University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
USC Upstate
GAME PREVIEW: Asheville Welcomes USC Upstate to Kimmel Arena for Ingles I-26 Rivalry
01.14.2025 | Men's Basketball
GAME DETAILS
- UNC Asheville (11-6, 2-1) vs. USC Upstate (5-13, 1-2)
- Wednesday, January 15, 2025
- 6:30 p.m.
- Asheville, N.C. || Kimmel Arena
- ESPN+ (Matt Stradley, play-by-play; John Williams, analyst)
- Listen: Bulldog Radio Network (570 WWNC) | (Brian Hall, play-by-play; Mike Gore, analyst)
- Live Stats
- Tickets
- Gameday Central
- Game Sponsor: Ingles
- Giveaway Item: Blue UNC Asheville T-Shirt
- Promotions:
- Ingles I-26 Rivalry- Per the Ingles I-26 Rivalry between Asheville and Upstate, the Bulldogs will collect canned food items for Eblen Charities. Fans can drop canned food items off at Kimmel Arena between Jan. 15 to Feb. 12.
- Big South Conference Trophy Tour
- UNC Asheville Students, Faculty & Staff will receive free dinner on the Scholarship Deck.
LAST TIME OUT
Jordan Marsh recorded a career-high 30 points to help the Bulldogs defeat Presbyterian this past Saturday (Jan. 11) 96-87. Marsh recorded 23 points in the second half, 10 coming in the final 3:40. With Presbyterian trailing by one with under four minutes remaining in the game, Toyaz Solomon grabbed an offensive rebound and found Marsh from behind the 3-point arc, who was able to capitalize on the second-chance opportunity and extended Asheville's lead out to four. The Blue House responded with a 2-point jump shot before Solomon re-extended Asheville's lead back out to four with a dunk from Greg Gantt Jr. A free throw from PC once again made it a one-possession game, but a layup from Marsh, followed by a 3-pointer from Josh Banks, helped extend Asheville's lead out by eight with 1:31 remaining, and the Blue Hose were unable to battle back.
Solomon was the second-highest scorer on the day for Asheville with 18 points, going 8-15 from the field, 2-2 from the free throw line, and added seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and a steal to his stat line. Banks finished with 16 points, going 4-8 from the field, 3-4 from 3-point range, and 5-7 from the charity stripe. Fletcher Abee led Asheville in the first half with 10 points and three triples and finished the game with 16 points, going 5-7 from 3-point range.
BULLDOG LEADERBOARD
- Asheville is No. 12 in the nation in scoring offense, as the Bulldogs average 85.9 points per game.
- The Bulldogs are No. 1 in the league in eight separate categories:
- Assist/turnover ratio: 1.40
- Assists per game: 15.2
- Blocks per game: 3.9
- Fastbreak Points: 14.00
- Field goal percentage: 48.7% (No. 31 in nation)
- Scoring offense: 85.9 (No. 12 in nation)
- Three-point percentage defense: 30.6%
- Three-pointers per game: 8.6
- Entering Saturday's contest, Asheville checks in at No. 2 in the Big South and No. 106 in the nation in toughest schedule.
- As a team, Asheville has shot over 50% from the field in nine different games, with the highest field goal percentage in the season being .611 vs. St. Andrews.
- Jordan Marsh leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.4 points per game. In the Big South, he is No. 1 in free throw percentage (.873), No. 2 in scoring, and No. 4 in assists per game (4.0). He leads the team with 25 steals and 68 assists.
- Josh Banks follows with 15.5 points per game. He is No. 1 in the league in 3-pointers per game with 2.9 and No. 2 behind Abee in 3-point field goal percentage with a .426.
- Toyaz Solomon is averaging 15.1 points per game. He is No. 2 in the league in field goal percentage (.609). He leads the team with 7.6 rebounds per game and 22 blocks.
- Fletcher Abee is the fourth Bulldog averaging double-figures with 11.3 points a game. Abee leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage (.446) and is second in the Big South, averaging 2.8 3-pointers a game.
- Kameron Taylor is averaging 9.1 points a game and is third on the team with 4.1 rebounds a game.
- Greg Gantt Jr. averages 5.9 rebounds a game, 4.3 points per game, and is second on the team with 52 assists and 21 steals.
SCOUTING USC UPSTATE
- Dean Mister leads the Spartans, averaging 15.9 points a game and 5.3 rebounds per game. The freshman has earned Big South Freshman of the Week honors four times this season. He also leads the team in steals (35) and blocks (10).
- Carmelo Adkins is Upstate's second-leading scorer with 10.6 points per game. He is second on the team, averaging 4.6 rebounds.
- Brit Harris is the final spartan, averaging double figures with 10.4 points a game.
- Karmani Gregory is Upstate's assist leader with 64.
CONFERENCE RIVALRY
- Saturday marks the 28th matchup between the Bulldogs and Spartans, with their first matchup dating back to the 1970-71 season.
- Asheville holds an 18-9 series lead over Upstate.
- Last season, Asheville defeated Upstate both times the teams played. The Bulldogs beat the Spartans 95-67 in Kimmel Arena and 77-64 at the G.B. Hodge Center.
- Since 2010, Asheville has a 6-2 home record against USC Upstate and a 7-3 conference record.
- The Bulldogs are 7-3 in their last 10 matchups against the Spartans.
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
|
2024-25 Season |
Asheville |
USC Upstate |
| Scoring Offense | 85.9 | 75.2 |
| Scoring Defense | 76.0 | 81.4 |
| Scoring Margin | 9.9 | -6.2 |
| FG Percentage | .487 | .456 |
| FG Pct. Defense | .439 | .471 |
| 3PT Percentage | .360 | .296 |
| FT Percentage | .702 | .694 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 36.5 | 35.6 |
| Assists Per Game | 15.2 | 12.8 |
| Steals Per Game | 7.1 | 7.3 |
| Blocks Per Game | 3.9 | 2.4 |
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