ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Asheville used a 26-11 run over a 10-minute stretch to erase a 10-point halftime deficit en route to a 75-64 victory on Saturday afternoon at Kimmel Arena in Asheville, N.C… Zeb Graham led the Blue Hose with 18 points, while Cory Hightower had 17 points and 12 rebounds in the contest. DeVon Baker led the Bulldogs with 24 points.
Scoring the game
The Blue Hose raced out to an 11-0 lead with Zeb Graham scoring seven of those points to give PC the early edge. The Bulldogs fought back to cut it to a four-point game at 11-7 with a 7-0 run of their own over the next two minutes. PC used a quick 7-2 burst to jump back to a nine-point lead, 18-9 with 12 minutes to play in the first half. Asheville cut the Blue Hose lead to six at 24-18 with 6:29 to play in the opening half. After a quick 6-0 spurt from PC to push it back out to a 12-point lead the Bulldogs answered with five in a row to cut it to 30-23 with 2:10 to play in the first half. PC closed scoring five of the final seven points to take a 10-point lead to the intermission at 35-25.
PC got an early three-point play from Sean Jenkins to take a 13-point lead before a 9-5 burst from the hosts cut the Blue Hose lead to nine, 43-34. Over the next seven minutes, Asheville used a 17-6 run to regain the lead at 51-49 with 9:12 to play in the game. The Bulldogs continued to force the issue in the second half after a quick basket from Cory Hightower evened it at 51, the hosts used a 15-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 66-53 lead with 4:33 to play in the second half. Presbyterian cut it to single digits at nine, 66-57 with 3:39 to play but wouldn't get any closer as Asheville used an 8-3 spurt en route to a 75-64 victory over the Blue Hose.
Players of the Game
Zeb Graham led the Blue Hose with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor. Cory Hightower picked up his third double-double of the season as he pulled down 17 points and 12 rebounds. DeVon Baker led the Bulldogs with 24 points, while LJ Thorpe paced Asheville with seven rebounds.
Stats of the Game
PC held the Bulldogs to 33.3% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes while shooting 51.9% from the floor with the Blue Hose holding a 10-point lead at the break. For the game, PC shot 53.2% after hitting 11-of-20 from the field in the second half (55.0%). UNC Asheville shot 55.2% in the second 20 minutes for 46% in the game. Rebounds were tight with Presbyterian holding a 33-30 edge, with turnovers in favor of the Blue Hose 18-7. The Bulldogs connected on 26 free throws and three from beyond the arc, while the Blue Hose made 12 from the charity stripe and two threes. UNC Asheville had 24 points off turnovers compared to just two for the Blue Hose.
For the Record
PC drops to 9-20 overall and 6-10 in the Big South, while UNC Asheville improves to 13-14 overall and 7-9 in league play.
Notables
Cory Hightower picked up his second double-double in Big South play and his third overall of the year with his 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Saturday's game marked the fourth consecutive contest that PC shot at least 50% from the floor for the game.
Up Next
PC returns home for its final homestand of the 2019-20 regular season beginning on Thursday night as the Blue Hose welcomes in Longwood at 7 pm from the Templeton Center. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and WPCC.
