ASHEVILLE, N.C. --- UNC Asheville placed three players in double figures, and held Gardner-Webb to its lowest shooting percentage of the season en route to an 80-55 victory over the Runnin' Bulldogs in Big South Conference play on Saturday afternoon.
UNC Asheville (6-7, 2-0 Big South) connected on 48.4 percent of its attempts from the floor, including 16-of-33 in the second half, while holding Gardner-Webb (9-6, 1-1 Big South) to a field goal percentage of 28.3 percent in the contest. The Bulldogs won the battle on the glass by a 49-40 margin, including a 36-25 advantage on the defensive boards, while outscoring the Runnin' Bulldogs 47-29 in the paint.
Jarvis Davis (Columbia, S.C.) led the way for Gardner-Webb with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a 2-for-4 clip from downtown, while also hauling down eight rebounds. Tyrell Nelson (Charlotte, N.C.) and Tyler Strange (Leominster, Mass.) each added 10 points while Jerome Hill (Adel, Ga.) chipped in nine. Hill and Nelson both grabbed nine boards.
Sam Hughes paced Asheville with a double-double, registering game-highs of 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Chudier Pal added 17 points with an 8-for-9 afternoon from the floor. Pal chipped in nine rebounds to nearly record a double-double, as David Robertson and Jaleel Roberts posted game-highs of nine assists and four blocks, respectively.
Gardner-Webb controlled the balance of play early, taking a 10-6 lead on a Davis trey before Asheville answered with a 17-1 run to claim a 23-11 advantage following a layup by Pal with 9:20 to go in the first half. The Bulldogs kept pushing, stretching the margin to 41-22 with an 18-11 spurt before Strange sunk a last-second layup to cut the lead to 41-24 at the break.
The Runnin' Bulldogs fought back in the early moments of the second half, cutting the advantage to 47-35 with an 11-6 run that was capped by a trey from Strange with 16:16 to play. Asheville answered with a 28-9 surge, pushing the margin to 75-44 on a tip-in by Jaleel Roberts at the 4:01 left mark.
The Bulldogs held Gardner-Webb at arm's length the rest of the way, closing out the 80-55 victory on a late bucket by Giacomo Zilli.
Gardner-Webb returns to the court on Thursday, January 8 when the Runnin' Bulldogs host Radford at 7:00 pm in Paul Porter Arena. The game will be broadcast live across the nation on ESPNU as the first of the Big South Conference's four ESPNU Wildcard games.
