Feb. 29, 2008

Box Score |   

Cullowhee, N.C. - Trailing by one with two and a half minutes to play, the Western Carolina Catamounts held Wofford scoreless the remainder of the half, scoring six unanswered points to claim its second-consecutive win, 62-57, Thursday on Senior Night in Southern Conference action at the Ramsey Center.

Three Catamounts scored in double figures in the win led by a team-high 17 points from sophomore Jake Robinson. The Canton, N.C., native drained three, 3-pointers to move within four treys of ninth-place on WCU's all-time career list. Freshman post Richie Gordon finished with a career-high 11 points, nearly surpassing his previous career-best of nine in the first half.

Senior Negus McKenna finished 5-of-7 from the field for 11 points, while classmate Arnold Gore added nine points in the win. McKenna and sophomore Brigham Waginger each tallied a team-high seven rebounds with the latter finishing with a pair of steals. WCU's third senior, Eric Wilson, finished with a team-best four assists with four boards and a steal before fouling out.

The Catamounts played with just seven scholarship players as leading scorer, sophomore Brandon Giles, was inactive for the game as he continues to nurse injuries sustained in an automobile accident over the weekend.

Western Carolina (10-18, 6-12 SoCon) seized control in the first half utilizing a 12-to-1 run - including eight-straight points from Robinson - to erase a three-point deficit to take an early eight-point lead, 14-6. The Catamounts stretched their lead to a game-high 11 points on a trey from Waginger to lead 28-17 with four minutes to play before intermission.

McKenna capped the opening 20 minutes with a lay-up in the paint to give WCU a nine-point, 32-23, lead at the break.

Out of the halftime locker room, the Terriers sliced Western's advantage to a pair with an 11-to-4 spurt capitalizing on three Catamount turnovers and three missed shots. Yet, consecutive buckets by Gore helped maintain the WCU advantage which hovered in the low single digits until the seven minute mark. Six-straight points by the Terriers handed Wofford its first lead since the opening moments of the game, 49-47.

Gore again went to work, tallying a three-point play to again put the Catamounts on top, 50-49. But Wofford rallied back, answering Western shot-for-shot before reclaiming a one-point lead, 57-56, on a jumper by Drew Gibson with 2:30 showing on the game clock. On the ensuing possession, Wofford created a WCU turnover, but gave it back on the opposite end on takeaway by Waginger, who leads the SoCon in steals per game. Gore turned the possession into points with a lay-up in the paint and a one-point, 58-57 lead with 1:15 to play.

Leading by one with the game still very much in the balance, WCU forced a missed lay-up by Gibson with Robinson grabbing the defensive board and starting the rush the other way. Waginger pulled the string on a 3-point attempt, but managed to sneak through the defense to corral his own rebound where he found the sharp-shooting Robinson alone beyond the 3-point arc. Robinson misfired from long range, but McKenna beat the defense to tip the rebound into the cylinder for a 3-point advantage with 17 seconds to play. After two missed charity tosses, Robinson was fouled following a defensive board, stepping to the line to bury two free throws to seal the win.

All told, Wofford was held scoreless over the final two and a half minutes as the Catamount defense forced three missed shots and three turnovers, while converting two Robinson free throws to seal the victory.

Shane Nichols led the Terriers (14-15, 7-12 SoCon) with a game-high 23 points, while Noah Dahlman and Corey Godzinski added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Tim Johnson posted a game-high eight rebounds.

WCU won back-to-back games for the first time this season, ending a drought without consecutive victories that dated back over one full calendar year. The Catamounts commanded the boards, out rebounding Wofford, 38-to-24, in the win.

Western Carolina will wrap up its regular season with two-consecutive road games. The Catamounts visit arch-rival Appalachian State, which is currently tied for the lead in the SoCon's North Division, Saturday afternoon at 3:30 pm. WCU will conclude the regular season on Monday in the final league game of the year at UNC Greensboro.