GAME PREVIEW: UNC Asheville Hosts St. Thomas in Kimmel Arena

GAME DETAILS

LAST TIME OUT FOR ASHEVILLE

UNC Asheville battled into overtime on Wednesday (Dec. 10) before falling 90–87 to Miami (OH). The Bulldogs ended regulation on a 13–2 run to force the extra period, highlighted by a career night from Toyaz Solomon, who posted 31 points on 11 made field goals and five threes.
Three additional Bulldogs reached double figures—Justin Wright (26), DJ Patrick (12), and Myles Mayfield (10)—marking the fourth straight game with four Asheville players scoring 10-plus points.
Asheville shot 48.4% from the field (30-of-62), 45.5% from deep (10-of-22), and 77.3% at the line (17-of-22). Miami countered with 50% shooting, 38.5% from three, and 75% at the stripe, placing five players in double figures to improve to 9–0.

BULLDOGS PUTTING IN THE MINUTES

Asheville has four of the top five players averaging the most minutes per game in the league, with DJ Patrick leading the way (33:34), followed by Kameron Taylor (32:43), Toyaz Solomon (32:20), and Justin Wright in fifth, averaging 31:37.
Solomon played all 40 minutes in last Saturday's game against NC State, joining Patrick, who has seen every minute in two contests so far this season. The last Bulldog to play an entire contest before Solomon and Patrick was Tajion Jones against Campbell in the Big South Conference Championship in 2023.

ASHEVILLE THROUGH TEN

Wright, Solomon, and Taylor have started all 10 games this season, with Myles Mayfield and Julian Clarke appearing in all 10 as well. Mayfield has started eight contests, while Clarke has been the first sub off the bench five times.
Wright leads the Bulldogs in scoring (18.3 ppg) and steals (17). Solomon follows with 17.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 11 blocks. Taylor is averaging 16.2 points and a team-high 32 assists. Patrick adds 10.9 points per game and leads Asheville with 20 made threes.
Patrick also leads the Big South in three-point percentage (.455), ranking No. 34 nationally.
Taylor stands No. 1 in the league and Top 100 nationally in both free throw attempts (65) and free throws made (46).
Wright and Solomon rank second and third in the league, respectively, in total points and scoring average, with both inside the national top 100.
As a team, Asheville is No. 1 in the Big South and No. 31 nationally in three-point percentage (.384).

A LOOK AT THE TOMMIES

St. Thomas enters Saturday's contest after facing former Division III foe St. John's last night (Dec. 11), with the Tommies winning 80-56.
This is the first season that St. Thomas is postseason-tournament-eligible after transitioning to NCAA Division I. The Tommies are a member of the Summit League.
ST. Thomas' Nolan Minessale was named the Summit League Preseason Player of the Year. Minessale, a sophomore, is leading the Summit League and is among the top of the nation in field goals with 83 (No. 3 in nation), points with 233 (No. 4), and points per game with 21.2 (No. 11). Minessale is No. 34 in the nation and No. 2 in the league in free throws (56) and free throw attempts (70). He is No. 2 in the league and No. 12 in the nation in field goal attempts with 155. Minessale is also the team's top ball handler, ranked in the top 100 nationally in assists (47) and second in the league at 4.3 assists per game.
As a team, the Tommies are leading the Summit League in eight categories:
- Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.64 (No. 36 in nation)
- Assists Per Game: 16.5 (No. 79 in nation)
- Effective FG PCT: 0.555 (No. 71 in nation)
- Fastbreak Points: 12.82
- Field goal percentage: 48.1 (No. 75 in nation)
- Fouls per game: 15.5 (No. 39 in nation)
- Three-point attempts per game: 28.5 (No. 55 in nation)
- Turnovers per game: 10.1 (No. 42 in nation)

STATISTICAL COMPARISON

THE BULLDOGS IN DECEMBER

Kids (K-12 and younger) will receive free entry for all home non-conference basketball games for the remainder of December.
The men's basketball team opens Big South Conference play on New Year's Eve (Dec. 31) against High Point. Kids (K-12 and younger) can receive free entry into this game ONLY if they attended a previous non-conference game in December. The non-conference games will have a coupon provided when a youth ticket is claimed to get a free ticket for the Dec. 31 conference opener. Free tickets will not be distributed at the box office on Dec. 31 without the coupon. Tickets to that game can be purchased here.

BULLDOGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

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University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics