Jan. 30, 2006

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina sophomore Negus McKenna sank 7-of-9 of his 3-pointers en route to a career-high 24 points, while Antonio Russell and Trey Hopkins combined to make all eight of their free throw attempts inside the final 42 seconds as the Catamounts held on for an 85-76 victory over Furman Monday night at the Ramsey Activity Center.

McKenna who scored 13 of his 24 in the second half, added seven rebounds. Russell, Western's leading scorer on the season, snapped a six-game slump or sorts to score 18 points, tying his career high with eight rebounds. Corey Muirhead, who was 0-of-6 from the field in his last game, came back to make 7-of-8 shots from the field to score 16 points with four assists and three steals. David Berghoefer added his second consecutive double-double (fourth of the season and 22nd of his career) getting 10 points and 12 rebounds with three steals.

Three Paladins finished in double figures, including Eric Webb (21 points), Robby Bostain (17 points) and Moussa Diagne (12 points).

Western (10-13 overall, 4-4 in the Southern Conference) took early control in the game thanks to a 20-3 run midway through the first half to stake a 17-point (34-17) advantage with 8:42 left before the break. During the run, McKenna drained three 3-pointers, Eric Wilson hit one, Russell scored four, Hopkins scored two and Muirhead scored four, highlighted by an impressive fast break dunk.

The Catamounts would push its lead to 18 (42-24) after a Russell jumper with 4:21 left before the break. However, the Paladins (12-8, 5-3) battled back with a 12-2 run, capped by a Webb 3-pointer, to trail by just eight (44-36) with 1:47 remaining in the first half. Berghoefer answered with a layup before Bostain hit two free throws to provide the 46-38 halftime score.

Furman built on that momentum to start the second half and, after a Diagne dunk at the 15:24 mark, trailed by only two (54-52). Neither team scored over the next two minutes until McKenna sank a 3-pointer. However, the Catamounts were held scoreless over the next three minutes and Furman claimed a 61-57 advantage thanks to three points from Gerad Punch, five points from Stanley Jones and a free throw from Webb.

Muirhead made it a two-point game once again and the score remained tight over the next six minutes. In fact the game featured three lead changes and two ties. With the score knotted at 70-70 after a Diagne layup at the 4:23 mark, Berghoefer made 1-of-2 at the free throw line to give the Cats a 71-70 advantage, a lead it would not surrender the remainder of the game. After Furman missed on the ensuing possession, McKenna turned WCU's one-point lead into a four-point cushion with his seventh trey on the night.

With just over a minute left in the game, Furman's George Brozos was forced to take a 3-pointer as the shot clock was running out. Berghoefer grabbed the long rebound and found Hopkins for a fast break layup. From that point, Russell made all six of his free throw attempts inside the final 42 seconds, while Hopkins hit both of his from the charity stripe.

Western Carolina bounced back from a lackluster performance on Saturday at Wofford, where it only shot 29.2 percent from the field and was out-rebounded 50-41, to shoot 50.9 percent from the field Monday, including 41.4 from 3-point range, while out-rebounding the Paladins 38-27. Also contributing to the win was the fact that the Catamounts had a season-low nine turnovers in the contest.

Western Carolina will return to action Saturday (Feb. 4) at SoCon South Division leader Davidson. Tipoff is set for 1:00 pm at Belk Arena. In addition to the game being broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network, fans can listen to Davidson's broadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio on Channel 117.