University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
A Look Back at the 1988-89 Men's Basketball Team
03.08.2023 | Men's Basketball
The UNC Asheville men's basketball won their sixth Big South Conference Tournament on Sunday against Campbell and earned its fifth NCAA tournament bid. Mike Gore will look back at the other championship teams this week with the exception of the 2003 team that was featured last month. Today we look at the first Big South championship team in 1989.
Story Written by Mike Gore
Sunday's Big South Championship game with Campbell was not the first time the Bulldogs had tangled with the Camels for a league title.
It happened once before back in March of 1989 when Asheville won its first ever Big South Conference championship. This title game didn't have the drama of last Sunday's championship game. For starters, neither team was going to advance to the NCAA Tournament as the Big South still was a few years from acquiring an automatic bid.
The Bulldogs went through an up-and-down campaign in the 1988-89 season under first-year coach Don Doucette. He had been hired the previous summer when long-time head coach Jerry Green moved to Kansas to be Roy Williams' assistant coach when Williams became the Jayhawks head coach.
Asheville had talent but it took a little while for the new coach and his new team to jell. There were great wins, like a double-overtime victory at Western Carolina and disappointing losses like a 28-point home loss to Coastal Carolina.
But things began to click in early February. The Dogs rattled off a few wins in a row and then went into N.C. State and gave a powerful Wolfpack team a battle as junior forward Milton Moore scored 39 points. Afterwards N.C. State coach Jim Valvano commented on Moore's play.
"We didn't come close to stopping Milton Moore tonight. We tried everything we could and he still scored against us," said Valvano. "He's a terrific player."
The Dogs served notice on the final night of the regular season that they were going to be tough to beat in the upcoming tournament. First-year coach Oliver Purnell brought a talented Radford squad into the Justice Center. Asheville steamrolled the Highlanders 103-74 as the Dogs broke the Radford press for dunks and three-pointers for 40 minutes.
The Big South Tournament would be played that year at Winthrop Coliseum and Asheville would be the fourth-seed in the tournament and it would play Radford yet again.
There would be no pressure defense on this day from the Highlanders as the Bulldogs and RU would have a much closer game. The Dogs led for most of the game but Radford tied the game at 58-58 and then got a turnover with 45 seconds left to go in the game. There was a 45-second clock back then so the Highlanders could play for the final shot and win.
But Radford was called for an offensive foul with 20 seconds left to go. Moore broke loose and scored to give the Dogs a 60-58 lead. Two free throws from Moore later sealed the win.
The next night Asheville faced top-seeded Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers had blown the Bulldogs out both times during the regular season. Not this time.
Asheville surged ahead late in the first half and dominated the second half and rolled past Coastal Carolina, 88-76. The Dogs were in their first ever Big South Championship Game!!!
Though no NCAA Tournament bid was at stake, the game was going to be televised nationally. It was a big deal for the young conference. Asheville showed it was ready.
The Bulldogs and Camels had split wins during the regular season. Campbell was the number two seed in the tournament and had a veteran squad.
Asheville seized control of the game late in the first half as junior forward Harvey Shropshire scored six straight points to put the Dogs in front 43-37 at halftime. Shropshire had gone from not playing in the first month of the season to a starter at the power forward spot.
The second half was nothing more than a coronation as the Bulldogs built on the lead and impressed the TV audience with a dominating performance. Moore's steal and dunk put a cap on a 93-78 win and Asheville's first ever Big South Conference championship.
Moore would be named MVP of the tournament with Brent Keck and Shropshire earning All-Tournament honors.
It would take awhile for the Bulldog program to win another title but the first one was a special championship. Asheville was one of the few teams that year that ended its season with a victory.
