Nov. 30, 2005

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina turned a nine-point lead (61-50) with 6:20 left to play into a 18-point advantage (71-53) nearly three minutes later thanks to a 3-pointer by Corey Muirhead and an old fashion 3-point play by Antonio Russell as the Catamounts pulled away late for a 76-59 over Montreat Wednesday night at the Ramsey Activity Center.

Russell, for the seventh time in nine games this season, led Western Carolina (4-5) in scoring with 19 points, while fellow sophomore Eric Wilson added 17 points. Muirhead chipped in 11 points, five rebounds and five assists and David Berghoefer contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.

Montreat (4-2) kept pace with the Catamounts over the first five minutes of the game, leading by one after a Tim Lewis layup at the 14:54 mark. Then, Western's Wilson and Russell sank four consecutive free throws to put the Cats up three (13-10). While the Cavaliers kept the game close, Western never relinquished the remainder of the game.

Late in the first half, Jared Outing capped a 6-0 run with two free throws, giving the Catamounts their largest lead of the first half, 30-21. Montreat rallied as David Robinson hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Jazz Cathcart sank a layup with 3:39 left before the break, making the score 34-31. Only four more points were scored the remainder of the first half, a jumper by Western's Stan Johnson and a dunk by Muirhead to give the Cats a 38-31 cushion at the break.

Robinson, who scored 12 points, struck once again early in the second half for the Cavaliers, hitting a trey at the 15:06 mark to make it a four-point game (42-38). However, Western had an 8-0 run to go up 12 (50-38) with 13:42 left, then used a 13-4 run from the 9:25 mark to the 4:18 mark to put the game out of reach.

Montreat was led in scoring by Aaron Collazo with 13 points, making 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Lewis added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Noble Anthony scored eight points and eight rebounds.

While the rebounds were even at 30-30, Western, who shot 48.1 percent from the field for the game, held Montreat to just 33 percent shooting in the second half and forced the Cavaliers into 22 turnovers with just seven assists.

Western Carolina will turn around to host another Western North Carolina school, hosting mountain rival UNC Asheville in a doubleheader Saturday. The WCU-UNCA women's game will start at 4:30, while the men's game is set to begin at 7:00 pm. In addition to some low single-game tickets for the doubleheader (call 1-800-34-GOWCU for more information), fans can enter the game for free if they bring a new, unwrapped toy for a child, which will go to the Christmas Store of Jackson County. Also, during the game, kids can have their picture taken with Santa Claus in the Ramsey Center.