University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
7-4,0-0Big South
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North Florida
7-5,0-0ASUN
Five Bulldogs Score Double-Figures as Team Effort Guides Asheville to 95-81 Victory Over North Florida
12.17.2024 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team welcomed North Florida to Kimmel Arena for the second half of the teams' home-and-home series on Tuesday (Dec. 17) and defeated the Ospreys 95-81.
Since making their home debut on Dec. 7, the Bulldogs are now 4-0 in Kimmel Arena and have improved their record to 7-4.
4️⃣ in a row!
— Big South Conference (@BigSouthSports) December 18, 2024
Toyaz Solomon drops 2️⃣4️⃣ to lead UNC Asheville past North Florida for the second time this season, 95-81!#BigSouthMBB | @UNCAvlMBB pic.twitter.com/7lHwJPPHAg
OFFENSE CATCHES FIRE IN FIRST HALF
The Bulldogs held the lead for 38:49 of Tuesday's contest, led by Toyaz Solomon, who had a career-high 24 points, going 9-13 from the field, 6-8 from the free-throw line, with nine rebounds and three steals. The Ospreys secured the first points of the game before Fletcher Abee equalized with a 3-pointer, followed by a layup from Solomon 1:11 into the game, which secured the lead for Asheville for the remainder of the contest.
Toyaz Solomon with the lay-in!#ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/VYEt2MvqUA
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) December 18, 2024
Asheville quickly worked its lead out to double-figures as Jemal Davis connected for his first 3-pointer of the season to make the score 17-7. Asheville limited the Ospreys to a single-digit score for almost the entire first 10 minutes of the opening frame before a 3-pointer from North Florida made the score 22-12 with 10:23 remaining. Asheville earned its largest lead of the half, following a dunk by Solomon to give the Bulldogs a 15-point lead with 9:05 to go (27-12).
ALLEY OOP!#ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/eVyTnyrVls
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) December 18, 2024
The Ospreys responded by going on a 13-4 run to cut Asheville's lead down to six (31-25). Asheville closed the half out on a 7-0 run, starting with a 3-pointer from Abee, followed by a jumper from Solomon and a trip to the free throw line by Greg Gantt Jr., to give Asheville a 43-30 lead at the break.
At the end of the first half, Solomon and Jordan Marsh had 14 points each, while Gantt and Josh Banks had seven apiece.
DOGS HOLD LEAD TO CLOSE THE GAME
North Florida opened the second half with an 8-2 run to cut Asheville's lead down to seven. Gantt sparked the end of the Ospreys' threat with back-to-back baskets, followed by a layup from Kameron Taylor and a half-court alley-oop from Marsh to Jemal Davis (53-43).
HALF COURT ALLEY OOP ALERT 😱@SportsCenter | #sctop10 #ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/KlSa13Ww1A
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) December 18, 2024
North Florida attempted another comeback, as the Ospreys made it a five-point game with 11:38 remaining. A 3-pointer, followed by three consecutive layups from North Florida, made it a two-possession contest, but the Bulldogs were quick to respond. A putback from Solomon, followed by a 3-pointer from Marsh and a layup from Gantt, put Asheville back ahead by 10 (66-56).
The Ospreys made it a single-digit game one final time, but a jumper from Josh Banks put the Bulldogs ahead 70-59 and secured a double-digit lead for Asheville for the remainder of the contest. The Bulldogs earned their largest lead of the night at 16 points, following a successful trip to the free throw line from Banks with 3:48 remaining (87-71).
Marsh was the second-highest scorer on the team, finishing with 19 points. He shot 6-11 from the field and 3-5 from 3-point range. He nearly reached a triple-double with eight rebounds and seven assists.
Marsh making it rain!#ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/sEpdDoFlki
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) December 18, 2024
Gantt recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Gantt also nearly captured a triple-double as he finished with eight assists and added three steals to his stat line.
Banks finished with 12 points, Abee had 11, and Davis finished with nine.
As a team, Asheville shot 56.90% from the field, 45% from 3-point range and 68.97% from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs dominated the Ospreys in the paint as Asheville outscored North Florida 40-28 from within the blue.
North Florida entered Tuesday's contest at No. 1 in the nation in 3-pointers per game, averaging 13.7 and the Bulldogs held the Ospreys to 12. The Ospreys also are No. 6 in scoring, as they are averaging 88.5 points a game, and the Bulldogs held them at 81.
Tuesday's win marks the sixth game this season the Bulldogs have secured a double-digit victory.
The Bulldogs will conclude their five-game home stretch on Thursday, Dec. 19, as Asheville welcomes Virginia University of Lynchburg to Kimmel Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
