A late run by Stetson allowed the Hatters to pick up a narrow 80-74 win over visiting UNC Asheville men’s basketball on Tuesday, Dec. 18, at the Edmunds Center.
UNC Asheville (1-10) opened the game on a 14-4 run over the first few minutes of the contest with Coty Jude leading the way with two three-pointers during the stretch. Four different Bulldogs scored during the first five and a half minutes of the contest.
Stetson (3-10) would battle its way back into the game over the next few minutes with the Hatters taking a 21-19 advantage with 8:57 remaining in the first stanza.
The Bulldogs would hold a 24-23 lead after a DeVon Baker three-pointer with 7:35 to play in the opening half of action.
UNC Asheville would keep extending its lead from there with a Tajion Joneslayup as part of a 9-0 run giving the Bulldogs a 28-23 lead with just over four minutes left in the first half.
The Bulldogs would go on to take a 31-27 lead into the halftime break.
UNC Asheville was led by Jude and Baker in the first half with each scoring 11 points. Jude knocked down three treys in the opening half of play.
The Bulldogs would own a 44-38 lead in the contest after Jude’s fourth three-pointer of the day with 13:43 to play in the game. The trey just beat the shot clock buzzer to give the Bulldogs the six-point advantage.
During a stretch in which the Bulldogs would connect on seven of their eight field goal attempts, Baker continued to extend the Asheville lead with his three-point play with 9:11 remaining lifting his team to a nine-point lead at 59-50.
Baker made it a 10-point lead at 62-52 for UNC Asheville after a three-pointer with 8:34 to play.
The Bulldogs opened the first 12 minutes of the second half by hitting upon 80 percent of their field goal attempts overall (12-of-15).
The Hatters would battle back into the game over the next few minutes with the Bulldogs owning a two-point lead at 66-64 with under four minutes remaining.
Stetson would lead 74-67 with 1:41 left in the contest.
The two teams would battle back and forth over the next minute-plus, but the Hatters would hold on for the six-point win.
UNC Asheville finished the second half shooting 66.7 percent (14-of-21), while Stetson shot 70 percent (21-of-30) in the second half.
For the game, UNC Asheville shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55). Stetson shot 51.7 percent (31-of-60) as a team in the game.
Baker led UNC Asheville in the game with a career-best 31 points to go along with four rebounds and one assist.
Jude ended his efforts with 20 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal.
The final Bulldog in double figures was Jeremy Peck with a UNC Asheville career-best 10 points. Peck just missed on a double-double as he also had eight rebounds to go along with one assist.
Four Hatters finished in double figures with Keith Matthews scoring a team-best 16 points.
BULLDOG BITES
Career Nights
DeVon Baker (31 points), Coty Jude (six three-pointers) and Jeremy Peck (10 points) all had career days in a Bulldog uniform in the narrow loss at Stetson.
30 or More
DeVon Baker became the first Bulldog to score 30 or more in a single game since Ahmad Thomas scored 30 in UNC Asheville’s game with Liberty on Feb. 15, 2018.
Up Next
UNC Asheville men’s basketball closes out its games before the holiday break by facing off against Milligan at 2 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 21, 2018.
