How UNC Asheville basketball will move forward after March Madness run
SACRAMENTO – The greatest season in UNC Asheville basketball history came to an end against national power UCLA on Thursday night.
The second-seeded Bruins raced out to a 14-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game and coasted to an 86-53 victory over the Bulldogs in a first-round NCAA Tournament contest at the Golden One Center. Asheville finished its spectacular season with a 27-8 record. The loss ended the career of senior guard Tajion Jones, now the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,987 points.
“I wish we could have given UCLA a better game tonight but there’s a reason why they have the most wins of any Power Six school,” Asheville coach Mike Morrell said. “They’re ranked as the best defensive team in the nation and we saw that tonight.”
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Jones finished his final game as a Bulldog with 11 points after shooting 5-for-12 from the field and 1-for-6 from beyond the arc. Jones also owns the program record for most 3-pointers made with 360.
“I loved coaching Tajion Jones. We’re going to miss him but he’s left his mark here at UNC Asheville,” Morrell said.
Jones was the only player left from Morrell’s first season when the Bulldogs went 4-27 during the 2018-19 season.
“The great thing about Tajion is he allowed himself to be coached. Even as he improved as a player from year-to-year, Tajion still wanted to be coached,” explained Morrell. “That doesn’t happen with every player. Some achieve success and don’t want to be coached anymore. That wasn’t Tajion.”
Asheville’s loss will hurt for awhile but does not detract from what the Bulldogs accomplished this year.
Besides winning a school-record 27 games, Asheville won its first regular-season title outright in 11 years with a 16-2 league mark. The 16 wins ties a school and Big South Conference record. In addition, the Bulldogs went undefeated (13-0) at Kimmel Arena. It's their first perfect season at home since 1997-98, when the Dogs were 13-0 at Justice Center.
Jones and reserve guard Alex Caldwell have used their eligibility, but everyone else on the roster could return next season.
“We had a great season and while I’m disappointed we didn’t play better tonight, this defeat doesn’t diminish what we accomplished this year,” Morrell said. “Our guys won the most games in school history and this school has a pretty good basketball tradition with a lot of great players."
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: UNC Asheville basketball has key players back after March Madness run
