Dec. 1, 2007

Box Score |   

Cullowhee, N.C. - Trailing by two in the waning moments Saturday night, Western Carolina forward Arnold Gore's game-tying lay-up attempt rimmed out just as time expired to cap a frantic finish as the College of Charleston edged Western Carolina, 86-84, in Southern Conference action in the Ramsey Center.

Catamount freshman forward Blake Gallagher boarded an Andrew Goudelock missed free throw, igniting a fast break that featured a coast-to-coast dribble drive by freshman Michael Porrini who dished to Gore on the low block for a contested lay-up. Feeling the pressure from the Cougar defense, Gore circled the rim with a left-handed lay-up that just rimmed out as time expired, relegating WCU to its third-straight defeat on the season.

"I was really ecstatic about the way we played in a lot of phases of the game. You could actually build a case that we deserved to win. That's not taking anything away from the College of Charleston because they did some big things that they had to do as well," said WCU head coach Larry Hunter."

The loss overshadowed two career performances for the Catamounts, which put four players in double figures. Sophomore forward Brandon Giles posted a career-high 32 points on 14-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc.

"I thought Brandon (Giles) executed well - especially offensively," Hunter said. "He used his size, length and strength a little bit tonight and that was something he did not do as much as a freshman consistently and something he had not done consistently until this week."

Freshmen Porrini and Gallagher scored 14 and 11 points, respectively, with the latter marking the most in Gallagher's young college career. The Monroe, N.C., native also tied his career-high with eight rebounds, while Porrini led the team with nine boards and tied his career-high with seven assists. Gore added 15 points, six of which came from the free throw line

After trading buckets through the opening minutes of the contest, it was the College of Charleston (4-3, 1-0 SoCon) which moved ahead first. The Cougars were able to capitalize on a stretch which saw WCU miss shots on four of five-consecutive possessions to stretch their advantage to what would prove to be a game-high 10 points, 34-24, with five minutes showing on the clock. Western was able to trim the deficit to five with consecutive buckets, including a triple from Porrini, but the Cougars went to the locker room up eight, 40-32.

Down nine, 65-56, midway through the second half, Western Carolina (2-5, 0-2 SoCon) went on a 13-0 run utilizing four missed shots by the Cougars to claim their first lead since early in the first half. First, Gallagher converted an interior pass from senior Eric Wilson to trim the lead to seven on a potential three-point play. On the ensuing possession, Gore drained a 3-pointer - again on a pass from Wilson - to slice the deficit to four. Giles then converted on back-to-back trips on dishes from Porrini, including a jumper and a 3-pointer to give Western a one-point edge.

The run culminated when Porrini forced a turnover near mid-court, flung the ball ahead to sophomore Brigham Waginger for the fast-break lay-up and a three-point, 68-65, lead with 7:38 showing on the clock, prompting a CofC timeout.

After the stoppage, the Cougars settled down and eventually reclaimed the lead on a pair of Tony White, Jr., free throws with six minutes remaining in the contest. Charleston was able to balloon its lead to five on two occasions, with the final bulge coming on Jermaine Johnson's final field goal of the contest.

But the Catamounts, aided by a raucous Ramsey Center crowd, refused to go away. Giles canned his fourth 3-pointer of the night with 1:18 to play to cut the lead to a pair. On Charleston's next possession, the Catamount defense tightened around Johnson, who was forced to miss a lay-up which was boarded by Gore. After a quick timeout, Hunters' squad ran a play to try and spring sharp-shooting sophomore Jake Robinson for a 3-pointer at the top of the key. Chasing on the play, the Cougars defended the play well and Robinson's offering fell short.

Forced to foul, Johnson hit both free throws at the other end to stretch the lead back to four, 84-80. Robinson has another opportunity the next time up the floor but Porrini pulled down the offensive rebound on his miss and was sent to the free throw line where he hit both charity tosses to pull WCU back to within a pair with 11 seconds to play. The Catamounts fouled on the inbounds play with White missing one of two for a three-point edge with less than nine ticks remaining.

It was the Cougars turn to play the foul game, hacking Porrini on the ensuing drive up the floor to put him at the free throw line down three with six seconds to play. The Massillon, Ohio, native hit both freebies to trail by just one and set up the frantic finish as Goudelock missed the second of a two shot foul and Gore's lay-up circled the cylinder for the defeat.

Charleston matched WCU with four players in double figures led by the double-double of Johnson who finished with 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting and 11 rebounds. Goudelock scored 20 points with four 3-pointers and five assists, while Antwaine Wiggins and Jeremy Simmons each finished with 11 for the Cougars, who have won three-straight on the year.

Western Carolina opens its first of five-straight non-conference games by hosting North Carolina Central this Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 7:03 pm in the Ramsey Center. College of Charleston returns to SoCon action in two weeks as the Cougars visit Chattanooga at the McKenzie Arena on Dec. 15.