GAME PREVIEW: Asheville Hosts Charleston Southern in Regular-Season Finale

GAME DETAILS

Game 30
UNC Asheville (14-15, 8-7) vs Charleston Southern (14-16, 5-10)
Saturday, Feb. 28
2 p.m.
Kimmel Arena || Asheville, N.C.
ESPN+
Live Stats
Radio
Tickets
Game Sponsor: MB Haynes
Gameday Central
History

SENIOR DAY

Prior to Saturday's game, the men's basketball program will honor its senior members: Toyaz Solomon, Justin Wright, DJ Patrick, David Hermes, and Rasheed Baldwin.

The ceremony will begin at 1:40 p.m.

KIDS ZONE

Kids' tickets are $1.50 for Saturday's game.

There will be a Kids Zone, postgame autographs, and a photo opportunity with Rocky. The Children's Entrepreneur Market will be set up on the concourse, the Bouncing Blackhawks will perform at halftime, and the Carolina Day Choir will sing the national anthem.

Kids-Zone-0228

BLUE ZOO

For Asheville students, Rocky's Rally House will be open from 12:45–1:45 p.m., with the first 150 students receiving a free burrito. Students 21+ who show a valid ID will receive two free drinks.

Student organizations will also be recognized in-game.

LAST TIME OUT

Asheville closed out its regular-season road slate with a 77–71 victory at Gardner-Webb on Thursday night. The Bulldogs erased a three-point halftime deficit by outscoring the Runnin' Bulldogs 43–34 in the second half.

Kameron Taylor led the way with 24 points — 17 coming after the break — along with eight rebounds and five assists. Toyaz Solomon added 19 points and eight boards, while Justin Wright (16) and DJ Patrick (14) combined for seven 3-pointers.

Asheville dominated the glass, outrebounding Gardner-Webb 39–23 and holding a 20–8 edge in second-chance points.

With just over six minutes remaining, Wright tied the score at 61 following a steal by Patrick, swinging the momentum. Moments later, Taylor took over.

Taylor scored nine straight points during a decisive stretch to help Asheville build a 72–65 lead with just over two minutes to play. The Bulldogs controlled the final minutes at the line, extending the margin to as many as 10 with 32 seconds remaining.

STANDINGS UPDATE

2025-26 Men's Basketball Standings

With Thursday's victory and Presbyterian's loss, Asheville moved into sole possession of fourth place.
High Point clinched the outright regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in next week's Big South Tournament. Winthrop has secured the No. 2 seed.
Asheville can move into the No. 3 seed if Radford loses Saturday, and the Bulldogs win.
Radford currently sits at 9-6 in conference play. If Radford loses and Asheville wins, both teams would finish 9-7, with Asheville holding the tiebreaker.
Longwood and Presbyterian are tied for fifth at 7-8.
Charleston Southern's win over Winthrop moved the Buccaneers into seventh place. If Upstate defeats Gardner-Webb and CSU loses, the teams would tie at 5-11, with Upstate holding the tiebreaker.

TEAM TAP-IN

Asheville leads the Big South with 11 games featuring multiple 20-point scorers, including three contests in which Solomon, Taylor, and Wright each reached the 20-point mark.

The Bulldogs are 7-0 in conference play when making at least seven three-pointers.

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)
Jan. 31: Taylor (25), Wright (21)
Feb. 12: Wright (24), Solomon (24), Taylor (22)
Feb. 21: Solomon (23), Wright (21)

TAY'S MILESTONES

Toyaz Solomon became just the 14th player in Big South history — and the third Bulldog — to record 1,000 career points, 500 rebounds, 100 blocked shots, and 100 assists.

He joined the 1,000-point club on Jan. 14 and now has 1,165 career points.

Solomon recorded his 100th career block on Jan. 17, becoming the 53rd player in league history to reach the mark. He now has 120 blocks (10th in program history), 543 rebounds, and 130 career assists.

Solomon ranks third in the league with eight double-doubles.

WRIGHT ON TARGET

Justin Wright has started all 29 games this season and scored in double figures in 26 contests.

He is averaging 16.9 points per game in conference play and leads the team with 49 assists.

KT'S CONSISTENCY

Kameron Taylor leads the Big South with 14 games of 20 or more points (10 in conference play). He ranks third in the league in conference scoring at 20.8 points per game.

MORRELL ON THE CLIMB

Head Coach Mike Morrell ranks 13th in Big South history with 130 overall wins.

PUTTING IN THE MINUTES

Asheville accounts for four of the conference's top six players in minutes played per game, led by DJ Patrick with 35:19, followed by Taylor in second with 34:11, Solomon in fourth with 32:46, and Wright in sixth with 32:37.

Patrick has played every minute in four games this season.

A LOOK AT CHARLESTON SOUTHERN

The Buccaneers are coming off an 86–84 win over Winthrop on Thursday night. Jaquias Franklin led CSU with 24 points, while A'lahn Sumler added 20 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.

In league play, Sumler is averaging 24.2 points per game. He leads the team with 103 assists and ranks No. 1 in the Big South at 4.0 assists per game. He is also the only player in the conference to record a triple-double this season.

Jesse Hafemeister leads the Buccaneers with 88 total rebounds, averaging 5.9 per game.

Brycen Blaine ranks No. 1 in the league in three-pointers made per game at 3.08.

Reis Jones leads the Big South with 55 blocks. He ranks No. 28 nationally in total blocks and No. 36 nationally in blocks per game (1.83).

As a team, Charleston Southern leads the league in 10 statistical categories:

Assists per game (16.7)
Bench points per game (32.1) — No. 17 nationally
Blocks per game (5.0) — No. 21 nationally
Field goal percentage defense (41.3%)
Defensive rebounds per game (30.1) — No. 2 nationally
Rebounds per game (42.4) — No. 5 nationally
Three-point attempts per game (33.7) — No. 2 nationally
Three-point percentage (35.6%)
Three-point percentage defense (31.0%)
Three-pointers made per game (12.0) — No. 3 nationally

EARLIER THIS SEASON

Asheville fell on the road at Charleston Southern 86-83 on Jan. 3. Toyaz Solomon set a new career-high in that game with 34 points, marking the third time this season he has reset his career-best scoring mark. Despite the loss, Asheville scored 27 points at the free-throw line, while Charleston Southern finished 15-of-29 from the charity stripe. Both teams recorded 38 rebounds, with the Bulldogs pulling down 19 offensive boards and limiting the Buccaneers to 24 defensive rebounds.

OVERALL STATISTICAL COMPARISON

2025-26 Season	Asheville	Charleston Southern
Scoring Offense	73.0	83.2
Scoring Defense	71.9	80.1
Scoring Margin	1.1	3.2
FG Percentage	.456	.454
FG Pct. Defense	.440	.413
3PT Percentage	.354	.356
FT Percentage	.691	.645
Rebounds Per Game	35.0	42.4
Assists Per Game	11.2	16.7
Turnovers Per Game	12.1	14.2
Steals Per Game	5.7	4.9
Blocks Per Game	3.7	5.0

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