Box Score Jan. 6, 2007
Final Stats
Cullowhee - Western Carolina erased a 12-point, second-half deficit to hand UNC Greensboro a 57-54 setback Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference action at the Ramsey Center. Catamount senior Kyle Greathouse had a steal on an inbounds pass and drained a 3-pointer with 5:14 left to give WCU its first lead (48-47) since early in the contest. UNC Greensboro, however, would re-take the lead (54-53) on a Kyle Hines layup with 1:43 remaining. WCU's Antonio Russell answered with two free throws to give WCU a 55-53 lead with 1:24 left. Neither team could score over the next minute-plus until Greathouse was fouled with five seconds left, making two free throws, to seal the win, WCU's third in the last four meetings with the Spartans.
Freshman Nick Aldridge led Western with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Russell added 14 points in the win. Junior forward Arnold Gore rounded out the trio of Catamounts in double figures with 10 points, just missing a double-double with a team-high nine boards. Freshman Jake Robinson chipped in eight points, shooting 2-of-4 from 3-point range, adding a pair of blocked shots on defense.
Greathouse finished with five points -- all coming in the final five minutes of the game -- and a game-high six steals, tying his career-best. Western (6-9), which snapped its five-game slide and moved to 3-1 in the SoCon marking its best start to a conference schedule since 1994-95, traded buckets with UNCG early in the first half. Tied at five, the Spartans used an 8-to-3 spurt to take its largest lead of six, 14-8, midway through the opening stanza. Western recovered to trail by just four, 24-20, at intermission.
The Spartans opened the second half with a 10-2 run to balloon their advantage to 12, 34-22, just five minutes into the frame. WCU rallied to trim the deficit to five, two minutes later, but five quick unanswered Spartan points pushed the lead back to 10 with 12 minutes to play in regulation.
With foul trouble forcing the Spartans to continually go to the bench, Western Carolina methodically chipped away and stayed close until a 6-0 spurt, including a free throw by freshman Brigham Waginger, a jumper by Robinson, and the steal and 3-pointer by Greathouse to give Western the lead, 48-47. Tied at 54 after the first of two Russell free throws, Greathouse drained a pair from the charity stripe with UNCG missing on three opportunities at the final buzzer.
Freshman Kendall Toney led UNC Greensboro (6-8, 3-2 SoCon) with 15 points while junior Kyle Hines posted his seventh double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the losing effort.
Western returns to action on Monday night as it travels to Chattanooga, Tenn., to face the Mocs at 7:00 pm in the McKenzie Arena. Fans can follow all of the action on the Catamount Sports Network which can be heard across Western North Carolina on WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 or online at www.WWCUFM.com.
