Feb. 4, 2006

Final Stats

Davidson, N.C. - Trey Hopkins gave Western Carolina an early 7-0 lead with two 3-pointers and a free throw and the Catamounts never surrendered the lead to hand Southern Conference South Division leader Davidson a 77-70 loss Saturday afternoon and snap the Wildcats 19-game winning streak in Belk Arena, which was trailed only to Gonzaga and Illinois for the longest current streak in the nation. Western, who got a career-high 23 points from Corey Muirhead, improves to 11-13 overall and 5-4 in the SoCon, while Davidson falls to 13-8, 6-3.

Although the Catamounts did not score a field goal over the final 3:18 of the contest, Western was able to hold on for the win by making 10-of-13 from the free throw line down the stretch and committing a season-low eight turnovers for the afternoon. Western was also able to pull out the win despite its leading scorer, Antonio Russell, who was serving a one-game suspension for breaking team rules.

The 5-4 SoCon record is Western's best in league play through nine games since being 6-3 during the 1995-96, which was the year Western won the SoCon championship and advanced to the NCAA Championship. (Speaking of that 1995-06 season: with this being the 10-year anniversary of that championship season, that team will be the featured team for this year's men's basketball alumni weekend, set for Feb. 18. All former WCU basketball players, managers and alike are invited to alumni weekend. For more information or to make your reservation, please contact 1995-06 team member and current WCU assistant coach Anquell McCollum at 828-227-2020.) Not only did Western snap Davidson's 19-game home winning streak, it marked the Wildcats first SoCon loss at home since an 89-84 overtime setback to the College of Charleston on Feb. 25, 2003.

Muirhead, who also scored 23 points in his freshman year, added seven rebounds and made 9-of-16 shots from the field. In the first half, he scored 10 of the Catamounts' final 21 points of the first half and scored 10 of the their 19 during a 13-minute stretch (15:49 until 4:01) in the second half. The senior from York, Ontario also made 3-of-4 from the charity stripe inside the final 2:47. Others who stepped up at the free throw line included David Berghoefer (3-of-4), Trey Hopkins (2-of-2), Kyle Greathouse (2-of-4) and Eric Wilson (2-of-2).

After Western opened up its seven-point lead to start the game, Davidson rallied to trim its deficit to three (9-6) with 16:37 remaining before halftime, which would be as close as the Wildcats would get. The Catamounts took its largest lead of the half (26-15) after a Negus McKenna jumper. Western was able to keep its advantage between 8-to-10 points, which proved to be key. Davidson turned up the pressure inside the final 1:43, trimming a 10-point deficit to four after 3-pointers by Matt McKillop and Jason Morton. However, Jared Outing hit Hopkins on a back-door cut, resulting in a layup and giving WCU a six-point (37-31) lead at the break.

The Catamounts built on that momentum to start the second half with a Berghoefer layup 12 seconds into the period. However, reigning SoCon Player of the Year Brendan Winters proved his worth by scoring seven straight on Davidson's end. Fortunately, Western was able to keep up and led the Wildcats by six (4640) at the 15-10 mark. From that point, Muirhead took over and Western would take a its largest lead of the game (12 points) with 2:46 left after two free throws from Muirhead.

Although the Catamounts led by 10 with 53 seconds left, the contest was still in doubt. The Wildcats would get a steal from Morton and a Winters' 3-pointer to trail by seven. After a missed shot by Western on the ensuing possession, Morton drained a trey to make it a four-point contest (72-68) with 40 ticks left. Two free throws by Berghoefer and one by Muirhead gave WCU a seven-point lead once again. Wilson, who hails from nearby Lincolnton, corralled a missed Davidson triple, got fouled and made both free throws to seal the win. Davidson's Kenny Grant provided the final 77-70 margin with a layup with five seconds left in the game.

In addition to Muirhead, Berghoefer added 17 points and Hopkins 15. For Davidson, Morton came off the bench to make 5-of-13 from 3-point range and score 22 points. Winters contributed 16 points, while Grant chipped 11 points and seven assists. Davidson was able to out-rebound Western, 38-32, as Thomas Sander had eight boards and Ian Johnson had six.

Western shot 50 percent from the field despite the fact that Davidson entered the game leading the SoCon in field goal percentage defense (.410). Also, Davidson was leading the SoCon in scoring offense (79.4), put Western held the Wildcats to just 70 points and 38.8 percent shooting from the field.

The Catamounts will stay on the road for another tough road contest, playing at Georgia Southern on Monday (Feb. 6) at 7:30 pm. The Eagles, who now are the SoCon South co-leaders with a 6-3 league mark, have won three straight and own a 9-1 record at their own Hanner Fieldhouse this season.