UNC Asheville was looking to start off its Big South Conference campaign with a victory over rival Winthrop, but the Eagles closed the game on a 15-0 run to take an 80-65 win over the Bulldogs on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019.
UNC Asheville (2-13, 0-1 Big South Conference) started the game by outscoring Winthrop (9-5, 1-0 Big South Conference) 17-9 over the first almost 14 minutes of the game with the Bulldogs leading 17-9 with 6:19 to go in the first stanza.
Winthrop from there would pull within one at 17-16, but an 11-0 run by the Bulldogs allowed UNC Asheville to lead by 12 at 28-16 with 1:18 to play in the first half.
UNC Asheville would take a 31-19 lead into intermission.
The two teams would play back and forth over the course of the first almost 10 minutes of the second half, but the Eagles would take their first lead of the game at 45-44 with 10:25 left in the contest.
Winthrop would lead by seven at 60-53 with 5:50 left in the game, but UNC Asheville would battle its way back into the game at 65-all with 3:28 remaining.
The Eagles would close the game on a 15-0 run to pick up the 15-point win.
DeVon Baker led the Bulldogs in the game with a game-best 23 points. He also had five assists, two rebounds and one steal.
Three Bulldogs finished in double figures with LJ Thorpe coming off the bench to score 13 points to go along with three rebounds.
Coty Jude finished with 12 points, three rebounds and one assist.
Five different Eagles finished in double figures with Austin Awad scoring 19 to lead Winthrop.
UNC Asheville finished the game shooting 33.3 percent (19-of-57) as a team. The Bulldogs shot 40 percent (8-of-20) from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs were especially strong from the free throw line where they finished shooting 90.5 percent (19-of-21).
Winthrop finished the game shooting 41.3 percent (26-of-63) from the field. The Bulldogs limited one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country to just 36.8 percent (14-of-38) shooting from beyond the arc. Winthrop shot 63.6 percent (14-of-22) from the free throw line.
BULLDOG BITES
Baker’s Dozen
DeVon Baker has scored in double figures in 12 of UNC Asheville’s 15 games this season. With his 23 against Winthrop, Baker has now scored 20 or more in six of the 15 Bulldog games.
Continuing to be Strong at the Free Throw Line
For the second straight game, UNC Asheville finished its efforts shooting over 90 percent at the free throw line. UNC Asheville finished its game at Vanderbilt shooting 90.9 percent (10-of-11) and followed that up by shooting 90.5 percent (19-of-21) from the free throw line as a team against Winthrop. UNC Asheville now has three games this season where they have shot 90 percent over better from the free throw line as a team.
Up Next
UNC Asheville will next hit the road for the first time in league play by traveling to Longwood on Thursday, Jan. 10, for the 12th all-time meeting between the programs. UNC Asheville owns a 10-1 all-time series lead over Longwood.
Box Score: https://uncabulldogs.com/boxscore.aspx?path=mbball&id=5100
Quotes: https://youtu.be/MzrLn3D8edk
Highlights: https://youtu.be/m-2c5qbtAoM
