Dec. 2, 2003

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina erased an 18-point second half deficit, leading by two (64-62) with 1:42 left, only to have High Point's Danny Gathings score the game winner with 0.6 seconds left as his Panthers (2-3) defeated the Catamounts (1-3), 66-64, Tuesday night at the Ramsey Activity Center.

Gathings, who had game highs with 23 points and 10 rebounds, was the only Panther to score over the final 6:15 in the contest, tallying 12 points over the span. Most importantly, Gathings hit two free throws with one minute left to tie the game at 64-64. Then, after a WCU turnover, the Panthers worked the clock for a final shot. Zione White's jumper was too hard and Gathings gathered the rebound and banked home the game winner from the left side of the free throw line.

High Point, leading by 11 at the break, went on an 8-2 run to start the second half, leading by 17 (44-27) with 17:56. The Panthers would increase their advantage to 18 (51-33) with 14:29 left. Western began to chip away at the lead, trimming its deficit to five (51-46) with 10:07 remaining. High Point stopped the 13-0 run with a 3-pointer by Jorsua Chambers. Both teams went scoreless for nearly two minutes until Catamount sophomore Jared Outing and senior Alex Osipovitch sparked a 6-0 run to make it a two-point game (54-52) with 6:25 left.

At the 6:15 mark, Gathings scored the first of his final 12 points with two free throws, giving the Panthers a four-point cushion. He would convert a steal, offensive rebound and an open jumper for a seven point HPU lead with 4:13. That is when WCU All-American candidate Kevin Martin started to make his presence felt. Although he only made one of two free throws with 3:52 left, Osipovitch got the miss and made a layup, making it a four-point game. Martin would then drain a 3-pointer and convert an old fashion 3-point play to give WCU a two-point lead (62-62) with 1:24 remaining. Gathings tied things up with his two free throws with 1:00 left, setting up his game winner.

The teams were nearly even on the boards in the first half, but 16 turnovers and just 36.4 percent shooting by the Cats helped give High Point the 36-25 lead at the break. The Panthers shot 45.2 percent in the first 20 minutes, handing out eight assists on their 14 made baskets.

In the second half, the Cats shot 50 percent from the field, while High Point kept the hot hand making 44.4 percent of its shots.

In addition to Gathings' 23 points and 10 rebounds, High Point was led by Jerry Echenique with 15 points.

For Western, Martin just missed a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing nine rebounds. He suffered through his toughest shooting performance of the season, making just 5-of-14 shots from the field and just 7-of-12 from the free throw line. His nine rebounds was one shy of his career high, while his five assists tied a career best. Osipovitch, who finished with a season-high 15 points, sank 6-of-9 shots, including 1-of-2 from 3-point range. Corey Muirhead also just missed a double-double, getting nine points and nine rebounds. Outing came off the bench to help spark Western's second-half run, getting eight points, four rebounds and three steals.

Western Carolina will return to action this Saturday (Dec. 6), hosting UNC Asheville in the Fourth Annual Asheville Citizen-Times Mountain Hoops Classic. The Catamount and Bulldog women's teams will start at 4 pm in the Ramsey Activity Center, with the men's teams set for begin at 7 pm.