Jan. 23, 2010

Box Score |   

Boone, N.C. - Donald Sims led three Mountaineers in double figures with a game-high 28 points on 9-of-11 shooting as Appalachian State pulled away in the closing minutes to snap Western Carolina's three-game winning streak, 87-74, Saturday night in Southern Conference action from the Holmes Center.

Despite the loss, Western Carolina senior Jake Robinson made three 3-pointers to tie former Catamount standout - and current assistant coach -- Anquell McCollum (1993-96) for the school's all-time career 3-pointers made record with 245. The record-tying trifecta came from the left wing with 1:21 remaining in the contest. The Canton, N.C., native will become the record-holder with his next triple.

WCU senior Brandon Giles scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half to lead the Catamounts (15-4, 5-2 SoCon) with his fifth-straight double-digit scoring effort. Richie Gordon scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting while Robinson finished with 11 including the three treys.

Harouna Mutombo and Kendall Russell each scored seven points apiece while Blake Gallagher added four points and a team-high seven rebounds off the bench.

For the Mountaineers, Kellen Brand added 19 points alongside Sims with Marcus Wright added 15 points and six assists.

Midway through the second half, Anthony Phillip scored consecutive baskets including the second on a tip-in to give Western Carolina a one-point, 50-49, lead with 12 minutes remaining in regulation. However, following Phillip's put back, the Mountaineers used a 13-to-2 run over the next three minutes to balloon their advantage to 10.

WCU would only manage to close to within two, 66-64, on 1-of-2 free throws by Gordon at the 5:36 mark as Appalachian State held the Catamounts off from the free throw line. All told, the Mountaineers held a 21-point edge from the free throw line by connecting on 33-of-43 (76.7%) from the charity stripe while the Catamounts struggled from the line only making 48-percent of their free throws, 12-of-25.

The Catamounts led the majority of the first half after opening with an 8-0 spurt to represent WCU's largest lead of the contest. Yet, the purple and gold could never build a cushion and Appalachian knotted the game at 25 with three and a half minutes and claimed its first lead 30 seconds later.

The Mountaineers led at halftime, 35-33.

Western Carolina returns home Monday night as the Catamounts welcome South Division leader, the College of Charleston, to the Ramsey Center for a 7:00 pm tip. Monday has been billed as the "White Out" night with all fans encouraged to wear white to the game, which will be regionally televised on Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS).

Post-Game Notes: - Western Carolina dropped its sixth-straight road game in the head-to-head series with Appalachian State ... WCU has not won in the Holmes Center since 2004 ... All told, the Catamounts have dropped 11 of the last 12 series meetings;

- Senior Brandon Giles recorded his fifth-straight double-digit scoring outing ... It was his eighth double figure scoring outing in the past nine games;

- Appalachian State head coach Buzz Peterson improved to 11-0 all-time against Western Carolina with the victory;