Nov. 21, 2004

Final Stats

Columbia, S.C. - Western Carolina, who was playing its fifth game in eight days, faded down the stretch to suffer an 87-61 loss to South Carolina Sunday afternoon at the Colonial Center.

Western (0-5) only trailed by four at halftime (37-33) despite committing 17 first half turnovers. The Catamounts kept the game tight to start the second half as Rans Brempong hit a jumper to make the score 57-51 with 12:38 left in the game. However, the Cats would not score again four nearly seven minutes and the Gamecocks put the game out of reach with a 17-0 run to go up 23 (74-51).

Jared Outing broke Western's second-half scoring draught with a pair of free throws with 5:41 left, to make the score 74-53. The Cats would also only score eight points over the final five minutes, while South Carolina hit a pair of treys late to provide the final margin.

In the first half, Western Carolina outscored the Gamecocks 14-2 in a three-minute span to take a 29-22 lead on a Corey Muirhead steal and dunk with 5:36 left in the first half. South Carolina answered with a 12-2 run of its own behind Brandon Wallace's five points -- including a 3-pointer -- to go up 34-31 with 1:23 remaining.

Carlos Powell led the Gamecocks (1-0), scoring 16 points in South Carolina's 2004-05 season opener. Josh Gonner had 14 points in 16 minutes and Powell hit 7-of-11 field goals for the Gamecocks.

Western did out-rebound South Carolina, 38-30, but missed 12 second-half free throws to aid the Gamecocks game-deciding run midway through the second half.

The Catamounts (0-5) were led by Muirhead's 16 points. Kyle Greathouse chipped in 11 points while David Berghoefer added 10 points and nine rebounds. In his homecoming, Columbia native Outing played well in his first start of the season, scoring 11 points with six rebounds and a career-high three blocked shots.

Western played without starting forward Terrence Woodyard, who was injured in a practice on Saturday. It marked the first game the senior has missed in his career, as he was the only Catamount to play in every contest over the previous 87 games.

The Catamount will make it six games in 10 days when Western Carolina will host Emmanuel Tuesday (Nov. 23). The game, Western's 2004-05 home opener, will start at 7:00 pm and cane be heard on the Catamount Sports Network.

Also, the game will be available on www.wwcufm.com as well as having live stats online via GameTracker on www.catamountsports.com. (Live stats on Western's official website are provided to you thanks to the Catamount Travel Center, open 24 hours across from the WCU campus.)