Dec. 1, 2001

Box Score

Cullowhee, N.C. - UNC Asheville junior Andre Smith had a pair of steals and scored five points inside the final 40 seconds to lead the Bulldogs (1-5) to a 72-66 victory over Western Carolina (3-2) in men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Ramsey Activity Center.

The game featured eight ties and 14 lead changes. UNC Asheville's largest lead of the game was the final six-point margin, 72-66, while Western's largest lead was when it scored the first six points of the game.

Smith finished the game with 13 points, making 7-of-11 free throws, with four steals, five rebounds and three assists. Bulldog center Ben McGonagil led all scorers with 17, while Bryan McCullough added 12 points off the bench and Colin Shaw contributed 11 points.

For the fifth consecutive game, freshman Kevin Martin led the Catamounts with 14 points and four steals. Kelvin Wylie made 4-of-6 field goals and 5-of-8 free throws to join Martin in double figures with 13 points.

Western jumped out to an early 6-0 lead before UNCA scored the next seven to take its first lead. The lead changed hands several times over the next 11 minutes. The final lead change of the half came at the 2:41 mark when Martin drained a 3-pointer to give the Cats a 29-27 lead. Western would go up four on a two Wylie free throws. However, Smith made one free throw and Shaw hit a layup with 31 seconds left to cut WCU's lead to one, 31-30, at the half.

The second half had seven of the game's eight ties. UNC Asheville broke the seventh tie of the game, 61-61, on a McGonagil free throw at the 3:08 mark. Western was able to tie the game for a final time, 64-64, with 1:08 left. The Bulldogs regained the advantage on a pair of free throws by McCullough with 48 seconds left. Smith made the first of his two steals 10 seconds later and converted a layup to give UNCA a four-point lead and help seal the Bulldogs first win of the season.

UNC Asheville shot a blistering 50 percent from the field (24-of-48) and 50 percent from 3-point range (5-of-10). Western shot a season-low 38.6 percent (22-of-57) and was only 7-of-27 (.280) from long range. The Bulldogs also won the battle of the boards, 37-29.

Western return to action on two-game road swing in Florida. The Catamounts will first face Stetson in Deland on Thursday, Dec. 6 (7:10 p.m.), then travel to Tallahassee to face Florida State on Saturday, Dec. 8 (2:00 p.m.). UNC Asheville will play its second consecutive Southern Conference opponent when it plays at Furman on Tuesday, Dec. 4 (7:00 p.m.).