Box Score Dec. 9, 2004
Final Stats
Cullowhee, N.C. -
Western Carolina, who had all 11 players score at least two points and grab at least two rebounds, held Atlanta Christian scoreless for six minutes in the second half and went on a 17-0 run during the span, as the Catamounts (5-6) cruised to a 93-50 victory over the Chargers (3-11) Thursday night at the Ramsey Activity Center.
Inside the first minute of the game, Western's Lunzaya Nlandu scored the first basket of the game and Western never trailed the rest of the contest. Atlanta Christian's Will De la Cruz answered with a jumper to tie the game at 2-2, which was the only time the game featured a tie. The Catamounts responded with a 10-0 run and never looked back.
While Western controlled the game, Atlanta Christian's Stephen Walls scored seven straight points for the Chargers to make it a four-point game (17-13) with 11:06 left in the first half. Over the next six minutes, the Catamounts went on another run, out-scoring the Chargers 18-0 to go up 35-13
As the first half came to a close, Atlanta Christian hit the offensive boards to cut their deficit to 13 at the break. Walls got an offensive rebound and drained a 3-pointer. After a WCU turnover, Gib Roland got an offensive board and a put back. With under 50 seconds before halftime, De la Cruz got a defensive rebound, passed the ball to Roland, who setup a Daryle Tucker 3-pointer. Western had two tries to score inside the final 15 seconds, but missed a pair of 3-pointers to go into the locker room leading 38-25.
Both teams struggled offensively with Western shooting just 39.4 percent from the field and Atlanta Christian making just 31.4 percent of its shots. Both teams were 3-of-12 beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes, with Western converting just 9-of-14 at the charity stripe. The Chargers did not attempt a free throw. Also, the first half featured 23 turnovers, 12 by ACC and 11 by WCU.
The two teams virtually traded baskets over the first four minutes of the second half with Western leading by just 16 (48-32) at the 16:04 mark. However, over the next three minutes, the Catamounts pushed their advantage to 24 (60-36) thanks to the play of Nlandu. Over the span, the senior made four free throws, got two rebounds, a steal and an assist. Not long afterwards, Western went on its 17-0 run to put the contest out of reach.
Western Carolina had four players score in double figures. For the second consecutive game, WCU junior Corey Muirhead paced the Cats, scoring 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. He added four rebounds and established a career high with five steals. Freshman Trey Hopkins came of the Catamount bench to score 13 points and dish out a season-high seven assists. Nlandu added 12 points, missing a career-high by one point, and eight rebounds. David Berghoefer also scored 12 points.
Rans Brempong had five blocked shots on the night, giving him 259 for his career and just 11 shy of becoming the Southern Conference's career leader in the category. Fellow senior Terrence Woodyard contributed nine rebounds to help WCU hold a 49-33 advantage on the boards.
For Atlanta Christian, Tucker had 14 points with Walls and De la Cruz each scoring 10 points. De la Cruz and Jeremy Davis each had six rebounds.
Western Carolina will take time off for final exams, not returning to action until Dec. 18 at Iowa. Tip-off is set for 7:05 pm (CT), which is 8:05 pm (ET), and the game will be telecast on ESPN Plus as part of the Big 10 television package.
