Feb. 14, 2008

Box Score

Charleston, S.C. - Senior forward Arnold Gore scored 15 points to post his second-consecutive, double-digit scoring outing to lead the Catamounts, but Western Carolina could not overcome late-game shooting woes and 10 made 3-pointers by The Citadel in a 57-51 loss Thursday night in Southern Conference action at the McAlister Fieldhouse.

Gore finished 6-of-10 from the field with a 3-pointer, six rebounds and a pair of assists. The White Castle, La., native has hit eight of his last night 3-point attempts. Freshman Blake Gallagher just missed his career-high in points, tallying 11 points and six rebounds, while sophomore Brandon Giles extended his double-digit scoring streak to 15 games with 10 points and six boards.

Trailing by five, 44-39, with nine minutes to play in regulation, Western Carolina held The Citadel scoreless over the next five minutes to claw back and retake a one-point advantage, 45-44. Yet, Bulldogs' leading scorer, freshman Cameron Wells, connected on a pair of free throws at the 3:40 mark to push The Citadel back ahead for good. The lead would balloon to as much as eight before Gore connected on a lay-in inside the final five seconds to provide the final tally, 57-51.

Capitalizing on an 8-0 run to start the game, which included the Bulldogs missing their first eight shots from the field, Western led the entire opening 20 minutes. Sophomore Jake Robinson gave WCU its largest lead with his only field goal of the game - a 3-pointer - to push the Catamounts ahead, 15-5. But an 11-4 swing by the Bulldogs trimmed the lead to three, 19-16, inside of five minutes to play in the opening half.

Western led at intermission by a pair, 31-29.

Wells paced the Bulldogs - which snapped a 21-game SoCon losing skid - with 16 points, adding seven rebounds and seven assists. Backcourt classmates Austin Dahn and Zach Urbanus finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively, with Urbanus matching Wells' seven boards.

Western, which shot 40-percent (12-of-30) from the floor in the first half, only connected on six field goals on 6-of-22 shooting (27.3%) after intermission. WCU was also only 12-of-22 from the charity stripe, 54.5-percent.

However, the Catamounts commanded the glass, out rebounding The Citadel, 45-to-29, including a 19-to-6 edge on the offensive glass which limited the Bulldogs to just two second-chance points.

Western will remain in the South Carolina Lowcountry to face the College of Charleston Cougars - who were 79-71 winners over Chattanooga on Thursday - at 6:00 pm Saturday afternoon at the Kresse Arena. The game will be broadcast by the Catamount Sports Network with a 5:45 pm air time. Fans can follow the start of the game on 680 AM WRGC (www.WRGC.com), with WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 (www.WWCUFM.com) joining the coverage in progress at the conclusion of the women's home game against Wofford.