University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
2-4,0-0Big South
Tennessee State
3-3,0-0OVC
Men’s Basketball Falls to Tennessee State
11.25.2025 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Asheville suffered just its fourth loss in four years inside Kimmel Arena as the Bulldogs fell to Tennessee State 75-73 Tuesday night in Kimmel Arena.
The Bulldogs led 40–34 at halftime and shot 58.1% from the field, while the Tigers shot 43.9%, but 23 turnovers proved costly as TSU surged late to escape with the two-point win.
Kameron Taylor, Toyaz Solomon and Justin Wright each reached the 20-point mark with Taylor scoring 23 points, Solomon recording 21 points and Wright finishing with 20 points. Taylor was 8-of-13 from the field, including 2-for-2 from long range while adding three blocks. Solomon led the team with nine rebounds. Wright led the team with three steals and went 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
Asheville controlled much of the opening half by shooting 13-of-19 from the field and 4-of-5 from 3-point range. The Bulldogs earned its largest lead of the half at 38–29 following a 3-pointer from DJ Patrick. Asheville went into the second half with a six-point lead after the Tigers hit a triple with five seconds left in the half.
In the second frame, the Bulldogs earned their largest lead of the night following a 3-pointer from Wright with 12:41 to put Asheville ahead 53-42. The Tigers caught momentum after falling to their largest deficit, and responded by going on an 11-0 run to tie the score at 53. The rest of the contest remained within one possession, until TSU took a 5-point lead with 1:38 to go. The Bulldogs were able to work their way back into the lead with nine seconds remaining, after a steal and layup from Taylor (73-72). With the Bulldogs up by one, the Tigers raced the ball down the court, and Tennessee State's Dante Harris was fouled with 1.1 seconds remaining while shooting a 3-pointer. Harris went on to sink all three shots from the charity stripe to secure the victory for TSU.
Asheville finished the night 25-for-43 from the field (58.1%), 5-for-9 from long distance (55.6%) and 18-for-28 at the line. Tennessee State outscored Asheville 28-20 off turnovers, 40-30 in the paint, 15-6 off second chance shots, 19-14 off fast breaks and 19-1 off the bench.
The Bulldogs are back in action on Sunday (Nov. 30), as Asheville takes on App State at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Downtown Asheville at 1:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.
