Nov. 24, 2009

Box Score

Cullowhee, N.C. - Paced by junior transfer Mike Williams, three Catamounts scored in double figures as Western Carolina remained unbeaten in sub-regional play of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic with a 73-44 win over Binghamton Tuesday night in the Ramsey Center.

WCU limited its second-straight opponent to 44 points, while holding its third Ramsey Center foe under 45 points (St. Catharine's only scored 41). The Catamounts held Binghamton to 27-percent shooting from the floor, the second-lowest percentage by an opponent this season.

At 3-1 overall on the season, the Catamounts are out to their best start since the 2006-07 season when WCU opened 4-1 through its first five.

Williams eclipsed his previous WCU-career high set on Monday night by two points in leading the Catamounts in scoring for the first time this season. The Baton Rouge, La., native hit 3-of-4 from long range as the Catamounts drained a season-high 11 3-pointers.

Red-shirt sophomore Harouna Mutombo added 11 points including three, 3-pointers with senior Jake Robinson nailing two triples en route to 10 points. Classmate Brigham Waginger dished out five assists and swiped four steals in the win, while junior Richie Gordon scored seven points and pulled down a team-best seven rebounds as WCU won the battle of the boards, 42-to-30, which included 19 offensive rebounds.

All but one of the 12 Catamounts to log minutes on Tuesday night recorded points in the 29-point victory.

Leading by four, 10-6 midway through the first half, the Catamounts outscored Binghamton 23-to-7 over the final 10 minutes, building a half-high, 23-point lead before taking a 33-13 lead into the halftime locker room.

Western Carolina maintained at least a 20-point lead the majority of the second half. The Bearcats clawed to within 21, 55-34, on a Moussa Camara free throw just inside the 10 minute mark, but the Catamounts were able to stretch the advantage to a game-high 34 after consecutive buckets by Gordon, with Williams providing the largest tally on a steal and lay-up with five minutes remaining in the game.

For the Binghamton, Greer Wright led the way with a game-high 21 points which included 4-of-5 shooting from behind the 3-point arc and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. Wright did commit seven of Binghamton's 19 turnovers in the losing effort. Dylan Talley added 11 points for the Bearcats, with Chretien Lukusa boarding a game-high eight.

Wednesday is the final day of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic with Arkansas-Monticello facing Binghamton at 5:00 pm, while the Catamounts will entertain the only other unbeaten team in the Cullowhee Sub-regional, Duquesne, at 7:30 pm in the Ramsey Center. The Dukes have opened the season at 4-0, which included a road win over Big Ten foe, Iowa, in the opening round of the CBE Classic.

Post-Game Notes:
- Western Carolina head coach Larry Hunter earned his career victory No. 562 with the win over Binghamton;

- With his two treys on Tuesday night against Arkansas-Monticello, senior Jake Robinson now has 198 made 3-pointers in his career ... He remains third on WCU's career 3-pointers made chart, NINE shy of second-place Casey Rogers (207 from 1999-2002) and 47 behind all-time leader, Anquell McCollum (245 from 1993-96);

- Robinson also now has 916 career points, just 84 shy of surpassing the 1,000-point plateau ... Senior Brandon Giles, who eclipsed the milestone a season ago, currently has 1,053 career points to rank 33rd in WCU's record books, two points behind Bill Bowen (1956-57) for 32nd all-time;

- Senior Brigham Waginger recorded four steals on Tuesday night versus Binghamton to give him an 204 for his career ... Waginger is now just 17 steals behind WCU Hall of Famer and all-time steals leader, Henry Logan (221 from 1965-68).