Thomas' 27 leads Ashville over Liberty 80-49 in Big South

Mar 4, 2017, 05:07 pm

BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- Ahmad Thomas made 12 of 15 shots and scored 27 points and North Carolina Ashville rolled to an 80-49 win over Liberty in the quarterfinals of the Big South tournament on Friday.

The Bulldogs (20-11) meet league champion High Point in the semifinals on Saturday.

Kevin Vannatta hit two 3-pointers and had eight points and Thomas had six as Ashville jumped to a quick 14-2 lead. Then a 12-0 run made it 28-10 en route to a 44-16 halftime score.

Vannatta finished with 12 points and all the Bulldogs starters scored at least nine points. Thomas matched his career high set in an earlier win over Liberty.

Ashville shot 54 percent from the field, including 10 of 19 behind the arc, and had a 41-26 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 21 assists on 31 baskets.

John Dawson had 15 points, Lovell Cabbil 14 and A.C. Reid 13 for the Flames (13-19), who 6 of 29 on 3s and shot 31 percent.