University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
8-12,2-4Big South
Winthrop
13-8,5-1Big South
Taylor’s 26 Leads Bulldogs’ Comeback Attempt in Narrow Loss to Winthrop
01.17.2026 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's basketball team came up just short Saturday afternoon, falling 69–67 to Winthrop in a tightly contested Big South matchup in Kimmel Arena.
Sophomore Kameron Taylor paced all scorers with 26 points and added six rebounds. Taylor extends his 20-points-or-more scoring streak to six, as he averages 23.5 points per game in league play.
Toyaz Solomon followed with 20 points while leading the Bulldogs with seven rebounds and two blocks. With his first block of the game, Solomon reached 100 career blocks as a Bulldog and now sits No. 10 in program history.
Justin Wright rounded out Asheville's double-figure scorers with 14 points, while also leading the team with four assists and four steals. Wright extended his double-digit scoring streak to 16 games. Sage Tolentino pulled down six rebounds, while Daniel Thomas matched Solomon with two blocks.
The Bulldogs trailed by eight at halftime but put together a strong second-half effort, outscoring the Eagles 42–36 after the break and cutting the deficit to two in the final minute.
Winthrop held an 11-point lead with 6:15 remaining before a jumper in the paint from Solomon sparked a late Bulldogs run. Taylor followed with a jumper of his own to trim the deficit to seven (63–56). Out of the final media timeout, Asheville knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a four-point game (65–61). With 1:18 remaining, Wright scored off a turnover, then added another layup off a turnover with 36 seconds left to pull Asheville within two. Winthrop was unable to score on its ensuing possession but ran enough time off the clock to prevent the Bulldogs from getting a final scoring opportunity before the buzzer.
Solomon scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half, Taylor added 13 after the break, and Wright chipped in 10, as the trio accounted for 40 of Asheville's 42 second-half points.
After shooting just 25.8 percent from the field in the first half, the Bulldogs improved to 45.2 percent in the second. Asheville finished the game shooting 35.5 percent overall, edging Winthrop's 34.6 percent mark. The Eagles built much of their early lead at the free-throw line, going 24-of-30, compared to Asheville's 18-of-25. Winthrop also connected on nine three-pointers, while the Bulldogs made five.
UNC Asheville moves to 8–12 overall and 2–4 in Big South play, while Winthrop improves to 13–8 and 5–1 in the league.
The Bulldogs return to action Wednesday (Jan. 21), traveling to USC Upstate for a 6 p.m. tip in the first meeting of the winter I-26 Rivalry.
