University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, March 16
Sacramento, CA (Golden 1 Center)
10:05 pm
UNC Asheville
27-8,16-2Big South
53
vs
86
UCLA
30-5,18-2Pac-12
1
2
F
UNC Asheville
25
28
53
UCLA
46
40
86
Men’s Basketball falls to UCLA in the NCAA Tournament
03.17.2023 | Men's Basketball
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A fast start by No. 2 seed UCLA led the Bruins to an 86-53 victory over the UNC Asheville men's basketball team on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. With the loss, the Bulldogs conclude the 2022-23 season with a record of 27-8.
A trio of Bulldogs scored in double figures against UCLA. Drew Pember led the charge with 13 points. Tajion Jones and Alex Caldwell both added 11 points in their final games as Bulldogs. Jones will conclude his time with Asheville as the school's all-time leading scorer (1,987 points) and 3-pointers made leader (360). Nick McMullen also had a solid game nearly notching a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.
UCLA jumped on Asheville early and often to start Thursday's contest. The Bruins made nine of their first 10 field goal attempts and scored the first 14 points of the game. Caldwell provided a bit of a spark for Asheville scoring the first seven points for the Bulldogs. Pember scored seven points too and Caleb Burgess added five points of his own to try and cut into the Bruin lead. However, UCLA's offense continued to execute at a high level as it took a 21-point lead, 46-25 lead, going into the locker room for halftime.
The Bruins kept the pressure on Asheville in the second half. The Bulldogs held the edge in second chance points on the Bruins (14-11) in the final 20 minutes and picked up seven offensive rebounds. Jones scored seven points, while Pember and McMullen both chipped in six points a piece. Despite those efforts, UCLA saw its lead grow to as many as 33 points, which ended up being the final score differential, 86-53.
As mentioned previously, Asheville finishes the 2022-23 season with a 27-8 overall record. The 27 victories are not only the most ever by the program in its history but also the most by a Big South team since the 2010-11 season.
A trio of Bulldogs scored in double figures against UCLA. Drew Pember led the charge with 13 points. Tajion Jones and Alex Caldwell both added 11 points in their final games as Bulldogs. Jones will conclude his time with Asheville as the school's all-time leading scorer (1,987 points) and 3-pointers made leader (360). Nick McMullen also had a solid game nearly notching a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.
UCLA jumped on Asheville early and often to start Thursday's contest. The Bruins made nine of their first 10 field goal attempts and scored the first 14 points of the game. Caldwell provided a bit of a spark for Asheville scoring the first seven points for the Bulldogs. Pember scored seven points too and Caleb Burgess added five points of his own to try and cut into the Bruin lead. However, UCLA's offense continued to execute at a high level as it took a 21-point lead, 46-25 lead, going into the locker room for halftime.
The Bruins kept the pressure on Asheville in the second half. The Bulldogs held the edge in second chance points on the Bruins (14-11) in the final 20 minutes and picked up seven offensive rebounds. Jones scored seven points, while Pember and McMullen both chipped in six points a piece. Despite those efforts, UCLA saw its lead grow to as many as 33 points, which ended up being the final score differential, 86-53.
As mentioned previously, Asheville finishes the 2022-23 season with a 27-8 overall record. The 27 victories are not only the most ever by the program in its history but also the most by a Big South team since the 2010-11 season.
Team Stats
AVL
UCLA
FG%
.373
.540
3FG%
.300
.313
FT%
.692
.765
RB
25
40
TO
16
8
STL
5
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
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