The UNC Asheville Bulldogs handled business on Friday night, taking down Charleston Southern with relative ease, 80-60, in the Big South Tournament quarterfinals. The Bulldogs outscored the Buccaneers 42-28 in the second half to secure their victory.
UNC Asheville didn’t have an ideal end to its regular season, winning just one of its last four games. Regardless, the Bulldogs still earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and faced Big South Player of the Year Taje’ Kelly and the Buccaneers. Though the seventh-seeded Buccaneers have been shorthanded throughout the entire season, they hung with the speedy and rapid pace of UNC Asheville throughout most of the first half. Both teams struggled from outside in the first frame, with the Buccaneers at 3 for 12 from deep and the Bulldogs 3 for 8. Sophomore guard Jordan Marsh led Asheville in scoring in their first half with 13 points on six made shots. Guard Lamar Oden Jr. led Charleston Southern with nine points in the first 20 minutes.
Asheville quickly took command of the second half, and the lead grew to a 14-point margin at the under-12 media timeout. To make matters worse for Charleston Southern, foul trouble began to plague the Buccaneers as forward Reis Jones fouled out with 10 minutes to go. The lead stretched to 24 at the eight-minute mark after a monstrous dunk by UNC Asheville freshman guard Kameron Taylor.
Senior forward Toyaz Solomon led the Bulldogs with 21 points on 10 for 11 shooting. Marsh dropped in 20 for UNC Asheville, while Taje’ Kelly’s 11 points were the most of any Charleston Southern player. Asheville shot 54% from the field in the game and splashed in seven triples, five of which came from veteran guard Fletcher Abee.
“We’ve had more time together than any other team in the country. There are 360-plus teams in the country, we’ve had more together time than all of them,” said UNC Asheville head coach Mike Morrell. “We believe that [success] comes from time together off the court. When you’re cooped up in Charlotte in a hotel room for three straight weeks with no place to be… we’ve been able to find ways to stick together when it matters most.”
UNC Asheville will play Winthrop in their semifinal contest after the Eagles took down the Longwood Lancers. Tip-of will be at approximately 2:30 ET Saturday on ESPN+.
“This team has the best bond I’ve ever been a part of,” said Marsh. “Everybody accepts everybody for who they are on and off the court.”
