Jan. 18, 2009

Box Score

Chattanooga, Tenn. - Out of the halftime locker room, the Chattanooga Mocs embarked on a 14-to-0 run over the opening seven minutes of the second half en route to a 15-point advantage early in the final period. However, Western Carolina was able to slice what grew to a 17-point lead down to within four late, but could not complete the comeback as the Mocs were able to hold off the rally from the charity stripe, downing the Catamounts, 82-75, Saturday night at the McKenzie Arena.

The loss, WCU's first in games played on Saturday this season (4-1), relegates the Catamounts to 8-7 overall, 3-2 in SoCon play and was its second-straight away from home on the week. Chattanooga (8-10, 4-3 SoCon) moved into a percentage point tie with WCU atop the SoCon's North Division with its fourth-straight triumph.

Western missed its first 11 shots from the floor after halftime, compounding the problem with three turnovers and four personal fouls. Conversely, the Mocs connected on five of their first 10 shots from the field and attempted six free throws (3-of-6) to build their 15-point lead. Junior Jake Robinson snapped the cold-shooting string with a 3-pointer - the first of three-consecutive treys by the Catamounts - at the 12:58 mark to put WCU on the board in the second half.

Down 17, 68-51, with just over 10 minutes to play in regulation, Western Carolina outscored Chattanooga 20-to-8 over the next six minutes to claw within five on Robinson's second triple of the night, 76-71.

The Catamounts whittled the deficit down to four, 79-75, inside the final minute, but the Mocs made just enough of its season-high 44 free throw attempts to secure the win.

Junior Brandon Giles led four Catamounts in double figures with is first career double-double as WCU dropped its second-straight SoCon road game. The Auburndale, Fla., native finished with a team-high 15 points and a career-best 13 rebounds - five more than his previous career-high - to pace the squad.

Red-shirt freshman Harouna Mutombo added 12 points - all coming in the first half - while Robinson and Greg Avery added 11 and 10, respectively, off the bench. Junior Brigham Waginger added eight points and four assists in 40 minutes of playing time.

For Chattanooga, point guard Stephen McDowell led all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting including three 3-pointers and a trio of steals. Ty Patterson chipped in 17 off the bench, while Khalil Hartwell added 11 in the win.

Foul trouble plagued Western's post players, which in turn allowed UTC's all-conference forward Nicchaeus Doaks to post a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. However, despite the rotation changes in the front court for the Catamounts, WCU managed a 49-to-42 edge on the boards over the athletic Mocs, including a 20-to-13 advantage in offensive rebounds.

The game was a tale of two halves as Western Carolina led for a majority of the first half, while UTC did not trail in the second.

After scoring first, WCU pulled out to a nine-point, 16-7, advantage, registering eight of its opening 16 points in the paint. The Mocs were able to trim the margin down twice - to two at 22-20, and one at 31-30. A Giles lay-up pushed the Catamount advantage back to three, 33-30, but UTC responded with an 11-to-2 run to surge in front for the first time, taking a six-point lead at the 2:39 mark.

However, thanks to a long-range 3-pointer by freshman Keaton Cole, the Catamounts were able to close within one, 43-42, at the half. However, it would prove to be as close as Western would get the remainder of the game.

Western Carolina returns home - where it has won two-straight in league play - to host Georgia Southern (5-9, 3-3 SoCon), which has dropped three of its last four in SoCon play. The Catamounts will look to snap a two-game slide against the Eagles in the overall series. Tip-off from the Ramsey Center is set for 7:00 pm.