Pember’s 29 lead UNC Asheville past scrappy Charleston Southern

Drew Pember puts up shot on way to 29 points as UNC Asheville advanced to Big South tournament semifinals Friday. (Photo by UNC Asheville Athletics)

By Jacob Conley (@gwujake)

CHARLOTTE — For the first four minutes of the game, it looked as if Charleston Southern could be primed to pull a classic March Madness upset. 

Then, UNC Asheville showed why it earned the Big South Conference regular season championship and No. 1 seed. 

The Bulldogs overtook and led the ninth-seeded Buccaneers by double digits at halftime and kept a comfortable margin for most of the second half, advancing to the semifinals of the Big South tournament with a 75-66 victory.

CSU opened the game on a 9-0 run, capped on a Claudell Harris fallaway jumper. After another bucket made the tally 11-0, Drew Pember finally put the Bulldogs on the board with a pair of foul shots. Pember also drilled a 3-pointer shortly thereafter and Abee Fletcher also hit a jumper as UNC Asheville continued to cut into the lead at 13-8. Tyree Bryan broke a long scoreless streak for CSU later in the half, but a dunk from Pember and a layup by Jamon Battle gave UNCA its first lead at 19-17 with 4:55 lefft in the opening stanza. Kelly broke the run for CSU, but Pember scored and Tajion Jones hit a three as the Bulldogs built a 32-20 lead at the half.

CSU came out of the locker room on a quick 5-0 run. But a Jones three pushed the Bulldog lead back to 12 points, at 37-25, with 14:41 left in the game. Jones garnered a rebound and putback as the lead continued to expand. By the time he knocked in a pair of treyd, the lead grew to 18. Kelly banged a shot from beyond the arc to keep CSU within striking distance, but the top-seeded Bulldogs led 48-35 with 10:48 left.

The teams traded baskets for the next stretch until Bryan sank a three for CSU to cut the Buccaneers’ deficit to 52-44. He also collected a putback dunk to bring them even closer, at 54-48. The game turned when Harris was hit with a technical. Pember sank the resulting four fouls shots to push the Asheville lead to double digits. CSU would not go away as Tahlik Chavez converted a rare four-point play, but Pember put the game away at the foul line, as UNCA advanced.

CASHING IN FROM THE FOUL LINE: Pember struggled from the floor (3-for-11) but made up for it at the charity stripe. He hit a Big South Tournament record 22 foul shots while putting up 29 points and 16 rebounds.

“My teammates just got me the ball in pretty good spots,” Pember said. “I may get some awards (Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year), but everybody on this team is just as important as the other.”

WEATHERING THE STORM: UNCA head coach Mike Morrell said he was proud of the way the Bulldogs responded after the 11-0 start by Charleston Southern.

“The maturity of our team was able to get us through that little stretch there,” he said. “I don’t know if we were nervous or what, but sometimes this first game is the hardest to get, so we’re really happy about advancing and I’m proud of the guys for settling down.”

THANKFUL: In spite of the loss, CSU head coach Barclay Radebaugh is proud of his team.

“It’s been a pleasure to coach this team,” he said. “The word that comes to mind is thankful. I’m thankful to coach at CSU, thankful to live in a great city and thankful to watch this group of players grow over the past year.”

UP NEXT: UNC Asheville, who secured a program-best 25th win on the season with the victory, will take on USC Upstate at noon on Saturday. Charleston Southern concludes its season at 10-21.