University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
USC Upstate
GAME PREVIEW: Asheville Welcomes USC Upstate to Kimmel Arena for Second Round of Ingles I-26 Rivalry
02.03.2026 | Men's Basketball
GAME DETAILS
- Game 24
- UNC Asheville (10-13, 4-5) vs USC Upstate (10-13, 2-6)
- Wednesday, February 4, 2026
- 6:30 p.m.
- Asheville, N.C. || Kimmel Arena
- ESPN+
- Live Stats
- Radio
- Tickets
- Gameday Central
- Game Sponsor: Ingles
- Promotion: Bring a canned food item and get entered to win a TV. Every canned good brought in equals one entry for a chance to win the TV.
ASHEVILLE'S LAST TIME OUT
UNC Asheville fell on the road at Winthrop, 84–71, on Saturday in Rock Hill, S.C. The score was tied at 29 with just over four minutes remaining in the first half before Winthrop closed the period on a 14–4 run to take control. Winthrop built its lead to as many as 18 in the second half behind hot perimeter shooting and trips to the free throw line.
Kameron Taylor led Asheville with 25 points, marking his eighth conference game with 20+ points, while Justin Wright added 21 points. Toyaz Solomon chipped in 14 points with two steals and two blocks.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Redshirt freshman Daniel Thomas was named Big South Freshman of the Week on Monday (Feb. 2) after recording his first career double-double in Asheville's 69–50 win over Gardner-Webb with a season-high 10 points and 13 rebounds. Thomas averaged 5.0 points and 8.0 rebounds on the week and is averaging 2.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and nine blocks on the season.
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 in UNC Asheville history to score 1,000 points on Jan. 14 and is No. 10 in the program with 104 blocks. He enters this week with 485 career rebounds.
WRIGHT ON TARGET
Justin Wright has started and appeared in all 23 games this season, scoring in double figures in 21 contests. He is currently on a 19-game streak of double-digit scoring performances and is averaging 18.2 points per game in conference play.
KT'S CONSISTENCY
Kameron Taylor is averaging 22.8 points in league play and is ranked 32nd in the nation in made free throws, as he has 121. He is the third leading scorer in the league and ranks 43rd in the country in that category with 422 points.
DJ FROM THREE
DJ Patrick is the final Bulldog averaging double figures with 10.0 points per game in league play. Patrick leads the team with 53 three-pointers — 24 in league play.
MORRELL ON THE CLIMB
Head Coach Mike Morrell is currently 15th all-time in Big South history with 126 overall wins and needs one victory 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 34:32, followed by Taylor with 33:38, Wright in fourth with 32:09, and Solomon in sixth with 31:35.
TEAMMATE TWENTY
Asheville leads the league with nine 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)
- Jan. 31: Taylor (25), Wright (21)
A LOOK AT UPSTATE
Upstate had this past Saturday off but picked up a 65–60 victory over Longwood last Thursday in the G.B. Hodge Center. Karmani Gregory and Carmelo Adkins led the Spartans with 19 and 18 points, respectively, with Gregory also adding five assists and four steals. Adkins added 10 rebounds to his final stat line.
Last time the two teams met, Asheville defeated Upstate 83–69 on Wednesday, Jan. 21. Taylor led Asheville with 27 points, and Wright followed with 20 points.
The Spartans are led by Mason Bendinger, who is averaging 15.0 points per game in league play. Adkins is averaging 13.1 points per game and leads Upstate with 5.4 rebounds per game. Gregory leads Upstate with 20 assists and 11 steals, while Jafeth Martinez and Coen Collier each have 12 blocks.
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
| 2025-26 Season | Asheville | Upstate |
| Scoring Offense | 74.2 | 75.2 |
| Scoring Defense | 72.5 | 72.7 |
| Scoring Margin | 1.7 | 2.6 |
| FG Percentage | .459 | .444 |
| FG Pct. Defense | .444 | .426 |
| 3PT Percentage | .361 | .341 |
| FT Percentage | .703 | .677 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 35.0 | 37.2 |
| Assists Per Game | 11.3 | 12.8 |
| Turnovers Per Game | 12.5 | 12.1 |
| Steals Per Game | 5.7 | 6.4 |
| Blocks Per Game | 3.1 | 4.6 |
SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday marks the 31st all-time meeting between the two programs. Asheville leads the series 21–9 and has won eight of the last 10 matchups. Since 2010, the Bulldogs are 7–2 at home against Upstate and enter Wednesday riding a six-game winning streak in the series.
INGLES I-26 RIVALRY
With both of Asheville's basketball teams winning their matchups against Upstate two weeks ago, the Bulldogs hold an 18–6 lead in the Ingles I-26 Rivalry.
Fans can help earn three more points for Asheville in the rivalry by bringing canned food items to Wednesday's game. Every canned food item donated equals one entry for a chance to win a TV.
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