University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
20-11,12-4Big South
Radford
15-16,5-11Big South
Men’s Basketball Closes Regular Season with Victory over Radford
03.02.2024 | Men's Basketball
RADFORD, Va. – Fletcher Abee and Drew Pember scored 20-plus points to help lead the UNC Asheville men's basketball team to a 71-62 victory Saturday afternoon against Radford.
IN THE BOX
Pember led Asheville with 25 points, adding six rebounds, three assists, and two steals to his stat line. He went 8-for-14 from the field, 4-for-6 from 3-point range, and 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
Abee scored 21 points, going 8-for-18 from the field and 5-for-13 from the 3-point range.
FLETCHER FOR THREE!! He leads the Bulldogs with 21 points.#ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/tgjfgYMQsZ
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) March 2, 2024
Toyaz Solomon recorded 10 points, going 5-for-7, and seven rebounds, five of which were offensive boards. Caleb Burgess led the team with nine assists, and Jamon Battle assisted under the basket with six boards.
Asheville combined for 10 3-pointers compared to Radford's six.
Chandler Turner and Josiah Harris led Radford with 13 points each.
ON THE COURT
With less than 12 minutes remaining in the first half, Radford took the lead with an 8-0 run to move ahead 25-18. Still trailing by seven with under nine minutes to go, Asheville sparked a run of its own with a triple and a layup from Abee, followed by a layup from Solomon to tie the game at 27.
Asheville goes on a 7-0 run to tie the score at 27#ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/hWpOHJS2iW
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) March 2, 2024
Radford would extend its lead back out by as many as four points with 5:37 remaining, but Asheville would close the first half out on a 15-0 run to take an 11-point lead into the second frame (43-32).
Asheville preserved its lead for the remainder of the game, holding a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half. With 8:23 to go, Asheville held a 15-point lead, following a layup from Solomon, but over the next 7:15 of action, Radford would go on a 10-0 run to bring the score within five (67-62). This was as close as the Highlanders would get to Asheville, as the Bulldogs closed the game on a 4-0 run, following back-to-back trips to the free throw line from Pember.
POSTGAME NOTES
- With Saturday's win, Asheville closes out the regular season 20-11 and 12-4 in Big South Conference play. Radford ends the regular season 15-16 and 5-11 in league action.
- Saturday's win marked Asheville's 20th win this season, which is the 12th time in program history the Bulldogs have recorded 20 or more wins and the eighth time in the Division I era.
- Asheville's 20th win marks back-to-back seasons of 20 or more wins, as the Bulldogs recorded 27 wins during the 2022-23 season. Alongside recording their second 20-win season, the Bulldogs have also recorded the most wins in back-to-back seasons in program history with 47. The previous record for back-to-back season wins was 45, ranging from 2015-2017.
𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝟐 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 2️⃣0️⃣ win seasons 😤#ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/JE5BCkVyiz
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) March 3, 2024
BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT SEEDING
With the completion of the regular season, Asheville now turns its attention to the Big South Conference Tournament. The Bulldogs enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed and are scheduled to play No. 7 Charleston Southern at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 8, in the Quebein Center on the campus of High Point University.
This is the third consecutive year Asheville opens tournament play against Charleston Southern.
Full tournament schedule is listed below:
First Round – Wednesday, March 6 – ESPN+
Game 1: (8) USC Upstate vs. (9) Radford, 8:00 pm
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 8 – ESPN+
Game 2: (1) High Point vs. 8/9 winner, 12:00 pmGame 3: (4) Winthrop vs. (5) Longwood, 2:00 pm
Game 4: (2) UNC Asheville vs (7) Charleston Southern, 6:00 pm
Game 5: (3) Gardner-Webb vs. (6) Presbyterian, 8:00 pm
Semifinals - Saturday, March 9 – ESPN+
Game 6: Semifinals – Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 12:00 pmGame 7: Semifinals – Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 2:00 pm
Championship - Sunday, March 10 – ESPN2
Game 8: Championship – Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 12:00 pm
