Feb. 7, 2004

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Chattanooga used a 9-0 run inside the final 2:33 to go from five down to up four and escape with a 73-71 victory over Western Carolina Saturday night at the Ramsey Activity Center. The Mocs, led by Jason Rogan's 21 points and Ashley Champions' 21 points and 11 rebounds, improve to 13-8 overall and 6-4 in the Southern Conference, while the Catamounts fall to 11-10, 4-6.

The Mocs were down 69-64 with 2:33 left after WCU sophomore David Berghoefer sank a pair of free throws. Senior Ray Trowell, who came off the bench to provide a spark late, had five points, a rebound and an assist during the 9-0 run. Rogan provided the other four points on a layup and two free throws, which gave Chattanooga a 73-69 lead with 23 seconds left.

The Cats trimmed their deficit to two (73-71) after Berghoefer got an offensive rebound and a layup with eight seconds left. Western forced Trowell to step on the baseline to give the Cats one final shot with four seconds left. All-America candidate Kevin Martin got the ball just inside the free throw line, but the shot rimmed out as time expired to give UTC the two-point win.

Martin scored all of his game-high 23 points in the second half, after getting two quick fouls and playing just three minutes in the first half. The Zanesville, Ohio, native sank two free throws to start the second half and had back-to-back assists as WCU went on an 11-4 run to start the second half and take a two-point lead (36-34). The Mocs would regain the advantage over the next four minutes, until a Martin jumper tied the game at 42-42 with 12:25 remaining. After a UTC missed 3-pointer, James Johnson hit a wide open Alex Osipovitch for a fast break layup, giving the Cats a 44-42 lead. The layup sparked an 15-4 run by WCU, giving Western an 11-point lead (57-46) with 6:28 left.

Western held Chattanooga off over the next three minutes. With WCU up five, Trowell got a steal which led to a Rogan layup, making the score 65-62 in WCU's favor with 3:21 left. The teams traded baskets until Berghoefer's two free throws with 2:33 left, at which point the Mocs went on their run to escape with the win.

In the first half, Western kept it close with Martin on the bench, trailing by just five (30-25) at the break, as Corey Muirhead scored seven points and had five rebounds, while Osipovitch contributed six points. Champion, who recorded his third double-double of the season, had eight points and seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes, while the Mocs drained five 3-pointers. In addition to Muirhead and Osipovitch's play, Western kept it close by making seven free throws, compared to just one by Chattanooga. However, the Cats were only 7-of-14 at the line overall.

In addition to Martin's 23 points, Western got 14 points and eight rebounds from Berghoefer, while Kyle Greathouse and Osipovitch each added 10 points.

For the Mocs, Rogan was 7-of-10 from the field in scoring his 21 points, while Chris Brown scored 10. Trowell only played 17 minutes, but had nine points and five assists with two steals.

Western Carolina will travel to Statesboro, Ga., to face SoCon South leader Georgia Southern on Monday (Feb. 9). Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm.