Asheville turns away App State behind two career-best performances

 

Asheville's Josh Banks (3) eclipsed his career-high in just 14 minutes of play in the Bulldogs' win Thursday. (Photo:  UNC Asheville Athletics)

HICKORY, N.C. – UNC Asheville coach Mike Morrell had a clear, concise game plan for his Bulldogs as they took the floor against regional rival App State – give Josh Banks the ball and let him cook to the tune of 30 points in the first half.

Okay, so that was not the plan – at all – but that’s how it unfolded.

Banks eclipsed his prior career-high of 22 just 14 minutes into the game and Drew Pember added a triple-double in a 76-63 victory over the Mountaineers – in which Asheville never trailed – before an announced crowd of 1,825 in a neutral-site contest at the Tarlton Complex.

“Josh is somebody that I didn’t really know, but have known about for a long time,” Morrell said after the game. “He played for one of my bigger mentors, so I knew where he was coming from. He’s shown some flashes already, but that was as impressive a shooting display as I think I’ve seen in a bit.”

Morrell loved the offensive output from his Bulldogs, to be sure, but he had plenty to say about the effort on the other side of the floor.

“I told the guys that we got that because we got stops,” Morrell said. “We were able to transition to the other end. That was a really impressive first half.”

Morrell is the king of the understatement.

Asheville (7-6) saw Banks catch fire early. Pember broke the seal with a triple for the Bulldogs, followed by Banks splashing four straight threes to put Asheville ahead, 15-9. Banks then tore off 15 more consecutive points for his side, combining three free throws with four more triples to afford his team a 38-17 lead with 5:47 remaining in the opening stanza. Banks had one more three to close the first-half Asheville scoring and send the Bulldogs to the locker room with a 44-23 advantage at the interval.

“We picked a bad night to have a bad night,” App State coach Dustin Kerns said after the game. “Obviously, Banks was unbelievable. He was just unconscious. We just dug ourselves a big hole. Credit them. I thought it was an awesome atmosphere, but we didn’t play well.”

App State (9-3) remained persistent into the second half. The Mountaineers went toe-to-toe with Asheville, matching the Bulldogs point for point through the first 14 minutes of the period. Donovan Gregory and Tre’Von Spillers guided the App State charge, accounting for 12 of their team’s first 19 points in the second.

As App State ratcheted up the defensive pressure and went to a full-court press, the duo continued to add to their totals both on transition buckets and free throws. The extended pressure allowed the Mountaineers to gradually whittle the deficit to as few as 12 points from a high of 25. The charge proved too little and too late, though, as a Doc Battle dunk with just under a minute left placed an emphatic punctuation mark on the Asheville victory.

“I think so, from start to finish,” Morrell said when asked if this was his team’s best effort this season. “I keep telling these guys that our ceiling might be as high as last year. We’re just nowhere near where we’re capable of being yet, and that’s okay. We’ve got the schedule we’ve got because we’ve had a hard time getting games.”

“That’s as fulfilling a win as I’ve had in five-and-a-half years.”

Banks led Asheville and all scorers with 33. App State limited Banks to three in the second half, which allowed Pember and others to help keep the Mountaineers at arm’s length.

“We changed our closeout on him,” Kerns said. “Obviously, he had 30 at the half and the ten threes. I think our guys have got some fight and some toughness, but they just kept making plays. It was just not our night.”

Pember notched his first career triple-double, turning in 11 points, 15 boards, and 10 dimes. The preseason Big South Player of the Year accounted for 10 of his team’s 17 helpers. Nick McMullen added a double-double of his own, logging 12 points and hauling in 12 misses.

Asheville hit 45.2 percent (28-for-62) of its tries, including a blistering 56 percent (14-for-25) from deep. Banks’ 10 triples set a school record.

App State placed both Gregory and Spillers in double figures. Gregory finished with 18 on 7-of-11 from the deck and 4-for-4 from the line. Spillers added a double-double, tallying 17 points and 11 caroms. Spillers hit 6-of-12 from the field and 5-of-5 from the stripe. The Mountaineers finished the night hitting just 35.9 percent (23-of-64) from the field and 12.5 percent (3-of-24) from beyond the arc.

“We really tried to shrink the floor on Gregory and those guys, just because they’re so good getting to the paint and they’re so strong,” Morrell said. “All you had to do was watch the Wilmington and Auburn games to see that. We made them miss some and they missed a few. The biggest thing was that we grabbed the ball. Against Spillers and their other bigs, you’ve got to go grab it to get to the other end, because the play’s not over.

“App’s a heck of a team. They’ve got great wins. This is what our team’s capable of, and now we’ve got to see if we can build on it a little bit.”

“We had some good looks. We just couldn’t make them,” Kerns said of his team’s outside shooting struggles. “We could not make a three. We ended up 3-for-24 and a couple of those were late. We just couldn’t get one down.”

Asheville gets a brief respite before again taking the floor. The Bulldogs welcome Kennesaw State to Kimmel Arena for the second game of a home-and-home series Saturday afternoon. The Owls claimed a 79-76, overtime result in the first meeting on Dec. 5. Tip time for the Owls and Bulldogs is set for 2:00 (Eastern) Saturday afternoon, with streaming set for ESPN+ and local linear coverage on CW62 in western North Carolina and the Upstate region of South Carolina.

App State will have nine days before it again takes the floor, as it welcomes ULM to the Holmes Center on Saturday, Dec. 30, to start Sun Belt Conference play. Game time is set for 1:00 (Eastern) with streaming coverage set for ESPN+.

ASHEVILLE 76, APP STATE 63

ASHEVILLE (7-6)

Burgess 1-5 1-4 3, Banks 10-18 3-3 33, Pember 4-12 2-4 11, Abee 2-8 0-0 6, McMullen 6-8 0-0 12, Stephney 1-3 0-0 3, Battle 2-4 0-0 4, Cunningham 1-1 0-0 2, Solomon 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 28-62 6-11 76.

APP STATE (9-3)

Brown 2-2 0-0 4, Gregory 7-11 4-4 18, Abson 0-3 1-4 1, Harcum 2-9 0-0 6, Spillers 6-12 5-5 17, Mantis 1-4 0-0 3, Marsh 2-7 0-5 4, Tate 1-10 0-0 2, Huntley 2-6 4-4 8. Totals 23-64 14-22 63.

Halftime:  Asheville 44-23. 3-Point goals:  Asheville 14-25 (Burgess 0-2, Banks 10-12, Pember 1-3, Abee 2-5, Stephney 1-2, Battle 0-1), App State 3-24 (Gregory 0-1, Abson 0-1, Harcum 2-7, Mantis 1-4, Marsh 0-4, Tate 0-4, Huntley 0-3). Fouled out:  None. Rebounds:  Asheville 46 (Pember 15), App State 37 (Spillers 11). Assists:  Asheville 17 (Pember 10), App State (Gregory/Tate 3). Total fouls:  Asheville 18, App State 14. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  App State 8, Asheville 6.  Points in the paint:  App State 34, Asheville 26.  Second-chance points:  Asheville 11, App State 11.  Fast-break points:  App State 14, Asheville 13.  Bench points:  App State 17, Asheville 11.