University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Wednesday, November 19
Cullowhee, NC
7:30 PM
UNC Asheville
at
Western Carolina
GAME PREVIEW: Asheville Travels to Western Carolina for Mountain Rivalry
11.18.2025 | Men's Basketball
GAME DETAILS
- Game 5
- UNC Asheville (2-2) vs Western Carolina (2-2)
- Wednesday, November 19, 2025
- 7:30 p.m.
- Cullowhee, N.C.
- ESPN+
- Radio
- Live Stats
- Tickets
MOUNTAIN RIVALRY HISTORY
- Division I History
- Wednesday marks the 59th matchup between the two programs, with Western Carolina holding a 25-33 record.
- Asheville won last year's contest in Kimmel Arena 78-61 and has won three of the previous four contests against WCU.
- Since 1986, Asheville is 5-13 in Cullowhee.
- In the last 10 matchups, Western leads 4-6.
WEEK TWO RECAP
- Asheville went 2-0 last week inside Kimmel Arena, and the Bulldogs moved to 2-2 on the season.
- The Bulldogs defeated Lipscomb 69-64 in Asheville's Home Opener on Nov. 11. Justin Wright led the way, matching his career high in made three-pointers and scoring 20 of his 29 points in the second half. He was 10-for-15 from the field and perfect from the free-throw line. Kameron Taylor contributed 16 points (11 in the second half), grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out five assists. The team shot 50% from the field, 6-for-17 from deep, 5-for-24 from free throws, and scored 32 points in the paint. The Bulldogs led throughout the first half, extended the lead to double digits at one point, but Lipscomb fought back, and the second half featured 12 lead changes and six ties. Asheville, however, did not allow Lipscomb to lead by more than three points. With 1:51 remaining and down by one, Wright completed a three-point play to take the lead, then hit two free throws with 13 seconds left to extend the margin to four. After a final Lipscomb dunk, Taylor sealed the win with three free throws in the final seconds.
- On Nov. 13, Asheville beat Bryan 92-54. The Bulldogs built a large lead early and never let go. They opened on a 9–0 run, led 57-14 at halftime, and at one point extended the lead to 52 points with 12:33 left in the game. Five players scored in double figures, led by Connor Dubsky, who scored 15 points, all three-pointers, from off the bench. Myles Mayfield and Toyaz Solomon each scored 13 points; Solomon also had six rebounds and two steals. Julian Clarke scored a career-high 12 points– all on three-pointers. Kameron Taylor rounded out the Bulldogs in double-figures with 10 points, and Justin Wright matched a career-high eight assists while adding eight points, four rebounds, and three steals in only 12 minutes of action. Asheville shot 31-of-65 from the field, 11-of-32 from 3-point range, forced 23 turnovers, and turned them into 32 points.
BULLDOG STAT LEADERS
- Justin Wright leads the Big South in field goal percentage (.634) and free throw percentage (18-of-18). Wright is one of 43 players in the country who are perfect from the charity stripe this season.
- Kameron Taylor is Asheville's second leading scorer with 16 points per game. He is followed by Connor Dubsky, who scored 15 points in his lone game of the season thus far, and Toyaz Solomon is averaging 11.8 points per game.
- Solomon is leading the team in rebounds with 7.2 a game.
A LOOK AT THE CATAMOUNTS
- Western Carolina is 2-2 with wins over Voorhees on Nov. 13 and Stetson on Nov. 16. The Catamounts opened the season with losses to Cincinnati and Duke.
- Western's Marcus Kell was named to the Preseason All-Southern Conference team. Last season, he scored 352 points and averaged 11.7 points per game, rising to 14.7 in conference play. Through four games, Kell is averaging 13 points per game and 6.3 rebounds.
- Julien Soumaoro is leading the Catamounts, averaging 16.3 points per game and leading the team with 14 triples.
- Cord Stansberry is the third Catamount averaging double-figures with 13 points per game.
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
| 2025-26 Season | Asheville | WCU |
| Scoring Offense | 77.2 | 72.0 |
| Scoring Defense | 71.5 | 74.5 |
| Scoring Margin | 5.8 | -2.5 |
| FG Percentage | .485 | .415 |
| FG Pct. Defense | .430 | .424 |
| 3PT Percentage | .325 | .315 |
| FT Percentage | .738 | .691 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 35.8 | 41.0 |
| Assists Per Game | 11.0 | 14.5 |
| Turnovers Per Game | 14.5 | 16.3 |
| Steals Per Game | 7.5 | 8.5 |
| Blocks Per Game | 3.5 | 2.3 |
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Players Mentioned
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