University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Presbyterian
GAME PREVIEW: Asheville Hosts Presbyterian on Valentine’s Day
02.13.2024 | Men's Basketball
GAME DETAILS
- UNC Asheville (17-9, 9-2) vs. Presbyterian (12-14, 4-7)
- Wednesday, February 14, 2024
- Asheville, N.C. || Kimmel Arena
- Time: 6:30 p.m.
- Watch Live: ESPN+
- Listen: Bulldog Radio Network (WWNC)
- Live Stats
- Game Day Central
- Tickets
- Game Presented by Budweiser of Asheville
PROMOTIONS
- Wednesday's game is a blackout! Fans are encouraged to wear their black Bulldog gear to support.
- If Kimmel Arena has 3,000 fans in attendance this season, Kimmel and Associates will donate $3,000 to the Bulldog Scholarship Fund.
ASHEVILLE'S LAST TIME OUT
The UNC Asheville men's basketball team outscored USC Upstate by 17 points in the second half after trailing by four at the end of the first frame and went on to defeat the Spartans 77-64 on Saturday, Feb. 10, in the G.B. Hodge Center.
Neither team jumped out with the upper hand in Saturday's contest, as there were six ties and three lead changes through the opening eight minutes. Upstate connected for back-to-back triples to jump ahead by six with 10 minutes remaining, and the Spartans held the lead for the remainder of the half. Back-to-back triples from Drew Pember with a little over five minutes left in the half cut Upstate's lead down to one, but the Spartans were able to push their lead to four to enter the second half (36-32).
Upstate opened the second half with a 3-pointer, but the Bulldogs followed with an 11-2 run to retake the lead 44-41. Asheville continued to increase its lead, with back-to-back 3-pointers from Fletcher Abee and Pember helping the Bulldogs to a double-digit lead with under 10 minutes remaining (58-47). Upstate brought the score back within eight with 2:23 left in the contest, but that was as close as the Spartans would get, as Asheville closed the game on an 8-3 run to earn the victory.
PEMBER MOVES UP IN BIG SOUTH RECORD BOOK
In Saturday's win over Upstate, Drew Pember recorded a game-high 28 points and 16 rebounds, earning his seventh double-double of the season. With Pember's 28 points, he has 1,745 career points and is No. 24 on the Big South All-Time Scoring List.
Pember is averaging 21.0 points and 7.9 rebounds. He leads the team with 48 blocks and is second on the team with 88 assists. Pember is No. 2 in the nation and in conference in made free throws with 185. He is No. 2 in the league and No. 4 in the nation in free throw attempts with 217.
Pember ranks first in the Big South in blocks, blocks per game (1.92), points (524), points per game, and defensive rebounds per game (6.40). Pember is No. 9 in the nation in points and No. 16 in points per game. Pember is No. 4 in the state of North Carolina in points per game.
DOUBLE-DIGIT CREW
Three Bulldogs join Pember averaging double-digit points, with Josh Banks at 13, Nick McMullen at 10.8, and Fletcher Abee at 10.4.
Abee leads the team with a .417 3-point shooting percentage. McMullen leads the team with a .614 field goal shooting percentage, 27 steals, and 54 offensive rebounds. McMullen recorded four offensive rebounds in Asheville's victory over Upstate on Saturday, putting him at 503 rebounds in his career.
MR. HELPING HAND
Caleb Burgess leads the league with 126 assists and averages 4.8 a game. Burgess is four assists away from 500 career assists.
AS A TEAM
The Bulldogs are No. 1 in the Big South in assist/turnover ratio (1.27), assists per game (15.7), blocks per game (4.3), effective field goal percentage (.542), and three-pointers per game (8.3).
The Bulldogs are No. 7 in the nation in free throws made per game (18.7) and No. 10 in free throw attempts per game (25.3).
LAST TIME AGAINST PRESBYTERIAN
It was a battle in Clinton, S.C., on Jan. 6, with Pember connecting for seven free throws in the final 2:21 of action to help the Bulldogs earn an 84-80 victory over Presbyterian.
Trailing by seven with 7:59 left in the first half, the Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run with Pember starting the run with back-to-back baskets. Banks and Toyaz Solomon connected for the last two shots to help Asheville ahead 29-28. Presbyterian retook a one-point lead, but that would be the final Blue Hose lead of the half, as the Bulldogs answered with a 16-5 run. The Bulldogs closed the half out with back-to-back 3-pointers from Solomon and Abee to go into the half ahead 45-35.
Asheville held the lead for the remainder of the contest, but the Blue Hose prevented the Bulldogs from extending their lead past 10. With 3:02 left in the contest, Presbyterian attempted a late-game comeback following a 7-1 run to cut Asheville's lead to one (78-77). A foul would send Pember to the line, where he would sink both shots to extend Asheville's lead back out to three.
With 38 seconds left, the Blue Hose would once again bring the score within one before a foul would send Pember back to the free throw line. Pember once again extended the score back to three with six seconds remaining. Trent Stephney would go on to foul Barnett, sending him to the free-throw line. Barnett sank his first shot but intentionally missed his second shot, missing the rim entirely, which gave the ball back to Asheville. Pember would draw a foul and sink another pair of free throws to finish the game.
SCOUTING THE BLUE HOSE
Presbyterian enters Wednesday's contest on a two-game winning streak, as the Blue Hose defeated Gardner-Webb on Feb. 7 before defeating Radford on Feb. 10.
The Blue Hose are led this season by Marquis Barnett, who is averaging 14.5 points per game. Barnett also leads the team with 68 assists, 47 steals and 23 blocks. Barnett is No. 1 in the conference in steals and steals per game, averaging 1.81.
Jonah Pierce is Presbyterian's leading rebounder, averaging 5.0 a game, and leads the team with a .600 field goal percentage. Samage Teel is Presbyterian's leading 3-point shooter with a .441 3-point shooting percentage.
Presbyterian is No. 1 in the conference in bench points per game (29.50), fastbreak points (13.35), and field goal percentage (.478).
SERIES HISTORY (D1 Era)
- Overall- UNC Asheville leads 21-7
- Morrell vs. Presbyterian- 6-4
- First Meeting- W 68-58 Jan. 24, 2009
- Last Meeting- W 84-80 Jan. 6, 2024
- Last UNC Asheville Win- Jan. 6, 2024
- Last Presbyterian Win- Jan. 2, 2020
- Series Record at Presbyterian- 10-5
- Series Record at UNC Asheville- 11-2
- Series Streak- Asheville W6
- Last 10 Matchups- 6-4
- Largest Margin of Victory- 89-48 Feb. 15, 2017
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
|
2023-24 Season |
AVL |
PC |
| Scoring Average | 80.8 | 75.6 |
| Opp. Scoring Average | 74.2 | 74.0 |
| Scoring Margin | 6.6 | 1.6 |
| FG Percentage | .470 | .478 |
| 3PT Percentage | .377 | .343 |
| FT Percentage | .741 | .660 |
| Rebounding Average | 35.1 | 32.9 |
| Assists Per Game | 15.7 | 13.3 |
| Steals Per Game | 6.1 | 6.4 |
| Blocks Per Game | 4.3 | 3.3 |
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