UNCA’s junior forward Jeremy Atkinson puts points on the board within the first 5 seconds of the game. It did not get much better for Charleston Southern the rest of the night. Photos by Bill Rhodes
After VMI defeated Winthrop earlier in the evening, all eyes were on the match-up between Charleston Southern University and UNCA. The two teams had met before, delivering one of the few losses the Bulldogs had this year. The student cheering section had not forgotten — and they were not in a forgiving mood. In January the UNCA defense was not as inspired as they were this evening. This evening, they were DEFENSE.
From the UNCA sports website:
Top-seeded UNC Asheville wrapped a 24-7 run around half-time and went on to defeat Charleston Southern 91-64 Thursday night in the semifinal round of the Advance Auto Parts Big South Championship at Kimmel Arena.
The defending Big South champion Bulldogs (23-9) will host seventh-seeded VMI (17-15) in Saturday’s final, which will start at 12:00 p.m. on ESPN2. VMI defeated 6th seed Winthrop 75-55 in Thursday’s first semifinal.
Asheville is in the championship game for the second straight season and eighth time overall. The 23 wins ties a school record for most wins in a season.
