Feb. 7, 2005

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina trimmed an eight-point deficit to one inside the final 1:39, but a break away layup by Appalachian State's Douglas McLaughlin-Williams with three seconds to play secured a 74-71 victory for the Mountaineers (11-9, 5-5, SoCon) Monday night at the Ramsey Activity Center. The Catamounts (7-17, 2-9 SoCon) got one final desperation attempt, but it came up short as time expired.

Nathan Cranford led App State with 18 points, draining 6-of-9 from 3-point range. Western's leading scorer was David Berghoefer, who recorded game highs in both points (24) and rebounds (11).

Down eight, Berghoefer made two free throws when an intention foul was called on App State, cutting the WCU deficit to six. Keeping the ball, Berghoefer was fouled again while getting an offensive rebound and the 6-10 junior sank two more from the charity stripe to make the score 70-66 with 1:31 left. Noah Brown made a cutting layup to push the App State advantage back to six only to have Trey Hopkins answer with a long-range 3-pointer.

After a missed free throw by the Mountaineers, Hopkins was fouled and the freshman hit 1-of-2 from the line to make it a two-point game (72-70) with 29 seconds left. ASU once again missed the front end of a 1-and-1, giving WCU the ball with 25 seconds to go. A couple of errant WCU shots wound up in Antonio Russell's hand and the freshman was fouled with three ticks on the clock. He missed the first and made the second to make it a one-point game (72-71) in ASU's favor. Western nearly forced a turnover in its full court press, but D.J. Thompson found the steaking McLaughlin-Williams for what proved to be the game-winning layup.

Appalachian State held a slight 36-33 rebound advantage, but drained 13 3-pointers, compared to just six treys by the Catamounts, to aid in the victory. Western was able to stay in the game by committing just 13 turnovers (compared to 18 by ASU) and sinking 11-of-15 from the free throw line, compared to just 5-of-10 at the stripe by the Mountaineers.

In the first half, Western scored first, but App State answered with a 15-3 run to take an early 10-point lead. With 10:12 left in the period, Hopkins hit a 3-pointer, cutting the WCU deficit to six, which is the lead ASU held until the final 1:30 before the break. Russell made a layup with 1:21 remaining in the half to give WCU a one-point lead. After a jumper by Thompson and a free throw by Berghoefer, much like the end of the game, Corwin Davis hit a streaking Demetrius Scott for a layup as time expired for an ASU 42-40 lead at the break.

Western came out in the second half and took an early eight-point lead, its largest of the game. Appalachian State would tie the game at 54 with 10 minutes to go, then take an eight-point lead with 4:07 left. Hopkins answered with a 3-pointer, only to have Thompson sink a trey as well, setting up the final WCU flurry.

In addition to Cranford, McLaughlin-Williams scored 15, followed by Thompson (13 points) and Clint Deas (10 points). Deas and McLaughlin-Williams each pulled down eight rebounds, while Thompson had five assists and three steals.

For the Catamounts, Hopkins and Russell also scored in double figures, adding 18 and 14 points, respectively. Hopkins also dished out five assists, while Russell added six steals. Corey Muirhead came off the bench to pulled down nine rebounds, while freshman walkon Eric Wilson played his second consecutive solid game with five assists and eight rebounds.

Western Carolina will travel to Elon this Saturday (Feb. 12) to play the Phoenix at 7:00 pm.