University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, January 28
Buies Creek, NC
2 pm
UNC Asheville
17-6,9-1Big South
78
at
65
Campbell
9-13,4-6Big South
1
2
F
UNC Asheville
37
41
78
Campbell
28
37
65
Photo Courtesy of Bennett Scarborough
Bulldogs down Campbell, 78-65, for eighth straight win
01.28.2023 | Men's Basketball
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Tajion Jones matched a career-high with 30 points to help lead the UNC Asheville men's basketball team to a 78-65 victory over Campbell on Saturday afternoon. With Saturday's win, the Bulldogs improve to 17-6 overall and 9-1 in Big South play.
With his 30 points on Saturday, Jones became the program's all-time leading scorer in the Division I era. Jones passed Matt Dickey's 1,778 points for first place on that list. The Oak Ridge, Tennessee native, who is up to 1,796 points for his Bulldog career, trails only Bamford Jones (1,919 points) and Jim McElhaney (1,904 points) on Asheville's all-time scoring list.
Campbell started quickly on Saturday as it scored the first six points of the contest. The Camels held onto the lead and built it to as many as seven points, 17-10, with a little under 10 minutes to go in the first half.
However, the Bulldogs quickly battled back. Asheville reeled off a 19-2 run to swing the momentum back in its direction. Five different Bulldogs scored during this run and Asheville's defense held the Camels to 0-for-6 from the field during that stretch. Thanks in large part to that run, the Bulldogs held a nine-point lead at the break, 37-28.
Facing a sizable deficit, the Camels continued to battle. A 12-3 Campbell run quickly got the Camels back within two points, 42-40, with 15:07 to go in regulation. The Camels hung around and it was a one possession game as late as the 6:05 mark in the second half.
Much like they did in the first half, the Bulldogs reeled off a run. This time an 8-0 run, which was fueled in large part to six points by Burgess, gave the Bulldogs some more breathing room.
Now trailing by 10 points, 67-57, with a little over three minutes to go, Campbell did not have another answer and Asheville finished off its eighth straight win, 78-65, and its fourth straight victory over the Camels.
The win caps an undefeated month for the Bulldogs in January (8-0). The last time Asheville went unbeaten in an entire month was in January 1998.
Asheville will return home on Thursday when it hosts High Point at Kimmel Arena. Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Panthers is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
With his 30 points on Saturday, Jones became the program's all-time leading scorer in the Division I era. Jones passed Matt Dickey's 1,778 points for first place on that list. The Oak Ridge, Tennessee native, who is up to 1,796 points for his Bulldog career, trails only Bamford Jones (1,919 points) and Jim McElhaney (1,904 points) on Asheville's all-time scoring list.
In addition to Jones' performance, Drew Pember and Caleb Burgess also finished the day in double figures. Coming off his record-breaking 48-point performance on Wednesday vs. Presbyterian, Pember scored 13 points on Saturday to go with five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block. The tandem of Jones and Pember are the first set of Bulldog teammates to score 30 or more points in a game in the same week since Lavar Batts Jr. (40 vs. South Carolina State) and DeVon Baker (37 points vs. UT Martin) in December 2019. Burgess, meanwhile, added 12 points of his own to go with a team-high six assists.With that 3-pointer, Tajion Jones becomes Asheville's all-time leading scorer in the Division I era! 1,779 points and counting! #ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/DYMlJkcuoB
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) January 28, 2023
Campbell started quickly on Saturday as it scored the first six points of the contest. The Camels held onto the lead and built it to as many as seven points, 17-10, with a little under 10 minutes to go in the first half.
However, the Bulldogs quickly battled back. Asheville reeled off a 19-2 run to swing the momentum back in its direction. Five different Bulldogs scored during this run and Asheville's defense held the Camels to 0-for-6 from the field during that stretch. Thanks in large part to that run, the Bulldogs held a nine-point lead at the break, 37-28.
Facing a sizable deficit, the Camels continued to battle. A 12-3 Campbell run quickly got the Camels back within two points, 42-40, with 15:07 to go in regulation. The Camels hung around and it was a one possession game as late as the 6:05 mark in the second half.
Much like they did in the first half, the Bulldogs reeled off a run. This time an 8-0 run, which was fueled in large part to six points by Burgess, gave the Bulldogs some more breathing room.
Now trailing by 10 points, 67-57, with a little over three minutes to go, Campbell did not have another answer and Asheville finished off its eighth straight win, 78-65, and its fourth straight victory over the Camels.
The win caps an undefeated month for the Bulldogs in January (8-0). The last time Asheville went unbeaten in an entire month was in January 1998.
Asheville will return home on Thursday when it hosts High Point at Kimmel Arena. Tip-off between the Bulldogs and Panthers is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
Team Stats
AVL
Campb
FG%
.519
.449
3FG%
.444
.333
FT%
.778
.722
RB
31
26
TO
8
12
STL
6
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
30
FGM
11
3FGM
5
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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