University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
18-7,9-2Big South
USC Upstate
5-22,1-11Big South
Strong Second Half Lifts Asheville to 92-85 Road Victory at Upstate
02.12.2025 | Men's Basketball
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After being tied at 42 following the first 20 minutes of action, the UNC Asheville men's basketball team outscored USC Upstate 50-43 in the second half to win 92-85 in the G.B. Hodge Center Wednesday night.
INGLES I-26 RIVALRY
With Wednesday's win, men's basketball sweeps the regular-season series with USC Upstate and finishes with six points toward the Ingles I-26 Rivalry. The two teams are tied at 12-12 in the competition.
ROAD WARRIORS
Asheville leads the league alongside High Point for the most Big South Conference road victories this season with four. Both teams hold a 4-2 road record in league play.
SECOND HALF MARSH
After not scoring in the first half, Jordan Marsh dropped 27 points in the second frame, the most points scored by a Bulldog since Josh Banks scored 30 against App State on Dec. 21, 2023. Marsh went 6-15 from the field, 3-7 from 3-point distance, and 12-14 from the free throw line. He added six rebounds, three assists, and two steals to his stat line.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Toyaz Solomon grabbed his fifth double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 boards. Solomon led the team with 17 points at the end of the first half and finished the game going 8-14 from the field and 6-10 from the charity stripe. Solomon added two blocks to his stat line.
Our @JaniKingClean "Cleaning the Glass" Player of the Game tonight is Toyaz Solomon, with 11 rebounds!
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) February 13, 2025
Solomon's 11 boards went along with 22 points for his fifth double-double this season! #ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/Krvg0yNu37
BANKING ON IT
Josh Banks finished with 14 points, going 3-8 from the field, 1-6 from three-point range, and was a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe. Banks added eight rebounds and two assists to his night.
AB33
Fletcher Abee was the final Bulldog to score in double figures as he finished with 11 points and had three 3-pointers. Abee now has 189 triples in his Asheville career.
ROUNDING OUT THE DOGS
Kameron Taylor finished with nine points and five rebounds, Greg Gantt Jr. had eight rebounds and four points, Jemal Davis had two points and two boards, and Connor Dubsky had three points.
FREE THROWS HELP SECURE VICTORY FOR BULLDOGS
The Spartans finished with a slightly higher field goal percentage than Asheville, but Asheville's success at the charity stripe proved to be a difference-maker in Wednesday's contest. The Bulldogs and Spartans both finished the first half 3-4 from the free throw line, but it was a different story in the second half as Asheville went 22-27 and Upstate went 7-15 from the charity stripe.
ROUND ONE
Solomon scored the opening and closing points of Wednesday's first half, opening the game with a putback basket. The Bulldogs worked their lead out to seven points, following a jump shot from the paint by Jemal Davis (16-9), but nearly six minutes later, the Spartans evened the score at 26 and went on to take the lead. The Bulldogs did not move back out in front for the remainder of the opening half, but Asheville did not allow Upstate to extend their lead by more than four points. With 1:28 to go in the half, Solomon sank a free throw to bring Upstate's lead down to two, and a layup from Taylor evened the score at 40. Upstate worked its lead back out to two before a jumper from Solomon tied the game at 42 to end the half.
Kam with a big layup!#ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/N3gZ9qHJ0k
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) February 13, 2025
ROUND TWO
Marsh opened the second half with his first points of the night, scoring six of Asheville's first nine points of the frame. The two teams would go back and forth over the opening nine minutes of action, with neither team leading by more than two points. Tied at 62 with 10:26 to go, Marsh hit a 3-pointer but was quickly answered by a 3-pointer from Upstate. This, however, would be the last tie of the game as Marsh responded with a layup, and Asheville remained in the lead for the rest of the night.
Jordan Marsh 🥶 he now has 25 points tonight!#ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/3XqDSuHKJs
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) February 13, 2025
The game featured 12 lead changes and 15 ties, with Asheville holding the lead for most of the contest (23:23).
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs advance to 18-7 and 9-2 in league play following Wednesday's victory. Asheville will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 15, as the Bulldogs welcome Charleston Southern to Kimmel Arena for Homecoming. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. following the women's game at 2 p.m.
