Feb. 11, 2009

Box Score |   

Charleston, S.C. - After trailing by as many as 21 points, Western Carolina rallied to pull within five on two separate occasions inside the game's final five minutes. However, costly turnovers and an 11-of-12 showing from the free throw line in the final two minutes allowed the College of Charleston to maintain its advantage as the Cougars escaped with a 78-67 win at the Carolina First Arena.

The loss drops WCU into a two-way tie with arch-rival Appalachian State for second place in the SoCon's North Division at 7-7, a full game behind divisional leader, Chattanooga (8-6). ASU visits The Citadel on Thursday night before coming to Cullowhee on Saturday, while UTC hosts divisional foes Elon and UNC Greensboro in its next two contests.

Red-shirt freshman Harouna Mutombo tied a game-high with 25 points and junior Brandon Giles scored 16 points, including 14 in the second half, to lead Western which dropped its second-straight and sixth-consecutive road game. Mutombo, a leading candidate for SoCon Freshman of the Year, added four offensive rebounds and three assists in the loss.

Freshman Greg Avery, who earned the start for the ailing Kendall Russell - who played sparingly but did manage two offensive boards - added seven points and a team-high five rebounds including four of WCU's 17 offensive rebounds.

Charleston (18-6, 10-4 SoCon) broke open a close first half with a 20-to-2 run over a seven-minute span to surge ahead by 18 points. Tied at 11, the Cougars held Western to one basket over the next seven minutes to pull at head, 31-13, with just under eight minutes remaining before intermission. CofC stretched its lead to a game-high 21, 40-19, at the 1:22 mark and led by 16 at the break, 42-26.

The Cougars shot a sizzling 77-percent from the floor in the first half, going 17-of-22 including 6-of-10 from beyond the 3-point arc.

In the second half, the Cougars ballooned their advantage back out to 20, 53-33 at the 14:34 mark. With the CofC lead 17, 61-44, Western Carolina embarked on a 16-to-4 run - including a 9-0 spurt - over five and a half minutes to pull within five, 65-60. Giles spurred the run with seven points with Mutombo capping it with a 3-pointer.

On the ensuing possession, Western forced a missed jumper by Charleston's Dustin Scott with Avery boarding the miss. However, a costly turnover on a Tony White, Jr., steal gave the Cougars the ball back and forced WCU into fouling.

WCU (12-12, 7-7 SoCon) would equal the five-point deficit at 67-62 a minute later. However, just as in the first instance, the Catamounts could not convert a CofC turnover into points and the Cougars were able to ice the game from the free throw line.

Charleston put four players in double figures led by Andrew Goudelock with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-7 from beyond the 3-point arc. Donovan Monroe added 16 points off the bench, nine of which came from long range, with Dustin Scott and Antwaine Scott each adding 10 points in the win.

Western Carolina returns home this Saturday to host Appalachian State at 7:00 pm in the Ramsey Center.