After Losing Games To Purdue, Tennessee In Uncasville Connecticut North Carolina Is Returning To Chapel Hill, Beginning Home Stand W/ UNC Asheville Tonight Looking To Snap Losing Streak

After losing games to Purdue, Tennessee in Uncasville Connecticut North Carolina is returning to Chapel Hill beginning two game home stand with UNC Asheville tonight looking to snap their losing streak.

North Carolina is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference!

UNC Asheville is a member of the Big South Conference!

North Carolina comes into the game with a record of 3-2!

Why?

North Carolina lost not once but twice in Basketball Hall Of Fame Tip-off Tournament in Uncasville Connecticut.

When?

Saturday, Sunday!

North Carolina lost to 6th ranked Purdue on Saturday 93-84!

In North Carolina’s 93-84 loss to Purdue Purdue showed that its high-scoring offense works, no matter the level of competition.

Sasha Stefanovic scored 23 points and Jaden Ivey put up 22 points to go along with his 10 rebounds as the Boilermakers beat No. 18 North Carolina 93-84 Saturday in the first round of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament.

Trevion Williams added 20 points for Purdue (4-0), which has scored at least 90 points in all four of its games this season.
Dawson Garcia hit 10 of his 13 shots and led North Carolina (3-1) with 26 points before fouling out. R.J. Davis and Caleb Love each added 18 points for North Carolina

Purdue led 41-35 at the half and by eight points early in the second half before the Tar Heels went on a run. A 3-pointer by Davis made it 60-59 and Garcia gave UNC its only lead of the game with a long 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 65-64 with about nine minutes left.

But Purdue responded with 10-0 run, going up 74-65 on a 3-point play by Ivey. UNC could not catch them again.
”according to an article by Pat Eaton-Robb of the Associated Press”

Then on Sunday North Carolina lost to 17th ranked Tennessee by a score of 89-72!

In North Carolina’s loss to Tennessee Brady Manek hit six 3-pointers and scored 24 points for the Tar Heels (3-2), who fell to Purdue in Saturday's opening round. Armando Bacothad 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Tennessee, which went with a three-guard lineup early in the first half, led by seven points at halftime. The Vols extended that to 12 early in the second half on a run capped when Vescovi stole the ball from Dawson Garcia and laid it up on the other end.

Tennessee would then answer whenever North Carolina made little runs.

A driving layup by Zeigler pushed the lead to 74-57 with just over 7 minutes to go and his 3-pointer a couple of minutes later off a steal by Brandon Huntley-Hatfield made it 79-60, essentially putting the game out of reach.

“according to an article by Pat Eaton-Robb of the Associated Press”

UNC Asheville comes into the game with a record of 2-2 because unlike North Carolina they haven’t lost two straight games.

Why?

Because they won their previous game over Tennessee Tech by a score of 61-55 in Chattanooga Tennessee.

In their 61-55 win over Tennessee Tech UNC Asheville traveled back to Chattanooga to wrap up play in the Coke Zero Sugar Classic multi-team event on Thursday evening, scoring 12 unanswered in the last four minutes to defeat Tennessee Tech 61-55 at McKenzie Arena.

It was a game of runs, as the Bulldogs closed the first half scoring 15 of the last 19 points to hold a 10-advantage at the break. After the Golden Eagles charged back to take a 55-49 lead with 4:32 to play, Asheville locked in, getting key buckets from Tajion Jones and Jamon Battle, sealing the game with two steals from Trent Stephney and leading-scorer Drew Pember (16 points).

"I'm not sure I've ever been a part of a 12-0 run to close a game like that, but we called a timeout late and switched up our ball-screen coverage and I thought guys bought into the adjustment and came up with two big steals," said head coach Mike Morrell. "We held them to 0-for-21 from 3-point range and did a really good job of contesting guys when we needed to contest so I'm proud of that."

Pember had a career night in the win, not only scoring a personal-best 16 points, but swatting seven shots in the process, becoming the first Bulldog to block more than five shots since 2018 (Jonathan Baehre).

"I thought Drew really led the charge for us with his aggression," Morrell said of Pember. "Having seven blocks is a lot of blocks in 29 minutes. I just thought we were much better all-around on offense in terms of moving and cutting and that usually leads to points in the paint which it did tonight for our team."

A teammate of Pember's at Bearden High School, Stephney's nine points, four steals, three rebounds and two steals helped lift the Bulldogs to the win. The win moves Asheville's record to an even 2-2, dropping Tennessee Tech to 1-3 on the year.

The Game at a Glance

• Asheville finishes first half with 15-4 run, second with 12-0 run (last 4:32)

• Pember leads team with 16 points, 7 blocks (career highs), 7 rebounds, 2 steals

• Battle scores 8 in the second, totals 6 rebounds and 4 steals

• Bulldogs hold Golden Eagles to zero 3-pointers (0-21)

• 53 points from starters, 27 points off turnovers

• Quartet of Tennessee natives combine for 40 points (Pember, Jones, Stephney, Marable)

How it Happened
Stephney was feeling it early, scoring the first five points for the Bulldogs. Pember andBJ Marablewould get into the mix, giving Asheville its first lead at the 13:37 mark. The teams would trade buckets as Tennessee Tech pulled ahead by one, but Asheville would close the half on a 15-4 run getting buckets fromLuke Lawson, Jones, Pember and Stephney to go into the break up 34-24.

LJ Thorpegot things going in the second as the Bulldogs would pull in front 47-36 after a pair of buckets inside by Battle. Tennessee Tech would not go down easily, responding with a 10-2 run as the teams took the under-eight media timeout. The Golden Eagles maintained the momentum, jumping in front 55-49 with just 4:32 to play.

The Bulldogs would call a timeout, and after the media timeout Asheville looked like a different team as Jones knocked down a jumper that would ignite the 12-0 run. With 30 seconds remaining the Bulldogs held a two-point lead but steals from Stephney and Pember led to six-straight free throws as Asheville grabbed the tough road win.
"I'm really, really proud of our guys to be down six and fight back to come up with a big win away from home, "said Morrell. ""We only scored 45 the other day, and when we don't score as much we can't get into our press. Tonight we were able to get into the press and be aggressive. I thought guys did a really good job of attacking."

“according to an article on uncabulldogs.com”

Tip off is set for 7:00pm from the Dean E. Smith Center!

The game is going to be televised on the Regional Sports Network!