Jan. 3, 2008

Box Score

Greenville, S.C. - Sophomore Jake Robinson's 3-pointer with 12 seconds showing on the game clock pulled Western Carolina to within a pair, 62-60. But it was as close as the Catamounts would get as Furman's Justin Dehm connected on two-of-four free throw attempts, with George Brozos grabbing an offensive rebound on one of Dehm's misses to keep the ball away from WCU and helping seal the Paladin's four-point Southern Conference victory Thursday night at Timmons Arena.

The loss kept the Catamounts winless on the road this season in six attempts and dropped Western to 4-9 overall, 0-3 in league play. It was also WCU's sixth-straight loss to the Paladins at Timmons Arena.

"Tonight was two teams really going after each other with each team having its moments," said WCU head coach Larry Hunter during post-game comments on the Catamount Sports Network. "We got some things going in the second half to take a lead and I thought we were executing. Give (Furman) credit, though, they made some big shots down the stretch. And although we out rebounded them for the game, they came up with some big boards especially late."

Four Catamounts reached double figures on the night led by 13 from senior Arnold Gore, nine of which came in the first half. The White Castle, La., native finished 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and also pulled down four rebounds and dished out three assists. Robinson tallied a dozen points including two 3-pointers to close within five of 10th-place on the all-time career trey chart at WCU, while freshman Michael Porrini finished with 11 points and a team-best four assists.

Sophomore Brandon Giles rounded out WCU's double-digit scorers with 10 points. Giles and freshman Camden Miller each boarded a team-high eight in the loss with the latter marking a career-high for Miller.

Utilizing its inside game, Furman led most of the first half after seizing control of a see-saw opening at the 17 minute mark. The Paladins surged ahead for their largest lead of the game of eight points, 26-18, at the 6:10 mark of the first half. Yet, the Catamounts answered with seven unanswered points to close the gap to one, 26-25, and trailed at intermission by the same margin, 32-31.

Out of the halftime locker room, Western grabbed its first lead of the game at the 18:15 mark on a lay-up by Gore as a part of a 9-0 run that erased a three-point deficit and saw the Catamounts go ahead by six, 40-34, after a pair of Giles charity tosses. Furman retaliated to tie the game at 42 with each side trading buckets and the lead.

Inside the final three minutes, it was all about which team could hit the bigger 3-pointer. Tied at 54 after a Robinson jumper, sophomore Brigham Waginger buried the second of his two 3-pointers to push the Catamounts ahead, 57-54. However, Furman answered right back with consecutive treys by Bobby Austin and Jordan Miller to give the home standing Paladins a three-point cushion, 60-57, with 1:43 to play.

Western had the basketball with three opportunities to score with under a minute to play but was unable to light the scoreboard. Robinson missed a 3-pointer from the right wing, but the ball was kept alive by an offensive board by Waginger who misfired on a trey from the left side. Giles gave the Catamounts a third opportunity with an offensive rebound and stick back in the paint but came up just short and Furman cleared the miss forcing WCU to foul.

Furman's George Brozos connected on two free throws at the other end to push the Paladins ahead by five, 62-57, with 21 seconds to play. On the ensuing possession, Robinson connected for three to bring Western within a pair with 12 seconds remaining setting up Dehm and Brozos' heroics.

The Paladins (2-11, 1-3 SoCon) were led by 14 points from Miller, with Dehm scoring 13 and post Alex Opacic finishing with 10, eight of which came in the first half.

Western Carolina returns to action on Saturday as it visits preseason league-favorite, Davidson, at 7:00 pm at the Belk Arena.