University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Winthrop
GAME PREVIEW: Men’s Basketball Hosts Winthrop on Saturday
01.17.2025 | Men's Basketball
GAME DETAILS
- UNC Asheville (12-6, 3-1) vs. Winthrop (13-7, 3-2)
- Saturday, January 18, 2025
- 2 p.m.
- Asheville, N.C. || Kimmel Arena
- ESPN+ (Matt Stradley, play-by-play; Coty Jude, analyst)
- Listen: Bulldog Radio Network (570 WWNC) | (Brian Hall, play-by-play; Mike Gore, analyst)
- Live Stats
- Tickets
- Gameday Central
- Game Sponsor: Chick-fil-A
- Promotions: AVL Day- Throughout the game, we'll celebrate the heart and spirit of Asheville by highlighting the vibrant culture, unique qualities and resilience of our university, local businesses and community members. Use the promo code "AVLDAY" for single game tickets starting at $15 for adults, $10 for seniors (65+), $10 for groups (10+) and $5 for youth. Bring your local organization's sticker and add it to our AVL sign as you enter the arena.
- UNC Asheville Athletics will continue to collect canned food items through Feb. 12. If the Bulldogs collect more canned food items than USC Upstate, Asheville will receive a point in the Ingles I-26 Rivalry.
LAST TIME OUT
Josh Banks, Toyaz Solomon and Jordan Marsh combined for 61 points, with Marsh's final point being the game-winning free throw, as UNC Asheville defeated USC Upstate 93-92 Wednesday evening in an electric Kimmel Arena.
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 equalizing 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.
BULLDOG LEADERBOARD
- Following Wednesday night's game, Asheville cracked the top 10 in the nation in scoring offense at No. 9, averaging 86.3 points per game.
- The Bulldogs are No. 1 in the league in nine separate categories:
- Assist/turnover ratio: 1.45 (No. 49 in nation)
- Assists per game: 15.3
- Blocks per game: 3.9
- Effective field goal percentage: 0.554 (No. 46 in nation)
- Field goal percentage: 48.5% (No. 33 in nation)
- Scoring offense: 86.3 (No. 9 in nation)
- Three-point percentage defense: 31.2%
- Three-pointers per game: 8.8
- Turnover margin: 3.1 (No. 39 in nation)
- 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 16.7 points per game, as well as in assists (73) and steals (25).
- Josh Banks follows with 15.9 points per game. He is No. 1 in the league in 3-pointers per game with 2.88.
- Toyaz Solomon averages 15.2 points per game and leads the team with 7.6 rebounds per game and 25 blocks. He is No. 1 in the league in blocks per game with 1.39.
- Fletcher Abee is the fourth Bulldog averaging double-figures with 11.2 points a game. Abee is No. 2 in the league behind Banks in 3-pointers per game (2.82) and is No. 2 in total 3-point field goals (48).
- Kameron Taylor is averaging 9.1 points a game and is third on the team with 4.2 rebounds a game.
- Greg Gantt Jr. averages 5.9 rebounds a game, 4.4 points per game, and is second on the team with 56 assists and 24 steals.
SCOUTING WINTHROP
- The Eagles enter Saturday's contest following a 102-97 triple-overtime win against Charleston Southern this past Wednesday.
- After opening conference play with a win over Upstate, the Eagles dropped back-to-back contests on the road against Radford and Gardner-Webb before rebounding with home victories over Longwood and Charleston Southern.
- The Eagles are 1-6 when playing on the road.
- Winthrop leads the nation in free throws made per game at 20.6 and free throw attempts at 31.2.
- Kelton Talford, the current reigning Big South Conference Player of the Week, is No. 1 in the league and No. 14 in the nation in field goal percentage (61.6), No. 1 in the league, and No. 9 in the nation in free throw attempts (135) and No. 1 in the league and No. 17 in offensive rebounds per game with 3.50. He leads Winthrop with 15.2 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game.
- K.J. Doucet is averaging 14.3 points per game and leads the team with a .375 3-point shooting percentage.
- Kasen Harrison averages 13.8 points per game and leads the team with 76 assists and 28 steals.
- Nick Johnson is the final Eagle averaging double figures with 12.5 points per game. He leads the team with a .724 free throw percentage and is second on the team with 25 steals.
CONFERENCE RIVALRY
- Saturday marks the 89th matchup between the Bulldogs and Eagles, with their first matchup dating back to the 1984-85 season.
- Winthrop holds a 48-40 series lead over Asheville.
- Asheville has won its last three matchups with Winthrop as the Bulldogs defeated Winthrop 82-78 at Kimmel Arena on Feb. 3 last year, and the Bulldogs earned their first victory in Rock Hill since the 2020-21 season with an 82-77 win on ESPNU.
- Dating back to 1988, Asheville has a 22-16 home record against Winthrop.
- The Bulldogs are 4-6 in their last 10 matchups with Winthrop.
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
|
2024-25 Season |
Asheville |
Winthrop |
| Scoring Offense | 86.3 | 85.8 |
| Scoring Defense | 76.9 | 76.9 |
| Scoring Margin | 9.4 | 8.9 |
| FG Percentage | .485 | .465 |
| FG Pct. Defense | .446 | .424 |
| 3PT Percentage | .364 | .311 |
| FT Percentage | .695 | .660 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 36.4 | 40.3 |
| Assists Per Game | 15.3 | 12.0 |
| Steals Per Game | 7.1 | 8.6 |
| Blocks Per Game | 3.9 | 3.6 |
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