University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
5-6,0-0Big South
Auburn
7-2,0-0SEC
Men’s Basketball Falls to Auburn in Rocket City Classic
12.13.2023 | Men's Basketball
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Drew Pember led all scorers with 23 points, but the UNC Asheville men's basketball team fell to the Auburn University Tigers 87-62 Wednesday evening in the Von Braun Center.
IN THE BOX
Pember was 7-for-14 from the field and 3-for-6 behind the 3-point arc to lead Asheville's offense. Nick McMullen followed with 10 points, with all of McMullen's points coming in the second half. Jamon Battle led the team with five rebounds, and Caleb Burgess recorded six assists, with his second assist of the evening, earning him his 200th career assist as a Bulldog.
Tre Donaldson led Auburn with 15 points, and Chad Mazara-Baker with 11 points and seven rebounds. Auburn outscored Asheville 50 to 28 in the paint and 51 to 17 off the bench. Both Asheville and Auburn connected for seven 3-pointers, with Asheville going 7-for-17 and Auburn going 7-for-21. The Tigers finished the game 34-for-64 from the field, while the Bulldogs were 23-for-51. From the charity stripe, Auburn was 12-for-15, and Asheville was 9-for-18.
ON THE COURT
Neither team jumped out with the hot hand to start the contest, as Auburn was the first team on the board 2:21 into the game, but a 3-pointer from Pember eight seconds later put Asheville on top.
A deep three from Drew Pember to get us on the board! #ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/JOR1SqpCFE
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) December 14, 2023
Auburn would respond and extend its lead to as many as seven points over the next 6:24 of action, but a 3-pointer from Battle would tie the score at 17, and a layup by Burgess would help Asheville get back in the lead.
A triple from Doc Battle evens the score! #ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/ZVUeCvxGck
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) December 14, 2023
After the Tigers tied the score at 19, Battle extended Asheville's lead to 21 following a fastbreak dunk, and that would end up being Asheville's final lead of the night, as Auburn responded with a 9-0 run to jump ahead 28-21. In the final 7:35 of the first half, Auburn limited the Bulldogs to six points, while the Tigers scored 11 and took a 39-27 lead into the second half.
In the second half, Auburn held its double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest, extending it out by as many as 31 points with 6:15 remaining.
UP NEXT
Asheville looks to bounce back on Monday, Dec. 18, as they return to Kimmel Arena to take on South Carolina State at 6 p.m.
