University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Charleston Southern
GAME PREVIEW: Asheville Welcomes Charleston Southern to Town for Homecoming
02.16.2024 | Men's Basketball
GAME DETAILS
- UNC Asheville (18-9, 10-2) vs. Charleston Southern (8-16, 4-7)
- Saturday, February 17, 2024
- Asheville, N.C. || Kimmel Arena
- Time: 4:30 p.m.
- Watch Live: ESPN+
- Listen: Bulldog Radio Network (WWNC)
- Live Stats
- Game Day Central
- Tickets
- Game Presented by Go Mini
PROMOTIONS
- Homecoming
- 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
Presbyterian came out with a vengeance on Wednesday as the Blue Hose opened the contest on a 10-0 run. Caleb Burgess got Asheville on the board with a driving layup at the 17:34 mark, but Presbyterian's offense remained hot as PC worked its way out to a 14-point lead six minutes into the contest and went on to earn their largest lead at 20 with 1:39 remaining. The Blue Hose led 46-29 at halftime, going 17-for-29 from the field and 10-for-15 from 3-point range, while Asheville was 11-for-27 from the field and 2-for-8 from long distance. Solomon led Asheville at the break with 10 points.
With 16:05 left in the game, Asheville's comeback slowly began. Following a Blue Hose basket, Burgess stormed up the court, beating back nearly every Blue Hose defender to start tilting momentum in Asheville's favor. Presbyterian responded with a driving layup and was greeted by a block from Drew Pember. Nearly a minute later, Josh Banks would connect for a 3-pointer before stealing the ball back from Presbyterian on the next play and drawing a shooting foul. Banks connected with both shots, and 40 seconds later, Pember found himself at the free-throw line, where he made both shots.
A minute later, Pember was back at the free-throw line and made one of his shots to cap off an 11-0 Bulldog run and bring the score within five (54-59). Over the next six minutes, the Bulldogs were sent to the free-throw line four separate times, connecting for seven baskets to go alongside three shots from the paint to trail Presbyterian by one. This would be the final point in the game that Asheville would trail the Blue Hose, as a 3-pointer from Trent Stephney with 5:50 remaining in the game would help Asheville earn the lead 65-63. Presbyterian would tie the score twice, but the Bulldogs never allowed Presbyterian to retake control. Asheville preserved its lead with two successful trips to the free-throw line from Solomon and one from Banks in the final minutes of play.
Twenty-five of Asheville's 42 points in the second half came from the free-throw line, as Asheville was 25-for-32 from the free-throw line, 7-for-20 from the field and 3-for-6 from distance. Presbyterian's offense went cold in the second frame as Asheville's defense limited the Blue Hose to shooting 6-for-22 from the field and 0-for-8 from distance.
BULLDOG STRONG CORE
Pember is averaging 20.8 points and 7.9 rebounds. He leads the team with 49 blocks and is second on the team with 91 assists. Pember is No. 1 in the nation and in the conference in made free throws with 196. He is No. 1 in the league and No. 3 in the nation in free throw attempts with 229.
Pember ranks first in the Big South in blocks, blocks per game (1.88), points (540), points per game, and defensive rebounds per game (6.42). Pember is No. 8 in the nation in points and No. 18 in points per game. Pember is No. 4 in the state of North Carolina in points per game.
Banks follows Pember in scoring with 13.1 points per game, Nick McMullen averaging 10.7, and Fletcher Abee rounds out the Bulldogs in double-digit scoring with 10.1 points. Abee leads the team with a .418 3-point shooting percentage. McMullen leads the team with 27 steals and 55 offensive rebounds.
Caleb Burgess leads the league with 128 assists and averages 4.7 a game. Burgess is two assists away from 500 career assists.
AS A TEAM
The Bulldogs are No. 1 in the Big South in assist/turnover ratio (1.23), assists per game (15.3), blocks per game (4.2), and effective field goal percentage (.539).
The Bulldogs are No. 5 in the nation in free throws made per game (19.1) and No. 7 in free throw attempts per game (25.7).
LAST TIME AGAINST CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
The UNC Asheville men's basketball team earned their sixth Big South Conference victory on Saturday (Jan. 27), defeating Charleston Southern 71-65.
Asheville opened the game 7-0 and extended their lead out to nine, which would end up being their largest lead of the game, as CSU went on an 11-2 run to take a 17-15 lead. Asheville regained the lead 22-20 following a triple from Banks. Charleston Southern tied the score twice over the final six minutes of the first half but never retook the lead, as Asheville closed the half on a 6-2 run to enter the second half ahead 32-28.
Asheville began the second half on a 6-1 run sparked and ending with a layup from Burgess. Asheville held at least a two-possession lead over the first 10 minutes of action, but a 9-1 run by Charleston Southern cut Asheville's lead down to one with 9:40 remaining (50-49). The Bulldogs extended their lead back out to five points, but the Buccaneers responded with a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the half (57-56).
Asheville called a timeout following CSU's run, and out of the timeout, Pember sank back-to-back triples to help Asheville retake a 5-point lead. The Buccaneers brought the score within two points with less than a minute left of action, but a rebound and a layup from Banks helped extend Asheville's lead back to four. Burgess secured Asheville's lead with a pair of free throws to close the game.
SCOUTING THE BUCCANEERS
CSU is led by RJ Johnson, averaging 16.1 points per game and has a .418 3-point shooting percentage, a .893 free-throw shooting percentage, and 58 assists. Charleston Southern's leading rebounder is Taje' Kelly, who is averaging 7.9 a game, and is second for the Buccaneers in scoring with 15.0 points per game. A'lahn Sumler is third on the team in scoring as he averages 13.8 points, and DJ Patrick rounds out the Buccaneers in double figures with 10.9 points per game.
The Buccaneers are No. 1 in the conference in fouls per game with 17.0.
SERIES HISTORY
- Overall- Asheville leads 55-39
- Morrell vs. CSU- 10-3
- First Meeting (D1 Era) - L 73-63 Jan. 29, 1987
- Last Meeting- W 71-65 Jan. 27, 2024
- Last UNC Asheville Win- Jan. 27, 2024
- Last CSU Win- March 2, 2022
- Series Record at CSU- 17-19
- Series Record at UNC Asheville- 29-12
- Series Record at Neutral Sites- 1-2
- Series Streak- UNC Asheville W4
- Last 10 Matchups- 9-1
- Largest Margin of Victory- 92-54 Jan. 14, 2021
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
|
2023-24 Season |
AVL |
CSU |
| Scoring Average | 80.4 | 69.7 |
| Opp. Scoring Average | 74.0 | 75.0 |
| Scoring Margin | 6.4 | -5.3 |
| FG Percentage | .467 | .430 |
| 3PT Percentage | .376 | .344 |
| FT Percentage | .745 | .757 |
| Rebounding Average | 35.1 | 34.9 |
| Assists Per Game | 15.3 | 10.3 |
| Steals Per Game | 6.1 | 4.0 |
| Blocks Per Game | 4.2 | 3.1 |
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