Jan. 27, 2008

Box Score

Cullowhee, N.C. - Shooting 71-percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes and tallying 24 points in the paint after the half, the Wofford College Terriers rallied to thwart Western Carolina's bid for back-to-back Southern Conference wins Saturday night as the Catamounts fell on the road, 83-73, at the Benjamin Johnson Arena.

Wofford (11-8, 4-5 SoCon) finished the game at 60-percent shooting from both the floor and 3-point arc to win its third-straight in SoCon play. Western, which shot 57-percent from the field in the first half, fell to 6-13 on the season, 2-7 in conference play. The Terriers' rally also kept the Catamounts winless on the road this season.

Three Catamounts scored in double figures led by 24 from sophomore Brandon Giles, who extended his double-digit streak to 10 games. He added a team-best six rebounds and three steals in the loss. Senior Negus McKenna added 19 points off the bench with classmate Arnold Gore scoring 10.

McKenna continued his torrid shooting pace over the last two games, connecting on all seven of his field goal attempts including all five 3-point attempts. The Montreal, Quebec, native has hit 13 of his last 15 shots from long range.

The two squads battled back-and-forth through much of the opening 20 minutes with neither side able to sustain more than a four-point lead. With seven minutes to play before intermission and WCU up by a point, Giles rattled off six-straight points including a three-point play and a 3-pointer in a minute span to give the Catamounts a seven-point edge, 33-26.

The Terriers would rally, though, and tied the game at 36 with 1:51 before the break. Over the final two minutes of the first half, Western outscored Wofford 7-0 to take a 43-36 edge into halftime.

Out of the locker room, the Catamounts were able to maintain their advantage, answering each Terrier bucket. At the 13 minute mark, Giles connected from long range to give Western its largest lead of the game at eight, 53-to-45. Yet, over the next four minutes, Wofford held Western scoreless as a part of a 12-0 run to erase the deficit and claim a four-point, 57-53, lead at 9:15.

WCU took its final lead on McKenna's lone field goal of the second half, burying his fifth 3-pointer of the contest to push the Catamounts back in front, 63-62. Unfortunately, the Terriers responded with a 16-to-5 run to surge ahead by 10 with the lead never dipping below eight points the remainder of the game.

All told, after taking its final lead, Western was outscored 20-to-11 the final four and a half minutes with the Terriers scoring 11 from the free throw line on 14 attempts.

Wofford put four players in double figures led by a career-high 26 from Junior Salters who finished 5-of-7 from 3-point range and dished out five assists. Red-shirt freshman Tim Johnson scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half, with Drew Gibson tallying 14 and Matt Estep 13 points, 11 of which came in the first 20 minutes.

Western begins a stretch of three-straight home games this Monday, Jan. 28 to host Georgia Southern in the Ramsey Center for "Beach Night 7." It is a women's and men's basketball doubleheader with the women playing the College of Charleston at 5:00 pm and the men following 30 minutes after.