ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Jaxon Prunty scored 19 points, including a 10-of-11 night at the free-throw line, and Western Carolina held off a second-half charge from UNC Asheville to win 83-75 Saturday evening at Kimmel Arena.
All five Catamount starters scored in double figures, combining for 75 of the team’s 83 points. Jaeden Roberts added 17, Malachi Brown had 16, Samuel Dada finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Isaiah Manning chipped in 10. The win moved Western Carolina to 1-1 on the young season, while UNC Asheville fell to 1-2.
The Catamounts did not win the game with their shooting. UNC Asheville made more field goals (25 to 23) and more three-pointers (11 to 8), and the Bulldogs edged Western Carolina on the glass, 37-33. The difference came at the line. Western Carolina made 29 of 38 free throws (76%), while UNC Asheville went 14 of 24 (58%), a 15-point swing that more than covered the Bulldogs’ edge from beyond the arc. Western Carolina also committed fewer turnovers, 9 to 12, and finished with six steals to UNC Asheville’s five.
The Catamounts came out sharp. Manning scored on a tip-in, Roberts converted two quick layups off Western Carolina steals, Prunty hit a three, and Jacob Zhu threw down a dunk, pushing the lead to 14-1 with 15:36 left in the first half. That 13-point cushion would stand as the largest lead of the game for either team.
UNC Asheville answered with a 25-12 run that featured three-pointers from Connor Dubsky and Ja’Corey Lipkins. Jermaurhiyun Anderson’s layup tied the game at 26 with 5:21 to play in the half, and a pair of Myles Mayfield free throws gave the Bulldogs their first lead, 31-29, at the 3:53 mark. Dada steadied the Catamounts from there, scoring nine of his 11 first-half points in the final four minutes, and Prunty added three free throws in the closing two minutes. Roberts then hit a three-pointer from 26 feet with three seconds left to send Western Carolina to the locker room up 44-40.
Prunty carried much of the first-half load, scoring 14 points on three three-pointers and five free throws. All three of his made threes came before the break. In the second half, all five of his points came from the free-throw line.
Lipkins opened the second half by knocking down a three-pointer to cut the lead to one, and he followed with two more in the first two and a half minutes. His step-back three at 17:33 put UNC Asheville ahead 51-48, the Bulldogs’ largest lead of the night at three points. Lipkins finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, making five of his 13 three-point attempts.
Western Carolina responded with a 6-0 burst. Brown scored on a driving layup, Manning followed with a layup to give the Catamounts a 52-51 lead, and Roberts added two free throws. The game stayed tight until Anderson’s jumper put UNC Asheville in front 58-57 with 13:38 left. It was the Bulldogs’ last lead. Roberts answered 17 seconds later with a 25-foot three-pointer, assisted by Antonio McKoy, and Western Carolina led the rest of the way.
The Catamounts built their cushion with a mix of timely threes and trips to the line. Brown connected from 24 feet off a Prunty assist to make it 63-58, then Prunty and Roberts combined to hit four free throws to stretch the lead to 67-60. Roberts’ driving layup made it 69-62, and Tayeshaun Smith’s layup off a Dada assist put Western Carolina up 71-63 with 7:07 remaining.
UNC Asheville cut the deficit to 71-67 on Anderson’s tip-in with 5:25 to go, but Manning answered 14 seconds later with a layup, set up by a Dada pass. The Bulldogs then went cold, missing a string of shots, and Brown made four free throws in just over a minute to push the margin to 77-68. A Prunty free throw with 2:07 left made it a 10-point game, the Catamounts’ biggest lead of the second half.
UNC Asheville kept driving. Tylon Chatman hit a three-pointer, Mayfield finished a dunk off a Chatman assist, and Chatman’s turnaround jumper with 43 seconds left made it 80-75. Prunty then made both free throws at the 22-second mark, and Brown added one more with eight seconds to play to close out the win.
Roberts finished with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including two three-pointers, and made five of his six free throws. Brown shot 4-of-7 from the field, made six of eight at the line and had two steals and two assists. Dada controlled the glass with seven defensive and three offensive rebounds, added a block, and made all three of his free throws, though he also finished with four fouls. Manning went 4-for-4 at the line.
Western Carolina’s bench was quiet, contributing eight points. UNC Asheville’s reserves had the stronger night, outscoring Western Carolina’s bench 29-8. Dubsky, who came off the bench, led the Bulldogs with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the three-point range and had three steals. Anderson scored 13, Mayfield had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Chatman handed out a team-high four assists. The Bulldogs shot 43% from the field.
Western Carolina shot 44% from the field and 36% from the three-point range. A crowd of 1,334 was on hand at Kimmel Arena.
Western Carolina returns to action Wednesday, Nov. 11, against Virginia University of Lynchburg, a team the Catamounts beat 124-62 last December. WCU has another home contest against Lipscomb University on Saturday, Nov. 14. They then travel to Indianapolis to face Butler on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
