Box Score Jan. 10, 2005
Final Stats
Cullowhee, N.C. -
Junior forward Dillion Sneed, who scored 19 points, led three Buccaneers in double figures as East Tennessee State held on to defeat Western Carolina, 76-70, Monday night at the Ramsey activity Center. The Bucs improve to 5-9 overall and 1-3 in the Southern Conference, while Western falls to 5-12, 0-4.
Dillion scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half as the Bucs raced out to a 42-30 lead at the break. However, ETSU led by as many as 19 with 3:47 remaining in the first half, only to see Western Carolina trim its deficit to 12 with a 9-2 run at intermission. East Tennessee State took advantage of hot shooting from the field, making 50 percent of its shots, while Western struggled from both the field (33.3 percent) and the free throw line (57.1 percent).
Western built on its late first half surge and immediately cut its deficit to six (47-41) with just over three minutes gone to start the second half. Western kept the game close over the next three minutes before Tim Smith converted an old-fashion 3-point play and Sam Oatman followed with a 3-pointer to push the Bucs' lead back to 12. From that point, Western's
Antonio Russell scored nine points and grabbed a key offensive rebound, leading to a
Rans Brempong layup, during an 11-2 Catamount run to make it a three-point game (60-57) with 9:43 left.
While Western kept battling, East Tennessee State never relinquished the lead. After a Sneed layup put the Bucs up eight with 3:47 left, the Cats had a 6-0 run. Brempong sank two from the charity stripe and had a dunk, while David Berghoefer hit a layup to make the score 70-68 in ETSU's favor with 55 seconds left. However, Smith answered with his second old-fashion three-point play of the half to put the Bucs up five. ETSU went 3-of-4 from the free throw line inside the final 11 seconds for the 76-70 final.
Western played decidedly better in the second half, shooting 64 percent from the field and committing just six turnovers. However, ETSU improved from 50 percent shooting to 57.1 percent in the second half to hold on for the victory.
Dillion was 8-of-11 from the field in the second half and added six rebounds. Smith chipped in 16 points and dished out eight assists. Oatman scored 14 points, sinking 4-of-9 from 3-point range. James Anthony came off the bench to score seven points, adding seven assists.
For Western, Muirhead lead four Catamounts in double figures, scoring 19 points. Brempong, who had three blocked shots, scored 12 points, while Berghoefer and Russell each added 11 points and five rebounds. Kyle Greathouse had six assists with just one turnover.
Western Carolina will return to action Saturday (Jan. 15) at UNC Greensboro. Tip-off at Fleming Gym is set for 7:00 pm.
