Jan. 7, 2004

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina got a career-high 29 points from sophomore center David Berghoefer, but the College of Charleston had three players with at least 19 points as the Cougars (10-2, 2-0 SoCon) handed the Catamounts (7-5, 1-1 SoCon) an 84-61 loss Wednesday night at the Ramsey Activity Center.

Tony Mitchell, who sank five 3-pointers, led the Cougar trio, followed by Stanley Jackson's 20 points and Thomas Mobley's 19 points. Bernard Jackson just missed a double-double, getting 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench for CofC.

Berghoefer's big night was even more important for keeping Western Carolina in the game as Kevin Martin, the nation's leading scorer, only had 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting in 19 minutes of play. Berghoefer, whose previous scoring best was 19 points, made 12-of-19 shots and added his fourth double-double of the season with 14 rebounds.

No team lead by more than six points in the first half with the College of Charleston taking a 32-28 lead at the break. The first 20 minutes featured four ties and six lead changes. All the statistics were virtually even in the first half. However, the Cougars converted 37.1 percent of their shots (13-of-35), while WCU only made 10-of-34 (29.4 percent).

The game remained tight through the first six minutes of the second half with the College of Charleston leading 43-28 with 14:13 left. At that point, the Cougars' Mitchell and Jackson connected on back-to-back 3-pointers, giving CofC its first double-digit lead of 11 (49-38). Western's Corey Muirhead would get a steal and a layup to cut WCU's deficit to nine (49-40) with 12:52. However, that is as close as the Catamounts would get to remainder of the night.

While Charleston held a double-digit lead over the final 11 minutes of the game, Western was able to remain within striking distance, trailing by 12 (63-51) with 6:31 left. The Cougars would gradually pull away over the next two minutes and put the game out of reach, leading by 17 (74-57) with 4:02 left. Western did not score over the final 1:49 and Jackson sank a 3-pointer with 1:07 left to provide the final 84-61 margin.

The Cougars made 54.5 percent of their shots in the second half, including 44.4 percent from 3-point range, against the Catamounts, who entered the game as the SoCon leader in both overall and 3-point field goal percentage. Western was able to make 44.4 percent of its shots in the second half, but only made 1-of-10 from 3-point range on the night.

For the Cougars, Mitchell added six rebounds, two assists and two steals to go along with his 21 points. Jackson also had six rebounds and added four assists and three steals. Mobley, who was 5-of-11 from the field, sank all eight of his free throw attempts and had eight rebounds as well.

Martin was the only other Catamount in double figures, making 6-of-7 free throws to get his 10 points.

Western Carolina will return to action Saturday (Jan. 10). Both Catamount teams will be in action for the annual "Pack the RAC" night. First the women's team will host defending SoCon Champion Chattanooga at 4 pm, while the men will host Elon at 7 pm. All fans will be admitted for free for both of WCU's games on Saturday.