Bulldogs sink Bucs in Big South quarterfinal

By Jordan Ferrell (@FerrellonFM983)

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Quarterfinal Friday in the Big South Conference tournament is always an interesting day.

Like any one-bid league tournament, there are always going to be tense moments, upsets, highs, lows, and occasionally, an overtime thriller. There are also more than a fair share of contests that for lack of a better adjective, are clunkers that get out of hand quick. That would be the case in the third quarterfinal game of the day between UNC Asheville and Charleston Southern, two teams that were in similar shoes coming into Friday night. 

UNC Asheville, who for much of the season was at the top of the league standings, went into a skid at the worst possible time, dropping three of its last four regular season games. That allowed High Point to both overtake the Bulldogs and pull away for the Big South regular season title while Asheville would clinch the #2 seed. The Buccaneers' end-of-season circumstances saw them lose four of their last five games. CSU did have a run where they rattled off four wins in six games, beating USC Upstate, Longwood, Gardner-Webb, and Presbyterian. That little hot streak propelled the Bucs as high as fifth in the standings before they went sliding the rest of the way, coming into the tournament as the No. 7 seed. 

Off the court, there was a huge storyline that may have made a difference in this game. It is nothing short of old news that the City of Asheville was among the hardest hit when Hurricane Helene tore through the western Carolinas back in late September of 2024. The area was met with flooding of historic proportions, washing away many surrounding towns and homes while leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity for weeks. UNC Asheville’s campus was deemed unsafe, which forced the displacement of many students and athletic teams until they were told they could return. The men’s basketball stayed in a hotel in Charlotte for three weeks, which gave head coach Mike Morrell a unique opportunity to help his team bond in ways it normally would not. 

“We have had more time together than any other team in the country,” Morrell stated emphatically. “There are 360-some of them (other college basketball teams). Nobody has spent more time together than we have. It has been a really tough year for this group. We have been able to find ways to stick together when we need it most. We believe that comes from time spent together off the court. When you are in Charlotte cooped up in a hotel room for three straight weeks, you get that.” 

“We went through the hurricane, which was tragic. It was a lot on me and everybody. We went to Charlotte and we had to live with a roommate. We had to switch roommates every week. We bonded and we all just love each other,” said Toyaz Solomon of the trial of being away from campus with just his teammates to lean on. 

“This team has the best bond I have ever been a part of,” Jordan Marsh added. “Everybody accepts everybody for who they are on and off the court. We were in Charlotte for three straight weeks with nobody else but us. And I feel like that set the bar for us to have a good season.” 

The circumstances entering a game mean very little, especially when it comes to a Big South quarterfinal. It sounds laughably cliche as can be, but the team whose playmakers make the most plays is the one that wins the game. So, for Charleston Southern, getting off to a strong start with the likes of Taje’ Kelly, RJ Johnson, and Lamar Oden, Jr. put pressure on Asheville’s Solomon, Josh Banks, and Fletcher Abee. As far as execution of that goes, things could not have started off too much better for Saah Nimley’s group. 

After Asheville opened the scoring on a Marsh layup, Reis Jones answered on the other end with a jumper to tie it. Marsh missed the Bulldogs’ first attempt at a three on the ensuing possession and Daylen Berry broke down the court to drain a layup, giving the Bucs the lead. From that point, the two sides traded baskets up until the first media timeout, where the Bucs led, 14-11. That was the moment the wind lessened, but did not completely turn to a doldrum in Charleston Southern’s sails. 

In a crazy sequence of events, Berry picked off a pass from Asheville’s Greg Gantt and took off on a fast break. Gantt made it back down court to block Berry’s attempt at a layup. Marsh then picked up the rebound and hoofed it up the court for a driving layup, only to be blocked by Jones. While it was initially ruled goaltending, a late review during the half would take those points back. Even with the initial call, the game devolved into a back-and-forth affair yet again from there, with the Bucs doing all they could just to keep Asheville within range of their cannons. 

Charleston Southern fought its way back to a narrow one-point lead with 5:32 to play in the half when Kelly finally hit his first basket of the game. That lead was brief as by the final media timeout of the half, the Bulldogs had reclaimed the point and upped the ante to five points, never to look back from there.   

“I thought that was our best defensive performance of the year,” said Morrell. “We had a season-high number of deflections in the first half. Usually when we do that, we are able to get out and run in transition and we did that tonight. These two guys (Solomon and Marsh) were terrific. We are definitely harder on them defensively than anybody else on the team and tonight they were really good. But credit to Charleston Southern, usually we have all-out wars with them every time, so to blow them out like this is an outlier.” 

UNC Asheville was led by the duo of Marsh and Solomon, who combined for over half of the points scored by the Bulldogs with 21. Abee tallied 16 and Kameron Taylor just missed double figures with eight points.

I’d be remiss not to touch on this one last storyline from the night. The loss for Charleston Southern marks the end of the storied career of Taje’ Kelly, a player that in an era where transfers and NIL money would make many as talented as him leave without hesitation, stayed with the team that recruited him out of high school. Not only that, but he stuck it out through a coaching change. His loyalty is something Nimley praises. 

“Taje’ reminds you of what is right with college basketball, even with all that is going on,” he said. “Regardless of how his career went as far as wins and losses, there is no doubt he is one of the best to ever play here. He will be cemented in that because of his loyalty.” 

Kelly closed the book on both the night and his career by emphasizing his love for Charleston Southern and how it has impacted his life. 

“It means everything to me,” he reflected. “CSU got me closer to God. It geared me towards a better relationship with God. I love how they accepted me there. Saah recruited me out of high school and I appreciate them giving me a chance.”