Dec. 31, 2005

Final Stats

Athens, Ga. - Western Carolina senior Corey Muirhead led all scorers and rebounders, registering his second-straight double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. However, it was not enough to overcome 14 3-pointers by Georgia as the Bulldogs pulled away in the second half for an 89-65 victory over the Catamounts (7-8) Saturday evening at Stegeman Coliseum.

While Georgia drained 14-of-25 3-pointers in the game, Western, one of the Southern Conference's top 3-point shooting teams, was 0-of-3 beyond the arc in the first half and just 2-of-9 for the game. Other than the 3-point shooting, the statistics were fairly even. Georgia made 27 field goals, shooting 50 percent from the field, and Western 22, making 52 percent of its shots. Georgia made 21 free throws, compared to Western's 19. The Catamounts out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 32-29, but committed 25 turnovers to UGA's 16.

Channing Toney, who was 3-of-4 from 3-point range, led Georgia with a season-high 18 points as the Bulldogs (9-3) surpassed last season's win total of eight. The Bulldogs also got 17 points from Mike Mercer, who was 6-of-6 at the free throw line, and 15 from Levi Stukes, who was 5-of-6 beyond the arc.

Muirhead's 20 points was his third-best, career effort, three points off his career-high of 23 established as a freshman versus East Tennessee State, while his 12 rebounds was his second-best, career-effort, three off his career-high of 15 set earlier this season versus Bowling Green. Muirhead additionally led the Catamounts with three assists.

Georgia hit nine 3-pointers in the first half, including four during a five-minute span that helped the Bulldogs build a 37-19 lead with 6:01 to go before intermission. However, Georgia would not score another field goal in the first half as the Catamounts posted an 11-2 run, including eight points from Muirhead, to narrow the gap to 39-30 at halftime.

David Berghoefer, who contributed 13 points, scored the first basket of the second half to pull the Catamounts to within seven points of Georgia. The Bulldogs answered in short order with four more treys over the first five minutes to go up 16 and never looked back.

A pair of free throws by Mercer with 14:27 to play restored Georgia's 18-point edge and started a run of nine consecutive points scored by freshman guard. He followed with an alley-oop dunk and free throw, an acrobatic layup in transition and another old fashion 3-point play to give the Bulldogs a 63-40 lead midway through the second half.

In addition to Muirhead and Berghoefer, Antonio Russell scored nine points and had three steals, while Jared Outing added nine points and Stan Johnson had three steals.

Western Carolina will remain on the road and in the Southeastern Conference, facing the Mississippi Rebels. Tipoff in Oxford, Miss., on Jan. 3 is set for 7:00 pm (CT), which is 8:00 pm (ET),