An overflow crowd of 1,128 at CSU Field House cheered on as the Bucs rallied from 20 points down to as close as three in the second half, but UNC Asheville would ultimately pull away en route to an 86-73 win Saturday night in Big South play.

The Bulldog lead reached the 20 point mark at 62-42 with 12:10 left in the second half, and was built on the back of a 13-1 run early in the second half. Particularly difficult covers for the Bucs in this stretch and the game's early-going were Bryan Smithson (nine first half points), Asheville's scorer leader on the season and the third leading scorer in the conference at 18.1 ppg, and Kenny George, the 7'7" center who has received plenty of national notoriety in the last couple weeks. George's striking height presented the same matchup problems for CSU as have been presented for all comers on the season, as the big man lead UNCA with 10 points in the game's opening half.

The Bucs were undaunted by this run and slowly began the steady process of cutting into the Asheville lead. Within six minutes, the deficit had been whittled to a three point margin at 72-69 at the 5:22 mark.

The heroes of this 29-10 run were many, including freshman guard Jamarco Warren, who lead CSU in scoring on the night with 16 points, freshman guard Tovi Bailey (six points Saturday) and sophomore forward Quinton Goods, who posted 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Goods was a tough cover for George, as Quinton beat the junior center both over the top, with several mid-range jump shots, and around with a couple excellent drives to the bucket.

Omar Carter, CSU's leading scorer on the season, also began to pick up the pace after a slow start to the night at the run's conclusion. Carter, who narrowly missed his 18th double-figure scoring night on the season, contributed nine points on the night including the key jumper that narrowed the game to three points.

Asheville replied to CSU's run with a final 14-2 run of their own that would prove to be the game's decisive spurt. Once more, Smithson and George would key the attack for Eddie Biedenbach's squad, as a George layup would get the run started and Smithson would contribute seven points down the stretch, including a deflating three point shot as the shot clock expired in the game's final minute.

Warren, Goods and Shelton Carter (10 points) all finished the night in double figures for Barclay Radebaugh's squad, while Omar Carter, Chris Moore and Terrance Grier all finished just shy of double figures at nine points a piece. Grier in particular had keyed an impressive opening eight minutes from the Bucs, who lead by as much as seven early on. The senior guard rewarded Radebaugh for his strategy of playing many players, as 11 Bucs played at least six minutes and only one player, Warren with 29 minutes, played more than 25 minutes on the night.

A 27-9 run late in the first half would begin to wrest control of the game away from the Bucs in favor of the Bulldogs, who moved to a perfect 5-0 in the Big South with the win. Smithson paced Asheville once again on this night with 21 points on eight of 15 shooting. George contributed 17 points, while veterans K.J. Garland (14 points, eight assists) and Vincent James (12 points, 11 rebounds) also turned in impressive outings Saturday.

Asheville lived up to their billing as one of the best field goal shooting teams in the nation Saturday, as Biedenbach's squad hit on 54% of their baskets. Most of these makes came either in the paint, where Asheville held a 54-26 scoring advantage, or off turnovers, where the Bulldogs outscored the Bucs 22-10. CSU was held to 40.6% shooting and was outrebounded by Asheville 42-36 on the night, but 11 made threes allowed CSU to make their fight back.

The loss drops the Bucs to 1-4 in the Big South and 7-13 overall on the season. The next test for Radebaugh's squad will not be an easy one either, as the four-time defending Big South champion Winthrop Eagles, who hold inverse 4-1 Big South and 13-7 overall records, will make their 2007-2008 CSU Field House appearance Monday night at 7:30 P.M.