ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Strong play from guards Tovi Bailey, Chris Moore and Jamarco Warren kept CSU close for the majority of the Bucs' game at UNC Asheville Saturday, but the healthy return of key veteran Bulldogs Bryan Smithson and Kenny George was too much for the young Bucs, who fell 85-73 at UNC Asheville's Justice Center Saturday.

The Bucs had trailed by 14 in the first half but worked their way back into the game with a strong offensive display early in the second half. Over the first 11 minutes of the half, the Bucs scored 28 points, keyed by the excellent perimeter shooting of Warren. After scoring just three points in the opening session, Warren connected on four three point attempts in the second half and had 11 points within the first eight minutes of the half.

Also performing quite well for the Bucs was Warren's fellow freshman backcourt mate, Tovi Bailey. Bailey posted the first double-double of his CSU career with 14 points and 10 rebounds Saturday while also harassing Asheville's guards on the defensive end. The play of the freshmen duo allowed CSU to cut the deficit to just five at 63-58 with 9:04 left.

Five would be as close as CSU would get, however, as the Bucs would cool off following this stretch and the Bulldogs would begin to look much more like the team that began Big South play 7-0 than the team that had lost its last four games. Much of this was keyed by the return from injury of Kenny George, Asheville's 7'7" center, and the return to form of UNCA's leading scorer on the season, Bryan Smithson.

George was the dominant figure in the second half, scoring 13 points on six of six shooting in the final 20 minutes as the Bucs had the same difficulties teams have had all season in guarding the imposing big man. The Bucs will probably rue their luck at facing college basketball's tallest player, as George had seen incredibly limited action over Asheville's last five games. His impact Saturday evening, however, was unquestioned, and Asheville's ability to consistently go to George for easy buckets was the key reason why the Bulldogs were able to pull away over the game's final minutes for the eventual 12 point victory.

While George was the second half's leading light, the star of the first half was Bryan Smithson, who got a boisterous UNCA homecoming crowd going early with a strong first half display. The senior guard showed no signs of the ankle injuries that hobbled him in past games, connecting on seven of 11 field goals, and five of his six three pointers, en route to a 19 point opening 20 minutes.

CSU would cut into the deficit with a 9-0 run, keyed by impressive play from Chris Moore, who compiled four first half assists with some beautiful passes to the likes of Tovi Bailey and Giedrius Knysas, and Austin Johnson, who came off the bench to tie Moore for the first half scoring lead with seven a piece. A late Smithson three would quickly re-build the lead, however, resulting in CSU finding themselves in a 14 hole at the half, a hole that, thanks to George's strong second half, was simply too large to claw out of.

On the night for the Bucs, Chris Moore joined Bailey and Warren in double figures and lead Barclay Radebaugh's squad in scoring with 18 points. The 18 point night pulls Moore within just 12 points of 16th place in scoring in CSU basketball history, a position currently held by Adam Larrick with 1,078 points. Reid Augst also was a key contributor for Asheville, as a strong inside-outside game from the junior allowed Augst to tie Smithson for the team lead in scoring with 21 points and to lead Eddie Biedenbach's squad in rebounding with nine.

For the game, Asheville shot a very strong 61.8% from the field to 37.7% from CSU. A large product of this strong shooting was Asheville's domination of the paint, where they held a 59 to 23 advantage over the Bucs. The Bucs knocked down five more three pointers than Asheville, had five fewer turnovers and outscored the Bulldogs 15-6 in points off turnovers, but the strong perimeter play would not be enough against UNCA's big and experienced players on this night.

The loss drops CSU to 3-9 in the Big South on the season and 9-18 overall, while Asheville breaks out of its funk to move to 19-8 overall and 8-4 in conference on the year. The road does not get easier for the Bucs Tuesday, when CSU will travel to face the three-time defending conference champion, and current conference leading, Winthrop Eagles, at Winthrop Coliseum at 7:00 P.M.