University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, February 19
Asheville, N.C.
4:30 PM
UNC Asheville
15-12,7-7Big South
79
vs
84
Winthrop
19-8,12-2Big South
1
2
F
Winthrop
37
47
84
UNC Asheville
35
44
79
Bulldogs battle, fall to Winthrop 84-79 Saturday
02.19.2022 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville Men's Basketball team hosted rival Winthrop University in a back-and-forth contest Saturday, as a Patrick Good 3-pointer with two minutes to play gave the Eagles a four-point lead it would not relinquish, ultimately taking the contest 84-79.
LJ Thorpe matched his season-high with 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting, while both Tajion Jones (16 points) and Drew Pember (12 points) had their minutes impacted by foul trouble. Asheville shot 53.2 percent from the floor and 40 percent from 3-point range (6-of-15). Winthrop was 50.9 percent from the floor and also shot 40 percent from three, but attempted twice as many, knocking down 12 led by Good's 7-for-11 effort (30 points).
Where they Stand
The loss snaps UNC Asheville's three-game win streak, dropping the Bulldogs to 15-12 and 7-7 in conference play. For Winthrop, the win solidifies their position atop the South Division standings, moving to 19-8 and 12-2 in the Big South. The Bulldogs hit the road Wednesday when they visit Gardner-Webb at 7:00 p.m.
"We try and take everything positive. You don't get the result you want that's not positive but obviously there are a lot of good things that happened on the floor today," UNC Asheville head coach Mike Morrell said. "Our defensive execution late just wasn't good enough and that's what we've hung our hat on the last few weeks when we've been able to win. Today just wasn't good enough. Pat Good won the game for them at the end. You can't just say live with the shot because he's done that time and time again so it's not like we were surprised, we just didn't execute enough to make it harder on him to miss."
The Game at a Glance
On Winning the Battle of the Boards:
"Drew didn't play nearly enough today and we couldn't get him going. He sat out almost the entirety of the second half. Just didn't have him in the game enough today and when he was in there he really battled to be aggressive because of the fouls. Our guys really battled, we just didn't finish in the last three minutes of the game.
How it Happened
The three ball was falling early for Winthrop, jumping out to a 32-19 lead at the 6:23 mark before the Bulldogs responded with a 16-5 run to end the half.
Early in the second, a three ball from Jones put Asheville out in front as the Bulldogs extended their lead to seven after Thorpe made the score 55-48 with 12:53 to play. Asheville held a four-point advantage with 4:38 remaining, but a pair of threes from Good regained the lead for the Eagles, as the graduate transfer iced the game at the line.
LJ Thorpe matched his season-high with 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting, while both Tajion Jones (16 points) and Drew Pember (12 points) had their minutes impacted by foul trouble. Asheville shot 53.2 percent from the floor and 40 percent from 3-point range (6-of-15). Winthrop was 50.9 percent from the floor and also shot 40 percent from three, but attempted twice as many, knocking down 12 led by Good's 7-for-11 effort (30 points).
Where they Stand
The loss snaps UNC Asheville's three-game win streak, dropping the Bulldogs to 15-12 and 7-7 in conference play. For Winthrop, the win solidifies their position atop the South Division standings, moving to 19-8 and 12-2 in the Big South. The Bulldogs hit the road Wednesday when they visit Gardner-Webb at 7:00 p.m.
"We try and take everything positive. You don't get the result you want that's not positive but obviously there are a lot of good things that happened on the floor today," UNC Asheville head coach Mike Morrell said. "Our defensive execution late just wasn't good enough and that's what we've hung our hat on the last few weeks when we've been able to win. Today just wasn't good enough. Pat Good won the game for them at the end. You can't just say live with the shot because he's done that time and time again so it's not like we were surprised, we just didn't execute enough to make it harder on him to miss."
The Game at a Glance
- Good hits seven 3-pointers, scores 20 points in second half
- Both teams shoot 40 percent from three, over 50 percent from the floor
- Thorpe totals 28 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block
- Pember, Jones have minutes limited due to foul trouble
On Winning the Battle of the Boards:
"Drew didn't play nearly enough today and we couldn't get him going. He sat out almost the entirety of the second half. Just didn't have him in the game enough today and when he was in there he really battled to be aggressive because of the fouls. Our guys really battled, we just didn't finish in the last three minutes of the game.
How it Happened
The three ball was falling early for Winthrop, jumping out to a 32-19 lead at the 6:23 mark before the Bulldogs responded with a 16-5 run to end the half.
Early in the second, a three ball from Jones put Asheville out in front as the Bulldogs extended their lead to seven after Thorpe made the score 55-48 with 12:53 to play. Asheville held a four-point advantage with 4:38 remaining, but a pair of threes from Good regained the lead for the Eagles, as the graduate transfer iced the game at the line.
Team Stats
Win
UNC-A
FG%
.509
.532
3FG%
.400
.400
FT%
.643
.697
RB
31
25
TO
14
14
STL
5
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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