Jan. 30, 2010

Box Score

Birmingham, Ala. - Led by a game-high 13 points from junior Mike Williams, all 10 Catamounts that played scored points as Western Carolina built a lead and then held on to score the road victory over the Samford Bulldogs, 62-50, in Southern Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center.

Samford rallied to tie the game twice in the second half, but timely free throw shooting and rebounding helped the Catamounts hold the Bulldogs off for the road victory.

"I am really proud of the way our guys bounced back today in earning this road win," said WCU head coach Larry Hunter during post-game radio comments on the Catamount Sports Network. "Mike (Williams) really came up big for us and had a strong game, but we were able to make some key free throws and get big rebounds late in picking up this win."

In addition to his 13 points, Williams added four assists and four steals in the winning effort. Both senior Brigham Waginger and sophomore Keaton Cole added three 3-pointers apiece, with Cole coming off the bench and his trio of triples accounting for all nine of his points in the opening 20 minutes. Waginger also dished out a couple of assists with a pair of steals.

Richie Gordon finished with eight points and a team-high tying four rebounds and three blocked shots, while Kendall Russell recorded three offensive rebounds in his four boards off the bench. The Chicago, Ill., native also connected on a pair of free throws during WCU's decisive game-ending run.

Samford (9-13, 3-7 SoCon) outscored WCU 22-to-9 over the opening 12 minutes of the second half to chip away at the Catamounts' halftime advantage, tying the game at 41 on a pair of Jeffrey Merritt free throws with just under eight minutes to play in regulation. But a pair of free throws by Gordon and consecutive buckets by Williams gave WCU a six-point cushion.

Six Bulldog free throws sandwiched around Anthony Phillip's second field goal of the day trimmed the Catamount lead to two, 51-49. Gordon threw down a one-handed slam to give the Catamounts a four-point advantage, with Williams making a steal on the Bulldogs' ensuing possession and dishing to Waginger who drained a 3-pointer as WCU outscored Samford 11-to-1 over the closing 3:42 to pick up the victory.

Samford put three in double figures led by Josh Davis, who missed most of the first half with early foul trouble. Davis finished with 11 points including three, 3-pointers. Bryan Friday and John Peterson each added 10 points for the Bulldogs in the loss, their fifth-straight conference defeat at home.

WCU put the clamps on Samford defensively in the first half, limiting the Bulldogs to 19 first half points on just six made field goals. Tied at 18, the Catamounts closed the opening 20 minutes of play with a 14-to-1 run including four 3-pointers - three by Cole - to take a 13-point, 32-19, edge into the halftime locker room.

Eight of WCU's 11 first half field goals came from beyond the arc as the Catamounts shot 61-percent from the floor and 67-percent from long range in the opening 20 minutes.

Western Carolina returns home for back-to-back home dates against teams that downed the Catamounts on the road earlier this season. WCU opens the two-game home stand with Georgia Southern on Thursday, Feb. 4 before hosting archrival Appalachian State on Saturday, Feb. 6. Tip-off for both games is set for 7:00 pm in the Ramsey Center.

Post-Game Notes:
- Western Carolina remained perfect on the season following a loss, improving to 5-0 in games after losing ... Saturday's was the first road win following a loss as the previous four victories all came at home;

- Western Carolina secured win No. 17 on the season, the most under head coach Larry Hunter surpassing last year's total of 16 ... Also, with at least one game in the SoCon tournament, WCU has 10 games remaining this season - with the win, improving to 17-5, the Catamounts have guaranteed themselves of a second-consecutive winning season ... WCU has not enjoyed back-to-back winning seasons since 1995-96 (17-13) and 1996-97 (14-13);

- WCU picked up its first-ever win over Samford in Birmingham, evening the seasonal record on the road at 1-1 after dropping last year's first-ever series meeting in Alabama;

- Western Carolina held Samford to 19 first half points, the lowest opening half point total for a WCU opponent in Southern Conference play this season ... the previous low was 22 points against Davidson back on Jan. 20;

- Senior Brigham Waginger - already WCU's single-season and career steals leader - moved into fifth place on the Southern Conference's career steals chart, tying East Tennessee State's Zakee Wadood (2001-04) with 246 career thefts ... He is just one steal shy of fourth on the chart;

- Samford dropped its fifth-straight Southern Conference home game on the season.