University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Gardner-Webb
GAME PREVIEW: Asheville Welcomes Gardner-Webb to Kimmel Arena for Blue Out Game
01.28.2026 | Men's Basketball
GAME DETAILS
- Game 22
- UNC Asheville (9-12, 3-4) vs Gardner-Webb (3-19, 1-6)
- Thursday, January 29, 2026
- 6:30 p.m.
- Asheville, N.C. || Kimmel Arena
- ESPN+
- Radio
- Live Stats
- Tickets
- GameDay Central
- Game Sponsor: The Matt & Molly Team
BLUE OUT
Be one of the first 200 fans to tomorrow's game and score a free blue T-shirt. Fans are encouraged to show out in their best Bulldog Blue.
THIRSTY THURSDAY
Fans 21 and older can enjoy $2 off alcoholic beverages at the concession stands during tomorrow's game.
ASHEVILLE'S LAST TIME OUT
The UNC Asheville men's basketball team enters Thursday's contest following an eight-day break. In its last outing, the Bulldogs defeated USC Upstate, 83–69, on Wednesday, Jan. 21, extending Asheville's lead in the Ingles I-26 Rivalry.
Kameron Taylor led the Bulldogs with 27 points — his seventh straight 20-point performance — while Justin Wright added 20 points and six assists. Asheville shot 51.8 percent from the field and controlled the game from start to finish.
SOLOMON ON HIS WAY TO ANOTHER MILESTONE
Toyaz Solomon is on track to become just the 20th player in Big South history with 1,000 career points, 500 career rebounds, and 100 career blocked shots. He became the 39th player for UNC Asheville to score 1,000-points and is No. 10 in the program with 101 blocks. He enters this week with 474 career boards during his time at Asheville.
KAM'S CONFERENCE CONSISTENCY
Kameron Taylor is the only player to score at least 20 points in every Big South game this season (21-21-24-27-22-26-27 = 168 points in seven games). His 24.0 points per conference contest rank second in the league, and he leads the Big South with 11 games of 20-plus points this season.
WRIGHT ON TARGET
Justin Wright has started and appeared in all 21 games this season, scoring in double figures in 19 contests. He is currently on a 17-game streak of double-digit scoring performances and is averaging 18.1 points per game in conference play.
DJ FROM THREE
DJ Patrick is the final Bulldog averaging double-figures with 10.3 points per game. Patrick leads the team with 48 triples–19 in league play. Patrick leads the Big South in 3-point percentage at 40.7% and is No. 44 in the country in this category.
MORRELL ON THE CLIMB
Head Coach Mike Morrell is currently 15th all-time in Big South history with 125 overall wins, and needs two victories to move into a tie for 14th.
PUTTING IN THE MINUTES
Asheville accounts for four of the conference's top six players in minutes played per game, led by Patrick with 34:14, followed by Taylor with 34:07, Wright in fourth with 31:36 and Solomon with 31:12.
TEAMMATE TWENTY
Asheville leads the league with eight games of two-or-more teammates scoring at least 20 points.
- Nov. 8: Wright (33), Taylor (29)
- Nov. 25: Taylor (23), Solomon (21), Wright (20)
- Dec. 10: Solomon (31), Wright (26)
- Jan. 3: Solomon (34), Wright (22), Taylor (21)
- Jan. 10: Taylor (27), Patrick (24)
- Jan. 14: Wright (26), Taylor (22)
- Jan. 17: Taylor (26), Solomon (20)
- Jan. 21: Taylor (27), Wright (20)
A LOOK AT GARDNER-WEBB
Gardner-Webb enters the matchup coming off its first Big South win of the season, edging USC Upstate 67–65 at home on Friday, January 23. The Runnin' Bulldogs sealed the victory on a late floater by sophomore guard Colin Hawkins with three seconds remaining, capping a tightly contested game that featured 10 ties and 10 lead changes.
Sophomore forward Jacob Hogarth leads Gardner-Webb offensively, averaging 11.0 points per game while shooting better than 57 percent from the field. He also tops the team on the glass at 7.4 rebounds per contest and recorded his fifth double-double of the season in the win over USC Upstate. Freshman Spence Sims ranks second on the team in scoring at 10.4 points per game and has earned Big South Freshman of the Week honors five times this season.
As a team, Gardner-Webb is shooting 42 percent from the floor and 31 percent from three-point range. The Runnin' Bulldogs average 68.5 points per game while allowing 87.8 points per contest and have been out-rebounded by opponents, 39.5–31.5, on average this season.
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
| 2025-26 Season | Asheville | Gardner-Webb |
| Scoring Offense | 74.6 | 68.5 |
| Scoring Defense | 73.0 | 87.8 |
| Scoring Margin | 1.6 | -19.4 |
| FG Percentage | .461 | .417 |
| FG Pct. Defense | .446 | .501 |
| 3PT Percentage | .363 | .305 |
| FT Percentage | .700 | .706 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 35.3 | 31.5 |
| Assists Per Game | 11.2 | 10.2 |
| Turnovers Per Game | 12.9 | 14.2 |
| Steals Per Game | 5.8 | 6.1 |
| Blocks Per Game | 2.9 | 2.4 |
SERIES HISTORY
Thursday marks the 64th matchup between Asheville and Gardner-Webb, with their first game dating back to the 1970-71 season, where Asheville won 74-65. Gardner-Webb holds a 37-26 lead over Asheville. Since 2009, Asheville holds a 20-12 Big South series lead over GWU and an 11-5 home record against the Runnin' Bulldogs. Asheville is 5-5 in its last 10 games against Gardner-Webb.
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