University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
12-6,3-1Big South
USC Upstate
5-14,1-3Big South
Team Effort Leads Asheville to 93-92 Win Against Upstate
01.15.2025 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Josh Banks, Toyaz Solomon and Jordan Marsh combined for 61 points, with Marsh's final point of the night being the game-winning free throw, as UNC Asheville defeated USC Upstate 93-92 Wednesday evening in an electric Kimmel Arena.
Wednesday marked the first game that the entire UNC Asheville student body had the opportunity to attend following the University's return to classes for the 2025 spring semester. Following Helene, classes went virtual for the remainder of the fall semester, and students were not required to return to campus.
SHOUTOUT BLUE ZOO 🔵⚡️ pic.twitter.com/ICLTSnAkdu
— Asheville Athletics (@UNCAvlBulldogs) January 16, 2025
With 2:31 remaining in the game, Greg Gantt Jr. forced a turnover and connected for a layup to put the Bulldogs ahead by eight (89-81). The Spartans responded with a 6-0 run to bring the game within two points with 1:16 remaining. Marsh took a trip to the free throw line and extended Asheville's lead to four before a 3-pointer from Upstate brought the game within one (91-90). A free throw by Fletcher Abee gave Asheville a 2-point lead back before Upstate's Karmani Gregory stormed to Upstate's basket and sank an equalising layup with nine seconds left in the contest. Marsh inbounded the ball to Solomon, who immediately tossed it back to Marsh as he began to race against the clock down the court and drew a shooting foul with 1.2 seconds remaining. Marsh sank one of his two shots to give Asheville the 93-92 lead. With Upstate's final attempt to take the victory, the Spartans' inbound pass took the receiver out of bounds, and the Bulldogs were able to preserve its one-point victory.
Marsh finished the night with 21 points after only scoring four in the first half. He went 6-16 from the field and 4-6 from 3-point range, adding four rebounds and a team-high five assists.
Tonight's Ingles I-26 Rivalry game was Asheville's most back-and-forth game of the season, with 13 lead changes and 12 ties. Upstate got on the board first and quickly extended its lead to five with a 3-pointer to make the score 7-2. Kameron Taylor got Asheville in the lead with a driving layup right before the first media timeout, as Taylor drew a shooting foul. Taylor sank the extra basket out of the break to put Asheville ahead 12-10. Taylor finished the night with nine points and five rebounds.
ALL THE WAY KAM! #ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/Zl4jUWxCiJ
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) January 15, 2025
The Spartans regained the lead, extending it to four before the second media break, but back-to-back 3-pointers out of the timeout from Connor Dubsky and Banks helped Asheville back out in front by two (24-22). Neither team led or trailed by more than a possession up through the following media break. A free throw from Solomon gave Asheville a four-point lead with 6:36 remaining, and the Bulldogs remained ahead over the next five minutes, extending their lead out by as many as seven following a 3-pointer from Banks (44-37). With three minutes remaining in the half, Upstate went on a 12-2 run to enter the second half ahead 49-46.
Tonight marked the first game this season in which Asheville trailed at halftime and came back to win.
The two teams were back-and-forth to open the second frame, as back-to-back shots from Solomon and Banks (3-pointer) put Asheville ahead by two to kick off the second frame before the Spartans were able to retake the lead and extend it out to five (63-58).
A 3-pointer and free throw from Dubsky, followed by two free throws from Taylor, put Asheville ahead by one before Marsh sank a 3-pointer to extend Asheville's lead to four. Taylor's free throws would end up securing Asheville the lead for the remainder of the contest, as the Bulldogs never trailed for the remaining 12:28 of the game.
All eight Bulldogs on the court contributed to the team effort win. Banks led the way with 22 points and five rebounds. He was 7-15 from the field, 3-10 from 3-point range and 5-6 from the free throw line. Marsh was Asheville's second-leading scorer, and Solomon followed with 18 points, going 8-13 from the field and 2-4 from the charity stripe. He led the team with seven rebounds and recorded three assists and three blocks. Abee was the final Bulldog in double-digit scoring with 10 points, going 3-7 from 3-point range and adding four rebounds and two assists from his stat line.
Taylor followed Abee with nine points; Dubsky had seven points, going 2-4 from 3-point range; Gantt had six points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Jemal Davis had two rebounds.
Asheville took advantage of 12 Upstate turnovers as the Bulldogs outscored Upstate 17-8 following turnovers.
The Bulldogs are back in Kimmel Arena this Saturday, Jan. 18, as the Bulldogs take on the Winthrop Eagles at 2 p.m.
