NCAA ride over for UNC Asheville: Bulldogs hang in, but Pitt too much in the end

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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There are lots of recaps out there from yesterday’s game. Here area a few links:

From the Asheville Citizen-Times‘ Keith Jarrett:

But too much talent, size and experience from Pittsburgh brought an end to the Bulldogs’ stirring late-season run as the Panthers cruised to a 74-51 win in the second round of the Southeast Regional at the Verizon Center.

From Philly.com:

N.C.-Asheville, which downed Arkansas-Little Rock in a first-round game on Tuesday, came ready to play against Pittsburgh. But all the Bulldogs got for their effort was a 74-51 defeat that ended the Big South champions’ season.

Pitt had a five-point edge at halftime against a Bulldogs squad that showed no signs of being intimidated by its Big East Conference opponent, although the physical Panthers outrebounded their foes by 44-24.

From nbssports.msnbc.com:

Along the way, the Panthers showed the scrappy Big South champions what physical Big East basketball is all about, out-rebounding the Bulldogs 50-27 to make up for a so-so shooting game by nearly everyone but Ashton Gibbs.

He scored 20 of his 26 points after halftime, went 4 for 5 from 3-point range in the second half and scored seven points in the 13-5 run that eventually put the game away. Gibbs finished two points off his career high, set in a quarterfinal loss to UConn in the Big East tournament.