Nov. 30, 2010

Box Score |   

Cullowhee, N.C. - Senior guard Mike Williams led three Catamounts in double figures as Western Carolina rallied past the visiting Bradley Braves, 66-65, Tuesday night in the Ramsey Center. Williams and classmate Richie Gordon combined for nine made free throws inside the game's final three minutes as the Catamounts overcame double-digit deficits in both halves.

Trailing 58-47 with 9:51 to play, WCU outscored the Braves 14-to-2 to take the lead for good, 61-60, as Gordon capped the spurt on two free throws with 2:43 to play. The Catamounts then went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line the rest of the way with Bradley's Anthony Warren banking in a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the final margin.

WCU's first consecutive victories on the year gives the squad back-to-back wins over Missouri Valley Conference-foe, Bradley, which dropped its third-straight on the year while the Catamounts evened their seasonal mark at 4-4 overall.

Williams finished with 16 points while dishing out a career-high six assists with two steals. Junior guard Keaton Cole scored 11 of his 14 points during the opening 20 minutes while Gordon scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half including 7-of-8 from the free throw line as the Catamounts shot 12-of-13 from the stripe in the second half. Gordon added seven rebounds

WCU drained 19-of-23 charity tosses on the night for a season-best 82.6-percent for the game.

Harouna Mutombo chipped in seven points, eight rebounds and matched his career-high with six assists. It is the second-straight season that Mutombo has recorded six helpers against the Braves, establishing his career benchmark in Peoria, Ill., a season ago.

Freshman post Tawaski King pulled down a career-best 10 rebounds as the Catamounts turned a one-rebound deficit at halftime into a 17 board final margin. WCU, which trailed 17-16 in rebounding at intermission, dominated the glass in the second half to the tune of 28-10 including 12 offensive boards, three by Blake Gallagher.

Warren led the Braves with a game-high 22 points on 7-of-20 shooting, adding a team-high eight rebounds while Dodie Dunson scored 14 points in the squad's third-straight loss.

Bradley (4-3) scored the game's first 10 points in taking a double-digit lead out of the starting blocks on Tuesday night. The lead ballooned to a dozen at both the 13:39 mark, 16-4, and again at 23-11 midway through the first half.

Over the next eight minutes, though, the Catamounts turned up the defensive pressure and outscored the Braves 22-to-10 to knot the game for the first time on a Trey Sumler 3-pointer, 33-33, with 2:27 showing on the game clock. Bradley managed to stretch it back to a four-point, 38-34, edge at intermission.

Brandon Boggs capped a 10-to-4 Western Carolina spurt out of the halftime locker room with a 3-pointer from the right wing to hand the Catamounts their first lead of the game, 44-42 at the 16:45 mark. However, the Braves responded with a 14-0 run to reclaim control of the game, building another 12-point cushion, 56-44, at the 11:44 mark of the second half before the Catamounts were able to rally.

Western Carolina embarks on a seven-game road swing that spans the month of December beginning this Thursday night as the Catamounts travel to Birmingham, Ala., to face Southern Conference North Division foe, Samford. Tip-off from the Pete Hanna Center is scheduled for 8:00 pm ET / 7:00 pm CT with Catamount Sports Network coverage beginning at 7:30 pm ET / 6:30 pm CT.

Post-Game Notes:
- Western Carolina has claimed both meetings with Bradley, winning last year in Peoria, 75-67 ... the Catamounts improved to 3-3 all-time against current members of the Missouri Valley Conference;

- It is the second-straight season that WCU used a second-half rally to upend the Braves ... Last year in Peoria, the Catamounts trailed by 10 midway through the second half only to rally with a 23-to-4 run to take a nine-point lead it would never relinquish;

- Western Carolina has now won eight-straight home games over nonconference foes in the Ramsey Center and has claimed victory in 12 of the last 14 overall ... All told, WCU has won 29 of its last 33 home games in Ramsey ... Over the past three seasons, WCU is now 27-4 at home and has a combined 51-20 (.718) record at home under head coach Larry Hunter;

- Tuesday night's win marked the first-time this season that WCU has won after trailing at halftime ... the Catamounts were previously 0-3 this year when trailing heading into the locker room;

- Senior guard Mike Williams has led the Catamounts in scoring the past four games - and in five of the first eight games this season ... He has reached double-digit scoring seven times this year;

- Western Carolina's 17-rebound advantage over Bradley represented the second-largest margin this season - and the biggest against a NCAA Division I member this year ... the Catamounts outrebounded Warren Wilson by 19, 51-32, back on Nov. 22.