Feb. 12, 2005

Final Stats

Elon, N.C. - Freshman Trey Hopkins nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing with 1:10 remaining in the contest to lift Western Carolina to a 54-49 victory over the homestanding Elon Phoenix Saturday night in Southern Conference action at Alumni Gym. Western (8-17, 3-9 SoCon) held Elon scoreless over the final 3:30 of regulation to pickup the road win and snap the Phoenix (5-20, 3-9) three-game winning streak.

Western was led by junior Cory Muirhead, who was 4-of-4 from the field, and freshman Antonio Russell, each finishing with 11 points. Junior David Berghoefer added 10 in the win, while his front court companion, senior Rans Brempong, pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds.

With Western up three (45-42), Elon scored seven straight, including a two free throws by Brian Waters, a layup by Waters and an old-fashion three-point play by Le'Vonn Jordan, to put Elon up four (49-45) with 3:30 left to play. Muirhead sank a pair of free throws and Russell drained a jumper with 2:05 left to tie the game at 49-49.

Hopkins' eventual game-winning trey, coming after a Brempong offensive rebound and on a Muirhead assist, was his only field goal of the second half and broke the tie to gave the Cats the lead for good.

Western turned up the pressure on the defensive end inside the final minute, forcing the Phoenix to take tough shots. However, the game was in doubt until the final seconds as the Cats only sank 2-of-6 free throws inside the final 36 seconds.

The Catamounts, who raced out to an 8-0 to start he game, held Elon to 6-for-28 shooting in the first half, taking a 26-16 lead at the break. The Phoenix rallied started the second half with a 21-10 run, taking their first lead of the game (37-36) on a 3-pointer from Scottie Rice midway through the second half. Russell answered with a three-pointer of his own at the 8:51 mark, putting the Catamounts back in front at 39-37.

Western shot 44.7 percent from the field, while holding Elon to just 30.4 percent shooting. The Phoenix also only had three assists on their 17 field goals made.

Hopkins finished with six points, as did Brempong. Berghoefer added eight rebounds. For Elon, Jordan led the way with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Western returns to action on Monday as it travels to Johnson City, Tenn., to battle North Division rival, East Tennessee State. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm.