Jan. 14, 2010

Box Score |   

Cullowhee, N.C. - Jake Robinson led four Catamounts in double figures with 19 points as Western Carolina held off UNC Greensboro and the double-double effort of Ben Stywall for the 10-point, 79-69, home victory over the Spartans in Southern Conference action in the Ramsey Center.

Robinson drained three, 3-pointers to close to within seven of the school's all-time record as the Catamounts methodically pulled away in the second half, capitalizing on tenacious defensive intensity and timely shooting.

"I felt we had solid intensity the entire game, but especially in the second half," said WCU head coach Larry Hunter during post-game comments on the Catamount Sports Network. "Jake (Robinson) really made some big shots for us to get us going but I could not be more proud of the way Brigham (Waginger) played tonight. I congratulated him in the locker room after the game. He made several big plays, diving after loose balls and making plays that helped spark us."

Waginger, who scored 14 points on the strength of four 3-pointers, added three assists and three steals. He and classmate Robinson were joined in double figures by senior Kendall Russell, who tallied 14 points for his second-consecutive double-digit performance, and Brandon Giles with 11.

Junior Richie Gordon scored eight points before fouling out late in the game while Harouna Mutombo scored seven.

UNCG's Stywall led all scorers with a game-high 24 points and 14 rebounds for his SoCon-leading seventh double-double of the season. He was joined in double figures by teammates Brandon Evans with 17 and Kyle Randall with 14 points. Pete Brown blocked five shots in the game for the Spartans, matching WCU's team total.

Western Carolina (13-3, 3-1 SoCon) only managed to sneak out to a five-point cushion on two separate occasions in the first half of play as UNC Greensboro answered each challenge in the opening stanza. The Spartans used an 11-2 spurt to erase WCU's second, five-point edge and claim their largest edge of the contest at four, 19-15, at the 11:14 mark.

However, just over three minutes later, Mutombo converted an Adrian Gailliard steal in to two of his seven points as Western Carolina reclaimed the lead for good, 24-23. Both teams shot well from the floor in the opening 20 minutes as WCU was 15-of-30, 50-percent, while UNCG was 12-of-25 for 48-percent.

WCU led at intermission, 35-31.

In the second half, UNC Greensboro (3-14, 2-4 SoCon) closed to within two points twice, the second of which coming at the 13:13 mark at 43-41. Yet, the Catamounts had an answer each time and never relinquished the lead nor allowed the score to be tied. WCU secured its first double-digit lead of the game on a pair of free throws by Robinson, and pulled ahead by as many as 14 in the final six minutes in holding on for the 79-69 victory.

Western Carolina will host North Division foe Elon on Saturday evening at 7:00 pm in the Ramsey Center. The Catamounts and Phoenix have split the seasonal meetings each of the past two years, each winning on their respective home courts.

Post-Game Notes:
- Western Carolina improved to 9-0 at home this season in the Ramsey Center while extending its home court winning streak to 12-straight games which includes four-straight against Southern Conference foes ... All told, WCU has won 22 of its last 24 home games in the Ramsey Center and 13 of its last 14 SoCon matchups in Cullowhee;

- Thursday's announced attendance of 3,027 was a season-high, surpassing the 2,794 that witnessed WCU's win over Campbell back on Dec. 10 ... Thursday's crowd was the largest since 3,237 were on hand for the rivalry match-up with Appalachian State back on Feb. 19, 2007;

- At 3-1 in conference play, Western Carolina remains tied with Chattanooga atop the Southern Conference's North Division after the Mocs claimed their league-leading sixth-straight win on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, downing The Citadel, 56-54, in Chattanooga on Thursday night;

- Western Carolina won its third-straight game over UNC Greensboro after sweeping last season's two meetings, matching the program's longest winning streak against the Spartans which has now been achieved three times ... the Catamounts have also won 13 of the 17 all-time meetings between the two schools in Cullowhee;

- With the win over UNCG, the Catamounts improved to 3-0 in games following a loss this season ... WCU rebounded from its first lost of the year at then No. 2 Texas to upend Arkansas-Monticello at home and bounced back from the road lost at then No. 23 Clemson with a home victory over mountain-rival UNC Asheville .. WCU got back on track Thursday night with the win over UNCG following last Saturday's road loss at Georgia Southern;

- Senior Kendall Russell posted back-to-back double-digit scoring outings for the first-time in his WCU career ... Russell has three double-figure performances this season and four for his Catamount career;

- Senior Jake Robinson hit three, 3-pointers on Thursday night to give him 238 for his career ... He is just seven shy of tying former Catamount standout - and current assistant coach - Anquell McCollum (245, 1993-96) on WCU's career 3-pointers made chart;

- UNC Greensboro's Ben Stywall leads the Southern Conference with seven double-double performances this season, four coming in six conference games to date.