Andre Smith canned a three-point bucket with seven seconds to play, lifting UNC Asheville to a 68-66 overtime victory over Elon in first-round action of the 2003 Advance Auto Parts Big South Conference Men’s Basketball Championship. Details...
Smith had only scored five points during regulation, but doubled his point total with five more in the extra period. The Bulldogs (12-16) held the Phoenix (12-15) to 39.7-percent shooting from the field in a contest that featured 11 ties and eight lead changes.
In the early going, back-to-back three-point field goals by Scottie Rice turned an 11-8 deficit into a 14-11 Elon edge with 14:08 remaining in the opening period. UNC Asheville roared back with an 18-6 run to build a 29-20 advantage on a pair of free throws by Bryan McCullough with 3:20 to play in the first half.
The Phoenix reeled off nine-straight points to knot the score at 29-29 on a fastbreak steal and slam dunk by Shamar Johnson with 41 seconds left in the opening stanza. Chad Mohn sank a jumper just 13 ticks later to give the Bulldogs an eventual 31-29 halftime edge.
A 9-4 UNC Asheville spurt transformed a 34-34 stalemate into a 43-38 advantage on a Alex Kragel jumper with 11:29 remaining in regulation. Elon went on to force six ties with the sixth one causing the extra stanza.
In the overtime period, the Bulldogs claimed a 63-59 lead on a Kragel lay-up with 2:27 left, but the Phoenix refused to go away. Rice capped a 7-2 Elon run by cashing in on a lay-up to give the Phoenix a 66-65 edge with 33 seconds remaining, setting the stage for Smith’s heroics.
Ben McGonagil (7-for-10 FG, 10 rebounds, 16 points, six steals), McCullough (13 points), Kragel (11 points) and Smith (10 points) led UNC Asheville. Elon was paced by Rice (career-high 26 points, 8-for-14 FG, 6-for-10 treys), Steven Harvin (12 points, six assists) and Jackson Atoyebi (10 points).
The Bulldogs finished with edges in field goal percentage (44.6-39.7), rebounding (39-36) and turnovers (19-20). The Phoenix ended up with edges in assists (12-10), three-point field goal percentage (42.1-31.6) and blocked shots (6-4).
The Big South is a NCAA Division I Conference with nine institutions in the Southeast. Birmingham-Southern College, Charleston Southern University, Coastal Carolina University, Elon University, High Point University, Liberty University, Radford University, UNC Asheville and Winthrop University comprise the 19-year-old League, which is based in Charlotte, NC. The Big South Conference is online at www.BigSouthSports.com.