University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
15-17,8-8Big South
High Point
29-4,15-1Big South
Asheville Falls to High Point in Semifinal Battle
03.07.2026 | Men's Basketball
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – With a trip to the Big South Basketball Championship game at stake, UNC Asheville and High Point battled Saturday afternoon to keep their seasons alive. The Bulldogs carried a halftime lead, but the Panthers rallied in the second half to claim a 75–71 victory.
Toyaz Solomon led Asheville with 30 points, scoring 13 of the team's first 15 points of the game. He added 13 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season. Solomon finished 10-for-20 from the field, knocked down two of Asheville's five three-pointers and went 8-for-11 from the free-throw line.
Kameron Taylor and Justin Wright each added 16 points. Taylor went 4-for-14 from the field with a three-pointer and finished 7-for-9 at the free-throw line, while Wright shot 6-for-14 with a triple and went 3-for-4 from the charity stripe.
Daniel Thomas grabbed eight rebounds and, along with Taylor, played all 40 minutes.
The Bulldogs shot 42.9% from the field, connecting on five three-pointers and going 18-for-24 from the free-throw line. High Point finished at 45.6% from the field after improving from 38.7% in the first half to 53.8% in the second. Asheville held the edge early, shooting 44.8% from the field in the opening half.
The game featured nine ties and nine lead changes.
It was a back-and-forth battle throughout, as neither team built a double-digit lead. High Point pushed its advantage to a first-half high of nine with just over four minutes remaining, but a timely three-pointer from Kameron Taylor sparked a 7–0 Asheville run that cut the deficit to two (32–30). With 45 seconds left in the half, Daniel Thomas threw down a dunk to give the Bulldogs a 34–33 lead heading into halftime.
High Point quickly moved back in front in the second half, but Asheville continued to respond, tying the game five times and retaking the lead twice. With under 13 minutes to play, a jumper from Solomon evened the score at 46, but the Panthers answered with back-to-back baskets to carry a five-point lead into the under-12 media timeout.
Out of the break, High Point extended its advantage to two possessions. The Bulldogs were unable to regain the lead but did not allow the Panthers to stretch the margin beyond nine points.
UNC Asheville concludes the 2025–26 season with a 15–17 record.
