Jan. 20, 2010

Box Score

HUNTER TALKS ABOUT WIN AT DAVIDSON (VIDEO)

Western Carolina dominated the opening 20 minutes Wednesday night, taking a 22-point lead into the halftime locker room after holding Davidson to just four field goals on 14.8-percent shooting and without a 3-pointer. The Wildcats erased all but four points of the Catamounts' game-high 24 point advantage in the second half, but the veteran WCU squad weathered the rally to hold on for the 77-67 win, its third-straight and fifth out of its last six.

Senior Jake Robinson came off the bench to score a game-high 20 points to lead four Catamounts in double figures as WCU snapped a five-game losing skid to the Wildcats. Classmate Brandon Giles posted his fourth-straight, double-figure scoring night with 19 points and a team-best eight rebounds while Harouna Mutombo scored 12 and Mike Williams added 11 points.

Richie Gordon just missed double figures with nine points, five of which came from the free throw line, while Brigham Waginger dished out seven assists to accompany his four points.

Western Carolina (15-3, 5-1 SoCon) used stifling defense and an uncharacteristically cold shooting performance from the floor by the Wildcats to quickly build a double-digit lead in the first half. The Catamounts forced eight Davidson turnovers in the opening stanza in doubling-up the Wildcats' score at intermission, 44-22.

All told, Davidson was 0-for-12 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes and made just four, two-point field goals. The Wildcats were bailed out, though, by a strong 14-of-20 showing from the free throw line. Conversely, WCU shot a sizzling 63-percent from the field in the first half including 6-of-11 (54.5%) from long range.

With Western Carolina leading 48-24 just under two minutes into the second half, Davidson used a 16-2 run to cut the lead to 10 by the 14:11 mark. The Catamounts maintained the double-digit cushion, taking a 60-47 lead after Robinson sank a 3-pointer with 7:36 to go until Davidson embarked on a 9-0 spurt to cut the lead to just four, 60-56, with 5:43 remaining.

That was as close as Davidson would get, though, as the Wildcats turned the ball over four times in the final three minutes of play. Robinson, Waginger and Gordon all combined to make pairs of free throws inside the final 90 seconds to help seal the win.

Ben Allison led three Davidson players in double figures with 15 points which included 10 of the Wildcats' 22 first half points. Brendan McKillop scored all 13 of his points after halftime, connecting on three 3-pointers while J.P. Kuhlman scored 11. Steve Rossiter boarded a game-high 10 rebounds in the losing effort.

Western Carolina faces arch-rival Appalachian State in a key SoCon North Division match-up on Saturday, Jan. 23 from the Holmes Convocation Center in Boone. Tip-off is set for 3:00 pm.

Post-Game Notes:
- Western Carolina snapped a five-game losing skid to the Davidson Wildcats with Wednesday night's road win at the Belk Arena ... the Catamount seniors - three of which that have played all four years in Cullowhee - earned their first victory over the Wildcats ... WCU won for just the third time in the past 15 meetings with Davidson - all three have come on the road;

- Western Carolina moved to 14-0 on the season when leading at halftime;

- After being held scoreless on Saturday against Elon and 0-for-3 from beyond the arc, senior Jake Robinson snapped the drought with 20 points and 4-of-5 shooting from long range ... Including the Elon game and his first shot on Wednesday, Robinson snapped an 0-for-4 slump with four-straight made 3-pointers to give him 242, three shy of tying and four away from breaking the school's career 3-pointers made record held by former Catamount standout - and current assistant coach - Anquell McCollum (245, 1993-96);

- Senior Brandon Giles recorded his fourth-straight, double-digit scoring night with 19 points ... the Auburndale, Fla., native has reached double figures for the Catamounts in seven of his last eight games;

- Senior Brigham Waginger dished out seven assists in the road win over Davidson giving him 331 for his career and moving him into a tie for ninth with Quentin Moore (331, 1981-84) on WCU's career assists charts.