Feb. 7, 2009

Box Score |   

Cullowhee, N.C. - Demetrius Nelson scored 29 points and grabbed nine boards as The Citadel scored 18 of its final 24 points - including its final eight of the contest - from the free throw line to hand Western Carolina a 75-66 loss Saturday night in Southern Conference action at the Ramsey Center.

Nelson tallied 15 of his career-best 29 from the charity stripe as the Bulldogs held a commanding 41-to-14 edge in free throw attempts. Cameron Wells scored 15 for the Cadets, including nine from the line, with Austin Dahn totaling 10 points in the win.

The loss - just WCU's second at home this season - snapped the Catamounts' six-game home winning streak and ended its run of having defeated the last eight conference foes in a row. The Bulldogs (15-10, 10-4 SoCon) won their seventh-consecutive game over the past two weeks.

Despite the defeat, Western remains in a first-place tie with Chattanooga - two-point, 72-70, losers at Furman on Saturday - atop the SoCon's North Division with identical league ledgers of 7-6. Appalachian State completed the seasonal sweep of Elon to move into sole possession of third in the tight standings at 7-7, with Samford falling at Wofford to drop to fourth at 6-8.

Junior Adrian Gailliard scored his conference career high 13 points off the bench for the Catamounts on 5-of-6 shooting. The Sewell, N.J., native added four rebounds and a steal before fouling out inside the two minute mark. Sophomore Richie Gordon, who was saddled with early foul trouble, posted his second-straight game in double figures with 12 points in 18 minutes of playing time after being whistled for his fifth personal with just under eight minutes remaining in regulation.

Junior Brandon Giles was the third Catamount in double digits with 11, while red-shirt freshman Harouna Mutombo and junior Jake Robinson each chipped in eight points. Brigham Waginger boarded seven missed shots and dished out four assists in the loss.

WCU was able to take one-point leads on two separate occasions in the second half, pulling ahead for the first time in the game at the 13:36 mark on a 3-pointer by Robinson, 40-39. Gailliard gave the Catamounts what proved to be their final advantage on a three-point play, dropping in the free throw for a 54-53 edge.

Inside the final four minutes, The Citadel's Zach Urbanus made his only two field goals of the night on consecutive possessions, burying two 3-pointers after the Catamounts had pulled within one point, 61-60, with 3:57 to play in the second half. His two treys stretched the lead back out to seven, 67-60. The Bulldogs closed out the game by making eight of its final 12 free throw attempts while WCU struggled from the floor, shooting just 2-of-9 over the final 2:45.

Western Carolina was beaten on the boards for just the second time all season at home as the Bulldogs held the advantage, 39-to-31.

The Citadel led by as many as nine points in the opening five minutes of the contest, outscoring WCU 12-to-3 out of the gate. Western Carolina (12-11, 7-6 SoCon) tied the game twice in the closing four minutes of the opening stanza, but Dahn hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to send The Citadel into the intermission with a five-point, 33-28, lead.

Western Carolina hits the road for a mid-week game at the College of Charleston, which snapped Davidson's 43-game conference winning streak with a two-point, 77-75, road victory on Saturday. Tip-off on Wednesday from the Carolina First Center is set for 7:00 pm.