Asheville beats Radford 96-87 in Big South tourney

Mar 7, 2014, 05:26 pm

CONWAY, S.C. -- Jaron Lane scored 29 points, Andrew Rowsey 27 and D.J. Cunningham grabbed a Big South tournament-record 19 rebounds as UNC Asheville advanced to the semifinals with a 96-87 victory over Radford on Friday.

The Bulldogs (17-14), the No. 2 South Division seed, will now face Winthrop, the South's No. 4 in a Saturday semifinal. They split their two regular-season games.

Radford was the No. 3 North seed.

Lane scored 24 points in the second half after Rowsey carried the Bulldogs in the first half with 22 points. All the while, Cunningham was providing strength underneath with his career-high rebounding total along with 18 points.

Asheville led 47-36 at halftime. The closest the Highlanders got in the second half was four points, 77-73, with 4:12 left. A dunk by Sam Hughes made it a 10-point margin with 53 seconds left.

Rashun Davis scored 22 points for the Highlanders (21-12).