University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
9-5,0-0Big South
Columbia International
0-3
Bulldogs Close 2024 With 95-53 Home Win
12.30.2024 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team closed out the 2024 calendar year with a 95-53 victory over Columbia International University Monday evening in Kimmel Arena.
Monday's win marked Asheville's eighth double-digit win of the season and helped the Bulldogs to nine nonconference wins on the year. These nine wins are the second-most for the program in the last 38 years, behind the 2007-08 team's 11 out-of-league wins.
The Bulldogs close the 2024 portion of the season 6-0 at home and finish the 2024 calendar year 13-1 in Kimmel Arena. Since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, Asheville is 31-2 in Kimmel.
En route to the victory, Toyaz Solomon recorded his fourth double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) and joined four other Bulldogs in double-digit scoring (Jordan Marsh- 20, Josh Banks- 16, Connor Dubsky- 12, Fletcher Abee-11).
The Bulldogs outscored CIU 25-11 off turnovers, forcing the Rams to commit 17, 50-26 in the paint, 16-6 off second-chance shots, 16-7 off fast breaks, and 32-19 off the bench. Asheville was 36-64 from the field (56.3%) and 9-21 from the 3-point range (42.9%).
Banks started the scoring with a 3-pointer, and Abee followed with a triple of his own to get Asheville out to a 6-0 lead. A jumper from Solomon gave Asheville a double-digit lead with 13:18 to go in the first half (13-2). Asheville worked its way out to a 20-point lead following an 8-2 run. Abee connected for a free throw, followed by back-to-back dunks from Jemal Davis and Gantt.
GET UP THERE MAL! #ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/rgzqOiq98V
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) December 31, 2024
An old-fashioned 3-pointer from Davis gave the Bulldogs a 30-10 lead. With under five minutes left in the first half, Asheville led by 17 points or more, and the Bulldogs closed the half out with a jumper from Abee and a tipin from Banks to enter halftime ahead 42-20.
Josh Banks with the putback! #ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/7uwD0EbCdI
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) December 31, 2024
Marsh and Solomon opened the second half with a combined 11 points for the Bulldogs, with Solomon getting things started with a dunk. Marsh grabbed the assist before following up with two layups, a jumper and a 3-pointer. Marsh's nine points came in a little over two minutes. Solomon concluded the scoring run with a putback shot to put Asheville ahead 55-26 with 16:27 left in the game.
With 11:21 to go, Solomon secured a 30-point lead for Asheville, and a layup from Kameron Taylor with 8:16 to go gave the Bulldogs a 40-point lead (79-39). A jumper from Javoy Thompson with 4:33 remaining gave Asheville its largest lead of the night at 47 (91-44).
Coast to Coast for Boogie 😎#ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/jAak1y68HA
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) December 31, 2024
The Bulldogs will begin Big South Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 4, as Asheville welcomes High Point to Kimmel Arena for a 2 p.m. tipoff. Kids get free entry, and adults can receive 25% off their tickets with the coupon code BACK2SCHOOL.
To stay updated with Asheville men's basketball, follow the team on 𝕩.
