college basketball. Really, really good shooter. Quay was sick for a little and these last couple games he's really given us a great spark off the bench. He was huge for us today."
How it Happened
Jones scored the first five points of the game, but Upstate kept the game close early. Quay Kimble drew a charge and a Pember block led to a flush from Jamon Battle to make the score 17-6. Kimble hit a stepback 3-pointer and floater leading to an alley-oop from Thorpe to Battle as the Bulldogs took control with a 35-23 lead at the break.
The Bulldogs knocked down a couple of threes early to extend their lead to 14. Upstate cut the deficit back to 10, but LJ Thorpe scored in the paint and set up Pember for a slam to make the advantage 64-41. After USC Upstate received back-to-back technicals, Asheville would cruise to the victory, with a Silas Mason slam serving as the exclamation point.
Team Stats
UNC-A
USCU
FG%
.500
.400
3FG%
.333
.214
FT%
.880
.750
RB
33
27
TO
11
16
STL
10
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
29
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
14
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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