University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, January 12
Asheville, NC
7 pm
UNC Asheville
12-6,4-1Big South
54
vs
46
Longwood
12-6,4-1Big South
1
2
F
Longwood
27
19
46
UNC Asheville
22
32
54
Bulldogs battle back to knock off Longwood, 54-46
01.12.2023 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – In the first Big South ESPNU Wildcard game of the season, the UNC Asheville men's basketball team rallied to knock off Longwood by a score of 54-46 on Thursday night at Kimmel Arena. With the victory, the Bulldogs move into first place in the Big South standings with a 4-1 record, improve to 7-0 at home, and boost their overall record to 12-6 on the season.
Drew Pember led the way for Asheville as he notched his seventh double-double of the season finishing with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Fellow Bulldogs Fletcher Abee (10 points) and Tajion Jones (10 points) also finished the night in double figures. Jones added eight rebounds and totaled a career-high three blocks in the win. Caleb Burgess rounded out the stat leaders for Asheville on Thursday with eight assists to go with three steals.
After Longwood held the lead for most of the first half, which included taking a five-point lead into halftime, 27-22, the Bulldogs found their footing in the second half. Asheville nearly doubled up the Lancers in the final 20 minutes of action outscoring Longwood, 32-19.
Longwood began the second half by building its lead back out to a game-high 10 points, 36-26, with just under 16 minutes to play. However, Asheville quickly found a spark of momentum. Abee connected on a 3-pointer to start the rally before Pember scored four of his 19 points on the night to get Asheville back within one possession. Pember then found Trent Stephney on a layup to get the Bulldogs within one, 36-35 with just over 11 minutes to play forcing Longwood to take a timeout.
The tough defense paired with 50 percent shooting from the field in the second half at one point led to a 20-4 run by the Bulldogs.
Asheville will aim to keep things rolling on Saturday when it heads back out on the road to visit Gardner-Webb. Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Runnin' Bulldogs is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
Drew Pember led the way for Asheville as he notched his seventh double-double of the season finishing with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Fellow Bulldogs Fletcher Abee (10 points) and Tajion Jones (10 points) also finished the night in double figures. Jones added eight rebounds and totaled a career-high three blocks in the win. Caleb Burgess rounded out the stat leaders for Asheville on Thursday with eight assists to go with three steals.
After Longwood held the lead for most of the first half, which included taking a five-point lead into halftime, 27-22, the Bulldogs found their footing in the second half. Asheville nearly doubled up the Lancers in the final 20 minutes of action outscoring Longwood, 32-19.
Longwood began the second half by building its lead back out to a game-high 10 points, 36-26, with just under 16 minutes to play. However, Asheville quickly found a spark of momentum. Abee connected on a 3-pointer to start the rally before Pember scored four of his 19 points on the night to get Asheville back within one possession. Pember then found Trent Stephney on a layup to get the Bulldogs within one, 36-35 with just over 11 minutes to play forcing Longwood to take a timeout.
Two more made free throws by Pember capped an 11-0 run by Asheville and gave the Bulldogs their first lead since the opening minutes of the game, 37-36. Even though the Lancers quickly tied the score at 37, Asheville's defense stopped any possible answer by Longwood. In the final 10 and a half minutes of play, the Bulldogs held Longwood to 3-for-16 shooting from the field.Stephney brings it within one and the crowd is ALIVE in Kimmel#ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/9MbhMqNPhV
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) January 13, 2023
The tough defense paired with 50 percent shooting from the field in the second half at one point led to a 20-4 run by the Bulldogs.
The sensational second half run was enough for Asheville to finish off their third straight comeback win in Big South play, 54-46.LOUD NOISES#ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/MElNUuGg0f
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) January 13, 2023
Asheville will aim to keep things rolling on Saturday when it heads back out on the road to visit Gardner-Webb. Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Runnin' Bulldogs is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
Team Stats
LWU
AVL
FG%
.339
.417
3FG%
.190
.278
FT%
.364
.474
RB
40
37
TO
15
13
STL
3
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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