Feb. 21, 2008

Box Score

Cullowhee, N.C. - Sporadic second half scoring coupled with a 10-to-2 spurt by UNC Greensboro midway through the final 20 minutes lifted the visiting Spartans to a 74-62 win over Western Carolina Thursday night in Southern Conference action at the Ramsey Center.

Sophomore guard Jake Robinson led three Catamounts in double figures, tallying a team-high 16 points off the bench. The Canton, N.C., native drained four 3-pointers, including a perfect 3-for-3 in the first half alone, on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor. Senior Arnold Gore finished with seven field goals for 15 points and eight boards, while sophomore Brandon Giles extended his current double-digit scoring streak to 17 games with 10 points despite battling foul trouble.

Freshman posts Richie Gordon and Blake Gallagher combined to score 13 points for WCU, with Gordon tallying seven points and a pair of blocked shots while Gallagher tied for the team-high with eight rebounds, five on the offensive end alone.

The opening 20 minutes saw five ties and neither team able to secure more than a four-point advantage. UNCG senior forward Kyle Hines scored on an inside lay-up inside the final eight seconds of the first half to apparently give the Spartans a three-point edge entering the halftime locker room. However, sophomore Brigham Waginger dished out one of his game-high four assists ahead to senior Eric Wilson, who drained a 25-foot, 3-pointer at the buzzer to knot the game at 33 entering intermission.

In its last nine ball games, WCU has only trailed at the break one time coming at Georgia Southern.

The Spartans broke the game's sixth tie early in the second half with an 8-to-1 spurt to grab a seven-point advantage, 43-36, keeping Western without a field goal for a five minute stretch. The Catamounts clawed back, though, using a small 9-to-4 advantage to trim the deficit to a pair. WCU gained possession on a steal by Wilson, but could not capitalize on a fast break opportunity that would have tied the game.

After the missed lay-up, UNC Greensboro outscored Western 10-to-2 over the next four minutes to push its advantage to 10, 59-49. The Spartans were able to balloon the advantage to as many as 13 points, with a Wilson triple inside the final minute dipping the lead to as few as nine. But UNCG hit seven of its final nine free throw attempts to help seal the win.

The Spartans were led by Kevin Oleksiak with 19 points, 10 of which came from the free throw line as UNCG made more charity tosses (21) than WCU attempted (15). Hines scored 13 points off the bench for UNCG, needing late free throws to help propel him into double figures for the 76th consecutive double-digit scoring outing, the longest such streak in the nation. He went into the final two minutes for just the second time in the last 76 games with less than 10 points

Joining Oleksiak and Hines in double figures was Mikko Koivisto with 13 and a double-double for forward Ben Stywall with 12 points and 10 boards.

Western will look to avenge last week's road loss at The Citadel as it hosts the Bulldogs in game two of a Catamount hoops televised double-header this Saturday in Cullowhee. The Lady Catamounts host Georgia Southern in a battle for second-place in the SoCon at 12:30, with the men hosting the Cadets at 3:00 pm. Both games will be televised live on SportSouth.