Box Score Dec. 7, 2004
Final Stats
Cullowhee, N.C. -
Western Carolina sophomore guard Kyle Greathouse got an offensive rebound and drained a short jumper in the paint with 3:13 in overtime to give the Catamounts (4-6) a lead they would not surrender in the team's 77-72 victory over East Carolina (4-3) Tuesday night at the Ramsey Activity Center.
The Catamounts were led by junior Corey Muirhead, who scored a game-high 19 points, while junior David Berghoefer came through with his second double-double of the season, scoring 18 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. The WCU win also marked the first for the Cats over a Conference USA Team.
After Berghoefer sank two free throws with 2:32 left in the second half, neither team could take advantage of opportunities to end the game in regulation. Notably, Muirhead had a steal and was fouled, only to miss both free throws with 1:39 left. Also, East Carolina's Mike Cook missed two jumpers, one with 38 seconds left and one with seven seconds left. The Catamounts tried to throw the ball the length on the court with two seconds remaining, but Western's Rans Brempong was called for a foul while the ball was in the air. The Pirates had one final chance in regulation, but Cook's 3-pointer did not fall and the second half ended with the score knotted at 64-64.
In overtime, Corey Rouse sank a turnaround, left-handed jumper on the baseline to give ECU an early two-point lead. Berghoefer then made 1-of-2 at the line, cutting the Catamount deficit to one, 66-65 with 3:49 left. After a missed Pirate jumper, Berghoefer grabbed one of his 11 defensive rebounds on the night, which would lead to Greathouse's rebound and put back. East Carolina worked its deficit down to one (69-68) with 1:51 left, but that is as close as the Pirates would get.
After two free throws by ECU's Japhet McNeil made it a one-point game, Berghoefer answered with a layup to put Western up three. Greathouse then sank two free throws and Berghoefer one to push the Catamount advantage to six with 28 seconds left. East Carolina made one final charge, cutting its deficit to three (75-72) with 14 seconds left on two Cook free throws, but Greathouse sank two from the line three seconds later to seal the game.
The game was tight from the beginning with six ties, eight lead changes and no team leading by more than three in the first half. The second half was more of the same as there were five ties, seven lead changes and no team led by more than five points. It was East Carolina who took that five-point lead with 7:00 minutes left. Up one, Rouse had back-to-back dunks to put the Pirates up 59-54. However, Muirhead answered with consecutive layups and
Antonio Russell sank two free throws to make it a one-point game once again (61-60) with 4:45 left.
ECU's Moussa Badiane only made 1-of-2 at the line with 3:21 left in the second half, allowing Muirhead come down and to tie the game at 62-62 on a jumper. Badiane then hit two free throws with 2:45 left only to have Berghoefer answer with his two from the charity stripe with 2:32 left in regulation, ending the scoring in the period.
Muirhead's 19 points came on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, including 1-of-1 from 3-point range, with five rebounds. Berghoefer, whose 13 rebounds were a season-high, sank 7-of-13 from the field and 4-of-6 from the line in scoring his 18 points, getting three steals as well. Brempong continued his fine play of late, scoring 11 points with three blocked shots. Brempong, the Southern Conference leader in field goal percentage, helped that lead tonight, by making 5-of-6 shots from the floor, including 1-of-2 from 3-point range. Trey Hopkins came off the bench to make two 3-pointers and dish out a game-high four assists.
East Carolina was led by Badiane's 17 points, making 7-of-8 shots from the field. He added five boards and three blocked shots. Three other Pirates finished in double figures, including Cook (16), Rouse (12) and Tom Hammonds (10). Rouse added seven rebounds, while Cook had six.
Western Carolina will return to action Thursday (Dec. 9) versus Atlanta Christian at 7 pm. Any fan that brings an unwrapped toy to the game will receive two free tickets to the contest. (All presents go the Jackson County Christmas Store.)
