ELON, NC – Jackson Atoyebi pumped in a career-high 25 points as Elon edged UNC Asheville 75-72 Wednesday night at Alumni Gym, ending a five-game skid to the preseason Big South Conference favorite Bulldogs.
Atoyebi hit 10 of his 13 attempts from the field and connected on five of his seven tries from the free throw line. Rasmi Gamble (14 points, six rebounds) and Steven Harvin (11 points) also turned in key performances for the Phoenix (9-14, 5-6 Big South).
UNC Asheville (11-13, 7-4 Big South) used an 11-3 spurt to transform a 38-38 halftime stalemate into a 49-41 advantage on a three-point bomb by Joseph Barber with 15:05 left on the clock. Atoyebi and Gamble traded field goals to even the count at 49-49 on a Gamble bucket with 12:48 to play.
The Bulldogs responded by reeling off seven-straight points to claim a 56-49 lead on a lay-up by Omar Covington with 10:23 remaining. A 10-3 Phoenix spurt knotted the score at 59-59 on a Gary Marsh basket with 7:08 left, marking the first of four ties in the contest’s final minutes.
A pair of charity shots by Quinton McCleod turned a 70-69 UNCA edge into a 71-70 Elon advantage with 57 ticks left. Harvin canned a pair of freebees at the 19-second mark to stretch the Phoenix lead to 73-70.
Andre Smith’s lay-in with nine ticks left brought the Bulldogs within 73-72, but Harvin sank another pair of charity shots to determine the final score with eight seconds on the clock.
Barber (21 points), Bryan McCullough (16 points, six rebounds), Smith (12 points) and Alex Kragel (five assists) led the UNCA effort. The Bulldogs out-shot the Phoenix 47.8 percent (11-for-23) to 41.9 percent (13-for-31) from the field in the second half after being out-shot 62.5 percent (15-for-24) to 51.9 percent (14-for-27) in the first half.
For the game, Elon finished with victories in field goal percentage (50.9-50.0), free throw percentage (75.0-64.7), rebounding (32-25) and steals (5-3). UNCA excelled from three-point land, finishing 11-for-23 (47.8 percent) from behind the arc while Elon ended up 4-for-14 (28.6 percent).
--ELON-- Game Box Score
