Gamecocks Welcome Asheville Wednesday

COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) — South Carolina will host UNC Asheville on Wednesday in a mid-week matchup at Colonial Life Arena. The game is the first between the two schools since the 2007-08 campaign. South Carolina owns a 7-2 advantage in the all-time series vs. the Bulldogs. The Gamecocks look to rebound after falling in their final two contests at the Charleston Classic to Charlotte and Akron. Wednesday’s game marks the first for Gamecock head coach Frank Martin vs. the Bulldogs. GAME INFORMATION Game Date: Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014 Game Time: 8 p.m. ET Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Broadcast: SEC Network/WatchESPN Talent: Tom Werme (pxp), Tony Delk (analyst) Radio: Gamecock Radio Network Talent: Andy Demetra (pxp), Casey Manning (analyst) Sirius: 136; XM: N/A Live Stats: GamecocksOnline.com Tickets: GamecocksOnline.com/Tickets, 1-800-4SC-FANS Series: South Carolina leads 7-2 Last Meeting: 61-58, UNC Asheville win, Jan. 5, 2008, in Columbia, S.C. GAME STORYLINES – South Carolina is in its 107th season of varsity basketball in 2014-15. – The Gamecocks are led by third-year head coach Frank Martin. His associate head coach is Matt Figger, his assistant coaches are Perry Clark and Lamont Evans, and his director of operations is Andy Assaley. – South Carolina returns 11 letterwinners from last season’s 14-20 team, including starters, sophomore guard Sindarius Thornwell, junior forward Michael Carrera, junior forward Mindaguas Kacinas and sophomore forward Demetrius Henry. Senior guard Tyrone Johnson started nine games before being sidelined with an injury as well. – The Gamecocks host UNC Asheville for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign, when the Bulldogs pulled a 61-58 upset in Columbia. Asheville scored the final 10 points of that game for the win. – Carolina’s game vs. Asheville marks its fifth game in the last nine days – Baylor (Nov. 18), Cornell (Nov. 20), Charlotte (Nov. 21), Akron (Nov. 23), Asheville (Nov. 26). – The Gamecocks battled back from a 10-point first-half deficit to tie the contest vs. Akron late in the second half, but the Zips used solid free throw shooting down the stretch to claim a 68-63 victory for third place at the Charleston Classic last Sunday. South Carolina had three in double-figures, Thornwell with 13, Notice with 12 and Chatkevicius the top scorer off the bench with 11, but a poor shooting performance in the early part of the first half – the Gamecocks hit just one of their first 13 attempts from the floor – saw Akron lead for the majority of the contest. – Despite 20 points from Thornwell, the Gamecocks dropped a 65-63 decision to Charlotte on Nov. 22 in the semifinals at the Charleston Classic. Thornwell had a chance from 3 at the buzzer, but the shot hit the rim and didn’t fall. Thornwell also led the Gamecocks with eight rebounds and two steals in 34 minutes played. – South Carolina easily defeated Cornell on Nov. 20 in the quarterfinal round of the 2014 Charleston Classic at TD Arena on the campus of the College of Charleston. The Gamecocks held the Big Red to just 26.9 percent from the field, which ties for the second-lowest field goal percentage by a Carolina opponent under the direction of head coach Frank Martin. South Carolina also struggled from the floor, hitting just 37.9 percent (22-58). – Thornwell finished with 14 points to lead Carolina vs. Cornell. He scored 13 of those points in the first half, including 10 of the Gamecocks’ first 12 points in the game. – Despite a career high 21 points from Johnson and four Gamecocks in double figures, Baylor held on to a slight lead at the end of regulation and point guard Kenny Chery hit two free throws with one second remaining to secure a 69-65 victory for the Bears on Nov. 18 at Colonial Life Arena. The game featured six ties and six lead changes, with both teams shooting poor from 3-point range, as Baylor hit just 33.3 percent (6-18) and the Gamecocks 23.8 percent (5-21). – Carolina’s participation in the Charleston Classic is its second time in the event, as the Gamecocks also participated in the 2009 edition, posting a 2-1 record with wins over LaSalle and USF, before suffering an 85-70 loss to Miami (Fla.) in the Championship game. – The Gamecocks tipped off their season with a solid 81-56 victory over North Florida on Nov. 14, led by nine different Gamecocks posting at least six points in the win, led Henry and Johnson with 12 points each. The win pushed head coach Frank Martin’s all-time record in season openers to 8-0 for his career. – After the Nov. 14 win over North Florida in the 2014-15 season opener, Carolina owns a 78-29 (.728) all-time record in season lidlifters, including a perfect 10-0 record in the last 10 seasons. The last season-opening loss for the Gamecocks came against the Ohio Valley’s Tennessee Tech during the 2000-01 season, as the Golden Eagles edged the Gamecocks, 73-67. – The Gamecocks return 71.3 percent (1,658/2,323) of their scoring from last season. The biggest void was left by the graduation of senior guard Brenton Williams who tallied 505 points. – South Carolina posted a 92-47 victory over Benedict in the team’s lone exhibition game this season. Johnson led the Gamecocks with 23 points, six rebounds and six assists in the win. Carrera was huge on the boards, collecting 15 rebounds, while junior forward Laimonas Chatkevicius also pulled down double-digit rebounds with 12. Sophomore guard Duane Notice accounted for nine of Carolina’s 23 assists (on 32 made baskets) in the game. SCOUTING ASHEVILLE Asheville enters Wednesday’s matchup with the Gamecocks with a 2-2 record early this season, with wins over East Carolina and Johnson and Wales, and losses at Wake Forest and at ETSU. Sophomore guard Andrew Rowsey paces the squad with 25.8 points per game, which leads the Big South and ranks fourth nationally. Rowsey was the 2014 Big South Rookie of the Year, and led the conference in scoring with 20.3 points per game last season. Freshman forward Kem Ubaru has won two-straight Big South Freshman of the Week awards entering Wednesday’s contest. He averages 13.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Nick McDevitt is in his second season as head coach at Asheville. McDevitt was a four-year letterwinner for UNCA. ASHEVILLE SERIES South Carolina leads the all-time series versus UNC Asheville, 7-2, with all nine of those games played in Columbia. The first meeting was an 85-57 Gamecock win on Dec. 3, 1980. Asheville won the last meeting between the two schools, 61-58, on Jan. 5, 2008.