Dec. 31, 2008

Box Score

Asheville, N.C. - Western Carolina put three players in double-figures and received a career-best performance from a fourth, but it was not enough as UNC Asheville rallied for an 81-78 victory over the visiting Catamounts in front of a sellout crowd at the on-campus Justice Center Wednesday night.

UNC Asheville managed 13 more free throw attempts than did Western Carolina, with the Bulldogs draining 26 of their 35 attempts (74.3%) en route to a 14-point advantage at the charity stripe in the victory, their second-straight in the overall series with the Catamounts.

Despite the loss, Western Carolina will enter the New Year at the .500 mark (5-5) for the first-time since the 2003-04 season when it was 5-4. Also, the win for UNCA's head coach Eddie Biedenbach was the 200th of his career.

Red-shirt freshman Harouna Mutombo led all scorers with a game-high 19 points including four 3-pointers for the Catamounts which dropped their third-straight. Junior Brigham Waginger posted his fourth double-digit scoring outing in his last five games with 16 points, adding four assists and three steals, the latter of which moved him into sole possession of eighth all-time on WCU's career steals chart.

Junior Jake Robinson returned to double-figures with 10 points including a pair of 3-pointers to give the Canton, N.C., native 162 for his career and move him into fifth all-time in school history. Robinson climbed past former WCU standout, Robert Gaines (1990-93) who currently stands sixth with 161 career treys.

Coming off the bench, senior guard Tim Magowan posted a career-high with nine points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc, with sophomore Richie Gordon chipping in eight points and a team-high seven boards - including five on the offensive end - in the loss.

Western Carolina broke open the game's third tie early in the first half with a 10-to-1 spurt to claim a nine-point edge, 16-7, six and a half minutes into the contest. Consecutive buckets by Gordon and a 3-pointer by Mutombo pushed the lead to a game-high 12 points for WCU at the 9:26 mark of the first, 26-14.

UNCA was able to trim the margin to five just over two minutes later, but the Catamounts clawed out a 10-point, 41-31, edge at intermission.

Out of the halftime locker room, the Bulldogs mounted a 17-to-7 run to erase the deficit, knotting the game at 48 apiece on an Eric Stubbs lay-up in the paint. Despite surrendering the sizable lead, the Catamounts responded by outscoring Asheville, 9-to-3, over the next two minutes to pull away by six, 55-49.

UNC Asheville (5-8), which led once in the first half by just two points at the 17:10 mark, claimed its second lead of the contest on the second made free throw by Sean Smith at the 9:07 mark. The Bulldogs regained the lead for good with 6:43 on an old-fashioned three-point play by John Williams and clung to at least a one-point edge through the end of the game.

Although it was never able to reclaim the lead it held the majority of the contest, Western kept the game close but failed to score on its final three possessions. The Catamounts missed three shots that could have either tied or given them the lead inside the final 30 seconds, and failed to get a shot attempt up on their final possession inside the last five seconds of regulation.

Down four after a pair of Williams' free throws with 1:25 to play, Waginger was fouled and sent to the charity stripe where he made the front end of the two-shot opportunity. Although he missed his second shot, Gordon exploded to the rim, tipping the miss up-and-in for a three-point trip, closing the gap to one, 79-78 with just over a minute to play.

On the ensuing possession, the Bulldogs missed a jumper with WCU corralling the loose basketball with a chance to regain the lead. However, both Mutombo and Robinson - who took a pass from Gordon following the first miss from long-range - misfired from beyond the 3-point arc and the Catamounts were forced to foul. After UNCA's J.P. Primm made one of two from the free throw line, stretching the lead to two, Waginger came up just short from 3-point range. The Bulldogs' senior Reid Augst made one of two charity tosses to provide the final tally.

Augst led UNCA with 18 points, eight of which came from the free throw line, and pulled down a game-high eight boards. Williams finished with 17 for the `Dogs, with Smith pouring in 13 and Stubbs a dozen to round out the four double-digit scorers.

Western Carolina, the lone Southern Conference team to have not taken the plunge into league play, will open its conference schedule this Saturday, Jan. 3 as it visits Greenville, S.C., and the Furman Paladins (2-8). Tip-off from the Timmons Arena is set for 4:00 pm.