The UNC Asheville men's basketball team rallied from a double-digit second half deficit to knock off seventh-seeded Campbell by a score of 77-73 in the 2023 Hercules Tires Big South Men's Basketball Tournament Championship Game on Sunday afternoon at the Bojangles' Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C. With the victory, the Bulldogs earned the Big South's automatic bid into the 2023 NCAA Tournament. It'll mark Asheville's fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in school history and its first since 2016.
The tandem of Drew Pember (6'10''-F-2000) and Tajion Jones (6'5''-G) led the way for the Bulldogs on Sunday. Pember scored 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds and was named the Big South Tournament MVP. Jones, who also earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, played all 40 minutes on Sunday scoring 24 points on a 9-for-14 shooting day from the field and a 5-for-9 effort from 3-point range.
Sunday's Championship contest was back-and-forth with multiple lead changes. A key for Asheville early on was the play of Fletcher Abee (6'3''-G). Abee scored 11 of the Bulldogs' first 13 points to help Asheville keep pace with the Camels.
Abee's production was met by 16 points from Campbell's Jay Pal (6'4''-G-2000) and 10 more from Anthony Dell'Orso (6'6''-G-2003) in the first half. Following Abee's hot streak to start the game, Pember carried most of the load for Asheville with 13 points to go with five rebounds. The back-and-forth first half finished with Campbell holding a three-point lead, 38-35.
Facing a halftime deficit for the second straight game, the Bulldog continued to battle. Campbell, however, kept the pressure on the top-seeded Bulldogs in the second half. At one point, Campbell built its lead to as many as 14 points, 66-52, with 7:52 to go.
Facing its largest deficit of the tournament, Asheville did not panic and chipped away at the Campbell lead. Like Abee did early, Jones caught fire and brought the Bulldogs back. The sixth-year senior scored 16 points in the final seven minutes and hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with a little under a minute to go, 75-73.
The 3-pointer from Jones gave Asheville its first lead since the 14:11 mark in the first half put the pressure on the Camels. Suddenly facing a deficit, Campbell attempted a trio of 3-pointers to try and tie or retake the lead. However, all three attempts were off the mark and Asheville got the rebound each time. Made free throws from Caleb Burgess (6'3''-G) and Pember following a couple of those rebounds helped finish off the 77-73 victory for the Bulldogs and clinch their sixth Big South Tournament Championship.

Courtesy of bigsouthsports.com

All-Tournament MVP: Drew Pember (6'10''-F-2000) of UNC Asheville
Player of the Year: Drew Pember (6'10''-F-2000) of UNC Asheville
Defensive Player of the Year: Drew Pember (6'10''-F-2000) of UNC Asheville
Freshman of the Year: Anthony Dell'Orso (6'6''-G-2003) of Campbell
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Owen McCormack (6'9''-F) of Presbyterian
Coach of the Year: Michael Morrell of UNC Asheville

All-Big South Conf. First Team 2023

Pember

Wilkins

Talford

Jones

Gainey

First Team
Drew Pember (6'10''-F-2000) of UNC Asheville
Isaiah Wilkins (6'4''-G) of Longwood
Kelton Talford (6'7''-F) of Winthrop
Tajion Jones (6'5''-G) of UNC Asheville
Jordan Gainey (6'4''-G) of USC Upstate

All-Big South Conf. Second Team 2023

Smith

Clemons

Harris

Hightower

Nicholas

Second Team
DaQuan Smith (6'1''-G-1999) of Radford
Ricky Clemons (6'2''-G-2000) of Campbell
Claudell Harris (6'3''-G) of Charleston So.
Cory Hightower (6'7''-F) of Winthrop
DQ Nicholas (6'1''-G-2000) of Gardner-Webb

All-Big South Conf. Honorable Mention 2023

Austin

House

Wade

Antoine

Reid

Honorable Mention
Zack Austin (6'7''-F) of High Point
Jaden House (6'4''-G) of High Point
DeShaun Wade (6'2''-G) of Longwood
Bryan Antoine (6'5''-G-2000) of Radford
Kareem Reid (6'9''-F-2000) of Gardner-Webb

All-Big South Conf. All-Freshman Team 2023

Dell'Orso

Forrest

Giles

Surratt

All-Freshman Team
Anthony Dell'Orso (6'6''-G-2003) of Campbell
Justin Bailey (6'3''-G) of USC Upstate
Jalen Forrest (6'4''-G) of Presbyterian
Kenyon Giles (5'11''-PG) of Radford
Jordyn Surratt (6'7''-G/F) of USC Upstate

All-Academic Team
Laurynas Vaistaras (6'6''-F-2001) of Campbell
Ademide Badmus (6'7''-F) of Gardner-Webb
Bryson Childress (5'8''-PG) of High Point
Jesper Granlund (6'6''-F-2000) of Longwood
Owen McCormack (6'9''-F) of Presbyterian
Shaquan Jules (6'7''-F-1999) of Radford
Fletcher Abee (6'3''-G) of UNC Asheville
Thomas Sheida (6'2''-G) of USC Upstate

All-Big South Conf. All-Tournament Team 2023

Pember

Jones

Pal

Dell'Orso

Gainey

All-Tournament Team
Drew Pember (6'10''-F-2000) of UNC Asheville
Tajion Jones (6'5''-G) of UNC Asheville
Jay Pal (6'4''-G-2000) of Campbell
Anthony Dell'Orso (6'6''-G-2003) of Campbell
Jordan Gainey (6'4''-G) of USC Upstate