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Bulldogs’ winning streak ends with pair of conference losses
Algyna Sherk
asherk@unca.edu - Staff Writer
UNC Asheville’s men’s basketball
team lost two conference games last
week, but hope to still win the Big
South tournament, according to the
players and coaches.
“We had seven straight wins in a
row. We’re starting to get consis
tent,” men’s basketball head coach
Eddie Biedenbach said. “You can’t
play your best every night, but when
you do play poorly you have got to
figure out ways to win.”
UNC A held a 19 point lead in the
first half of their game against Gard
ner-Webb last Wednesday. The Bull
dogs need to figure out ways to win
in the second half, players said.
“I guess you could call it miscom-
munication,” D J Cunningham, se
nior center for UNCA, said. “There
were too many mistakes in the sec
ond half. It seemed like if we could
mess it up, we messed it up.”
After seven wins within the Big
South conference, UNCA seized first
place within the division. The Bull
dogs have more conference games
before the Big South tournament.
“This is an inexperienced team
from the standpoint of closing
games, and that has got to change,”
Biedenbach said.
But it has not changed yet, as
UNCA’s closest division challeng
ers, Charleston Southern University,
defeated the Bulldogs at Kimmel
Arena on Saturday.
“We’re just not there,” Bieden
bach said. “We were fighting for
first place out there, but we weren’t
mentally or physically on the level
of a first place team.”
Statistically, the Bulldogs are not
lagging far behind their rivals. In
the game against Gardner-Webb,
the teams were tied in the number
of steals, field goals and free throws,
Several other stats only varied by
one or two successful completions.
The clear difference lies in offensive
rebounds.
“It was a great job on Gardner-
Webb’s part. They even got offen
sive rebounds on the free throws,”
Biedenbach said.
The Gardner-Webb game came
down to the wire. The score was
Gardner-Webb 67, UNCA 64, with
one second left. TVent Meyer had a
chance to take three free throws after
a foul by Kevin Hartley, but he only
made one.
“Here we had a nice lead and sur
rendered it. That’s not how we play.
I know it, you know it,” Biedenbach
said. “You can’t blame the game on
somebody missing a free throw, any
body can miss it, but getting beat up
and down the court spells disaster.”
Against Charleston Southern, UN
CA’s only distinctive defeat was in
rebounds. The Bulldogs had more
completed 3-point shots, a better
free throw ratio, more blocks and
more steals than CSU. However,
once again, UNCA was not able to
walk away with the win.
“I let my team and my coaching
staff down last game. To put the
Gardner-Webb game into overtime, I
feel, would have won us the game,”
Meyer said. “So going into practice
I had'focus up a little bit more and
came out this game. Our second top
scorer went out on foul check, so I
had to pick it up and be aggressive
and I got some good looks.”
Meyer’s individual efforts in the
CSU game were exemplary with a
career high 27 points, four steals,
seven 3-point shots, five assists and
four rebounds. There is still more to
winning basketball games than indi
vidual effort, Biedenbach said.
“Sustaining as a team, as a unit,”
Biedenbach said. “With one heart
beat as some might say, we were
awful. Awful.”
On the other hand, two losses in a
row does not mean absolute defeat
for UNCA.
Last season, the Bulldogs faced a
similar situation. After losing two
games in a row late in the season,
UNCA went on to win the Big South
Tournament title. Biedenbach hopes
history can repeat itself.
“Hopefully we can do that,” Bie
denbach said. “Then we had six se
niors and they were in great shape,
toughness-wise. Late in the season,
some of the freshmen are having
a tough time. We’ve had several
games when Will Weeks hasn’t
played up to his potential, same with
Sam Hughes.”
With four games left in the regular
season, there is an opportunity for
UNCA fo grab their third Big South
Tournament in a row.
“I’m proud of the guys at this
point in the season, but we’ve got
to get better. Not just practice, but
carry it onto the court,” Biedenbach
said. “It’s not a basketball knowl
edge thing, it’s a tougher mental and
physical thing.”
Photo by Davis Farthing- Contributing Photographer
D.J. Cunningham goes up for a shot against Charleston Southern on Saturday.