Asheville Battles Past Longwood 79-74 in ESPNU Showdown

FARMVILLE, Va. – Behind three 20-point performances from Toyaz Solomon, Justin Wright and Kameron Taylor, the UNC Asheville men's basketball team earned a 79-74 road victory over Longwood Thursday night in an ESPNU Wildcard showdown.

20-Point Performances

Solomon and Wright led the way with 24 points apiece, while Taylor added 22. Solomon and Wright each made eight field goals, with Solomon shooting 2-for-4 from 3-point range and Wright going 3-for-6. Solomon finished 6-for-11 at the free throw line, while Wright was a perfect 5-for-5.

Taylor shot 9-of-19 from the field, including two 3-pointers, and added two made free throws.

Solomon Reaches Career Milestone

With his fourth rebound of the night, Solomon recorded his 500th career rebound, becoming just the 20th player in Big South Conference history to reach 1,000 career points, 100 blocks, and 500 rebounds. He also became the 110th member of the league's 500-rebound club.

Solomon closed the night with a season-high 13 rebounds, including seven offensive boards.

1,000 points.
500 rebounds.
100 blocks.@UNCAvlMBB's Toyaz Solomon becomes the 20th player in Big South history to join the 1,000-500-100 Club!#BigSouthMBB🏀 pic.twitter.com/iyPj4yMw8D
— Big South Conference (@BigSouthSports) February 13, 2026

Late First-Half Rally

The Lancers opened on a 7-0 run before back-to-back baskets from Wright put the Bulldogs on the board. A driving layup from Solomon gave Asheville a brief 9-8 lead, but Longwood answered with a surge to take a 23-13 advantage.

Over the final 10 minutes of the half, Asheville chipped away at the deficit. A tip-in layup from Solomon with seven seconds remaining gave the Bulldogs a 37-36 lead heading into halftime.

Asheville shot 50 percent from the field (16-for-32) in the opening frame, while Longwood shot 45.2 percent (14-of-31). Both teams converted 50 percent from the free throw line. The Bulldogs hit three 3-pointers, while the Lancers went 4-of-14 from beyond the arc.

OH. That's tough 😮‍💨@UNCAvlMBB leads Longwood at the half, 37-36, thanks to this put-back from @toyazsolomon1!#BigSouthMBB🏀 | 📺 ESPNU pic.twitter.com/HDTB43jbqr
— Big South Conference (@BigSouthSports) February 13, 2026

Strong Start to the Second Half

Asheville opened the second half on an 8-0 run, sparked by a layup from Taylor and back-to-back 3-pointers from Solomon. Less than two minutes into the frame, Myles Mayfield extended the lead to double digits with a basket following a steal by Wright.

After Longwood trimmed the margin to single digits, a 3-pointer from Taylor, followed by a triple from Wright and a layup from Taylor, capped a 21-point stretch that featured four made 3-pointers and gave Asheville a 17-point lead with 16:10 to play (58-41).

KT with the rebound and the basket and we take a 17 point lead here in Farmville! #ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/i02h6a06A1
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) February 13, 2026

Longwood Battles Back

Out of the first media timeout of the half, Longwood responded with a 19-1 run to reclaim a 60-59 lead. During the surge, the Bulldogs were held without a field goal for more than eight minutes, with Solomon's free throw at the 14:52 mark accounting for Asheville's lone point in the run.

Bulldogs Secure the Win

The final 6:13 featured three ties and seven lead changes before Wright converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 1:34 remaining to give Asheville the lead for good. Wright scored seven of the Bulldogs' final nine points, including the final five from the free throw line to seal the nationally televised victory.

AND ONE 😤#ALLinAVL #IWWD pic.twitter.com/dIKcw57GZ0
— Asheville Basketball (@UNCAvlMBB) February 13, 2026

By the Numbers

Asheville shot 45.9% from the field (28-of-61), 42.1% from 3-point range (8-of-19) and 75% from the free throw line (15-of-20). The Lancers shot 44.1% from the field, 34.6% from beyond the arc and 59.1% from the line. Longwood entered the contest as the league leader in free-throw percentage at 74.2%.

The Bulldogs held advantages in points off turnovers (19-14), points in the paint (32-28), second-chance points (11-9) and fast-break points (8-6). Asheville recorded six steals — four by Wright — and four blocks, with Solomon, Thomas, Taylor and DJ Patrick each tallying one. Wright led the team with five assists, followed by Taylor with three.

Up Next

With the win, Asheville improves to 12-13 overall and 6-5 in Big South Conference play. The Bulldogs return home Saturday, Feb. 14, to host Presbyterian at 2 p.m. inside Kimmel Arena.

Saturday's Valentine's Day matchup will feature the K9s in Flight Frisbee Dogs halftime show, a chapstick giveaway, mental health awareness recognition and the final day to donate canned goods for the Ingles I-26 Rivalry food drive benefiting Eblen Charities.

Following Saturday's contest, Asheville has two home games remaining: Feb. 21 at 4:30 p.m. against Radford as part of the Homecoming doubleheader (women's basketball tips at 2 p.m.), and Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m. versus Charleston Southern.

To purchase tickets for the final home games, click here.