University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
21-11,12-4Big South
Charleston Southern
10-20,6-10Big South
SURVIVE AND ADVANCE: Bulldogs Battle Past Buccaneers; Heading to Semifinals
03.08.2024 | Men's Basketball
HIGH POINT, N.C. – It was a roller coaster of emotions Friday night in the Qubein Center as the UNC Asheville men's basketball team defeated Charleston Southern 60-55 to advance to the Semifinal Round of the Hercules Tires Big South Conference Championship.
SCORING GETS GOING LATE IN FIRST HALF
It was a slow start to Friday night's contest, as neither team made a basket from the field through the first four minutes of play. Charleston Southern connected for a free throw in the opening minute of play, but Josh Banks scored the first basket from the paint to help Asheville to a 2-1 lead at the first media break.
Tied at 18, CSU took a 2-point lead before a layup from Nick McMullen sparked an 11-0 run to close the first half. McMullen tied the score at 20, and Drew Pember followed with a jumper and a 3-pointer. McMullen and Jamon Battle followed with back-to-back jumpers to send Asheville into the break ahead 29-20.
WINDING-MINUTE HEROICS FROM PEMBER
With 8:15 remaining in the game, Charleston Southern led 49-40. Asheville began to chip away, starting with a dunk from Pember. Greg Gantt Jr. followed with a successful trip to the free-throw line before CSU's A'lahn Sumler was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and sank the free throws. Fletcher Abee matched Sumler's free throws with a 3-pointer, and another trip to the charity stripe from Gantt brought the game within three (52-49).
With 3:31 remaining, Pember connected for a layup and a free throw to tie the game at 52. Charleston Southern regained the lead for Asheville by two, but Pember answered with a 3-pointer to take the lead by one. A little over 90 seconds later, Pember connected for another triple to extend Asheville's lead by four (58-54). The Buccaneers connected for a free throw to bring the score within three, but Josh Banks followed with a pair of free throws to secure the victory for Asheville.
IN THE BOX
Pember led Asheville with 24 points and 14 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season. He connected for five of Asheville's seven 3-pointers. McMullen followed with 10 points and eight rebounds. Banks followed with nine points, and Caleb Burgess led the team with four assists.
The Bulldogs shot .367 from the field compared to CSU, which shot .345. Asheville led Charleston Southern in the paint 26-22, points off turnovers 17-7, second-chance points 11-9, and bench points 16-6.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs are back in action tomorrow, Saturday, March 9, in the tournament's semifinal round as they face Gardner-Webb at 2 p.m.
Gardner-Webb is the No. 3 seed and defeated No. 6 Presbyterian 61-60 Friday evening to advance to face Asheville.
