University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
20-8,11-3Big South
Longwood
17-12,6-8Big South
Asheville Defeats Longwood in Thrilling Senior Day Victory
02.22.2025 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Josh Banks and Jordan Marsh combined for 59 points to lead the UNC Asheville men's basketball team to an 87-82 senior day victory over Longwood on Saturday.
Senior Day
Prior to Saturday's game, the program recognized the seven members of its senior class: Fletcher Abee, Josh Banks, Jemal Davis, Greg Gantt Jr., Toyaz Solomon, and student managers Will Glover and Elijah Sharrod.
So much love for these seniors 💙 pic.twitter.com/nHOvPI2snC
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) February 22, 2025
20-win Season
With Saturday's win, Asheville achieved its third consecutive 20-win season. This is just the second time in program history that Asheville has achieved 20 wins three years in a row, as the last time the program achieved this spanned from 2015-18. Asheville's 69 wins over the last three years are the most wins for the program in a three-year period.
An 87-82 senior day victory over the Lancers to give us our third consecutive 20-win season. 👏#ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/WOr5meZx9o
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) February 22, 2025
Protecting Home Court
Saturday's win improved the Bulldogs to 13-0 inside Kimmel Arena. The Bulldogs are one of 10 teams in the nation to be undefeated at home and one of five teams to have 13 wins or more on their home court.
Long Distance Shooting
Asheville's 14 3-pointers are the second-most triples in a game this season, as Asheville has reached 15 3-pointers on three separate occasions. The Bulldogs went 14-28 from 3-point range, with Banks, Marsh, and Fletcher Abee accounting for all of Asheville's three-pointers. The Bulldogs' .500 shooting percentage from behind the arc is the second-highest 3-point shooting percentage for Asheville this season.
Banks' Season-High
Banks scored a season-high 30 points and had a career-high 12 made field goals to lead the Bulldogs to victory. Banks was 6-9 from 3-point range with three of Banks' 3-pointers in the second half being equalizing baskets to tie the score three separate times.
Second Half Marsh
Both Banks and Marsh finished the first half with 15 points, but of the 14 points Marsh scored in the second half, six were to put the Bulldogs back in the lead three separate times, with his final basket with 38.6 seconds remaining, giving Asheville the lead for the rest of the contest. In the game's waning minutes, Longwood led by five points twice, with Marsh responding with a 3-pointer on each occasion to bring Longwood's lead down to two points. Marsh finished with 29 points, going 5-12 from 3-point range, 12-23 from the field and recording a game-high four steals.
Davis' Double-Digit Day
Jemal Davis was the third and final Bulldog to finish in double figures, scoring 10 points, with six of his points coming from the charity stripe. Davis' final points came from the free throw line, as he extended Asheville's lead to three points with 17 seconds remaining. Davis also led the team with seven rebounds.
Abee for Three!
Abee finished with nine points, all of which came from behind the 3-point arc. Abee now has 194 3-pointers as a Bulldog.
Solomon Lends a Hand
Toyaz Solomon recorded his fourth game this season as Asheville's assist leader, recording a team-high six dimes. Solomon added six rebounds, six points, and three blocks to his final stat line.
On the Court
There were 22 lead changes and 12 ties in an intense back-and-forth matchup between the Bulldogs and Lancers. Abee got the scoring started with a triple before Longwood answered with back-to-back baskets. Jemal Davis put Asheville back ahead with an old-fashioned 3-pointer before the Lancers responded right back with a 3-pointer of their own. Banks answered with a triple, and Longwood responded with a layup as the Lancers took a 10-9 lead into the first media break. Twelve of the first 19 points of the game came from 3-point range.
The two teams were back-and-forth once again before Longwood went on a 7-0 run leading up to the under-12 media break. Longwood led 19-13 with 11:13 remaining in the first half. The Lancers extended their lead out to seven before Asheville responded with a 7-0 run to even the score at 23. Marsh started the run with a jumper in the paint, followed by a layup and triple from Banks. Asheville was unable to move back into the lead but went on to tie the score three separate times over the next two minutes of action.
In the final six minutes of the first half, Asheville took a one-point lead three separate times but was unable to extend their lead out by more, as Longwood quickly answered each time with a basket to put the Lancers back ahead. With 1:29 to go, Longwood extended its lead out to four, the first two-possession lead by the Lancers in 7:26. With under a minute remaining, Banks sank his third triple of the game to bring Longwood's lead down to one, and Asheville trailed 40-41 to enter the second half. In the first half, there were 15 lead changes and six ties, with Longwood holding the lead for 12:08 and Asheville holding it for 4:50.
The momentum was in Asheville's favor to begin the second frame, as Marsh started the scoring and helped put the Bulldogs ahead by three (44-41). Back-to-back 3-pointers from Abee helped Asheville to its largest lead of the day at seven points (50-43). Neither team took a larger lead than seven for the entire game.
He liked it so much, he did it again!#ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/3D56qHZ49o
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) February 22, 2025
Longwood responded with a 10-2 run to take the lead 55-52. Banks evened the score at 55, but Longwood answered with a 3-pointer to regain a 3-point lead. Banks knotted the score again with a triple before a layup from Kameron Taylor put Asheville back out in front (60-58). The Bulldogs extended their lead out to four, but their lead would be short lived as Longwood went on to retake a 3-point lead with 8:29 remaining (62-65). Banks, once again, evened the score, and Davis helped Asheville back out in front.
With 6:06 remaining, Longwood regained the lead and held it over the next five minutes of play. With 38.6 seconds left, Marsh sank a pull up jumper to put the Bulldogs ahead, and Davis extended Asheville's lead with two free throws. Leading by three with six seconds remaining, Longwood's Angelo Brizzi was fouled and missed his first free throw before turning the ball over to Asheville following a lane violation. Asheville took advantage of this and Banks sealed Asheville's victory with a layup to score his 30th point of the day.
Marsh puts us ahead, and we head to a timeout with 38.6 to go!#ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/fYVx072kyn
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) February 22, 2025
Up next
Asheville moves to 20-8 and 11-3 in the Big South and will host Presbyterian for the Bulldogs' final home game in Kimmel Arena this season on Wednesday, February 26, at 6:30 p.m.
