Nov. 11, 2006

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Freshman Nick Aldridge scored 22 points, making all seven of his shots from the field and 7-of-10 at the free throw line, to lead Western Carolina to a 78-56 exhibition win over Muskingum Friday night at the Ramsey Activity Center.

The Catamounts took a 16-point lead into the locker room at halftime, but the Muskies struck for six quick points to start the second half, thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers by Brandon Todd, to make it a 10-point game. After second year head coach Larry Hunter called a timeout, Western went on a 22-2 run to put the game out of reach.

"I thought we had a lot of positives tonight," Hunter said. "Offensively, we played very unselfishly. Usually in an exhibition situation, players do not stick with the offense. However, I thought we executed well tonight. Defensively, we have a lot of room for improvement and we were inconsistent. But, we played hard, which is what we wanted to see. Overall, we gained confidence tonight and played with poise."

Muskingum (coached by Geno Ford, who played for Hunter at Ohio and is the brother of current WCU assistant Dustin) took control early, leading for the first nine-and-a-half minutes of the contest. Two free throws by Jeremy Ady with 15:59 left gave the Muskies their largest lead of seven (12-5). After a media timeout at the 10:43 mark, Western ran a set play which led to a dunk by freshman Brandon Giles, breaking a 20-20 tie and giving WCU a lead it would not relinquish.

Kyle Greathouse scores two of his 14 points versus Muskingum.

Aldridge scored six points during the pivotal second-half run, adding two assists. Senior Kyle Greathouse, who finished with 14 points and five assists, also added five points during the run, while sophomore Stan Johnson scored a pair of buckets off offensive rebounds.

Muskingum was able to work a 29-point deficit down to 16 with 4:32 left. However, there were only six points scored the rest of the way - five from Western's Brigham Waginger and one from Josh Dees - to provide the final 78-56 margin.

While only two Catamounts scored in double figures, five more scored at least seven, including Giles (9), Eric Wilson (9), Waginger (8), Jake Robinson (8) and Johnson (7). Negus McKenna paced the Cats with nine rebounds, while Johnson and Wilson each recorded five boards.

For the Muskies, Todd led the way with 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Trevor Scott followed with 15 points with Ady contributing 12 points and six rebounds.

Western Carolina will open the 2006-07 regular season, playing at UNC Asheville on Tuesday (Nov. 14). Tipoff at UNCA's Justice Center is set for 7:30 pm.