University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Wednesday, February 2
Asheville, N.C.
6:30 PM
UNC Asheville
12-10,4-5Big South
48
vs
56
Longwood
16-5,8-0Big South
1
2
F
Longwood
34
22
56
UNC Asheville
15
33
48
Jude sparks second-half rally, men’s basketball falls to Longwood 56-48
02.02.2022 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville Men's Basketball team hosted top-of-the-league Longwood on Wednesday evening, mounting a furious rally led by Coty Jude's 14 points in the second half, but ultimately fell to the Lancers 56-48 at Kimmel Arena.
Trailing 35-14 at half and 41-22 with 14:43 to play, Jude knocked down two 3-pointers and converted a three-point play as the Bulldogs closed the gap to 10. The senior forward would knock down another trey as buckets from Tajion Jones and Trent Stephney made the score 52-48 with 47 seconds remaining, but Asheville would run out of time with Longwood closing the game out at the free throw line.
Where they Stand
The Bulldogs now fall to 12-10 overall and 4-5 in conference play, visiting High Point on Saturday (7:00 p.m.). Longwood, meanwhile, remains perfect in the Big South (8-0) and moves to 16-5 on the season.
"It's two home games in a row where we go into halftime down double digits and a lot of it stems from not being able to score in the first," UNC Asheville head coach Mike Morrell said. "I thought Longwood did a good job, we missed some open shots and our ability to respond and go down to the other end was shaky. Our energy was better (in the second) led by Coty, led by Doc (Battle) led by Silas (Mason)…but at this point there is no consolation prize, do you win or don't you. The last two home games there have been positives in the second, but we have to play better in the first."
The Game at a Glance
On what they take going into High Point Saturday:
"We'll just try and learn from this game. Watch the film, try to get better. We've got a lot of old guys right now that are putting a little pressure on themselves to play perfect, and there's no perfection in this game...We'll keep fighting, I really believe in these guys. They're terrific, they do everything I ask them to do but we gotta be better in the first half."
Trailing 35-14 at half and 41-22 with 14:43 to play, Jude knocked down two 3-pointers and converted a three-point play as the Bulldogs closed the gap to 10. The senior forward would knock down another trey as buckets from Tajion Jones and Trent Stephney made the score 52-48 with 47 seconds remaining, but Asheville would run out of time with Longwood closing the game out at the free throw line.
Where they Stand
The Bulldogs now fall to 12-10 overall and 4-5 in conference play, visiting High Point on Saturday (7:00 p.m.). Longwood, meanwhile, remains perfect in the Big South (8-0) and moves to 16-5 on the season.
"It's two home games in a row where we go into halftime down double digits and a lot of it stems from not being able to score in the first," UNC Asheville head coach Mike Morrell said. "I thought Longwood did a good job, we missed some open shots and our ability to respond and go down to the other end was shaky. Our energy was better (in the second) led by Coty, led by Doc (Battle) led by Silas (Mason)…but at this point there is no consolation prize, do you win or don't you. The last two home games there have been positives in the second, but we have to play better in the first."
The Game at a Glance
- Bulldogs outscore Lancers 33-22 in second half
- Jude scores 14 points in second, knocks down three 3-pointers
- Asheville holds Longwood to 31.0% shooting, 21.7% from 3-point range, but shoots just 32.6% and 22.2% from three
On what they take going into High Point Saturday:
"We'll just try and learn from this game. Watch the film, try to get better. We've got a lot of old guys right now that are putting a little pressure on themselves to play perfect, and there's no perfection in this game...We'll keep fighting, I really believe in these guys. They're terrific, they do everything I ask them to do but we gotta be better in the first half."
Team Stats
LWU
UNC-A
FG%
.310
.326
3FG%
.217
.222
FT%
.750
.737
RB
44
30
TO
11
14
STL
10
3
Game Leaders
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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