Feb. 6, 2010

Box Score |   

Cullowhee, N.C. - Led by 29 points by Donald Sims, Appalachian State shot 60-percent from the floor including 65-percent in the second half alone to down Southern Conference North Division-leading Western Carolina, 89-77, Saturday afternoon in the Ramsey Center.

The loss snapped WCU's 15-game home winning streak and gave ASU the regular season sweep over the Catamounts.

"We never could get into any rhythm or flow in this game," said head coach Larry Hunter. "Give Appalachian a lot of credit - they made the plays when they needed to, especially inside the eight minute mark of the second half. But we just did not adjust to the game this afternoon."

In addition to the solid shooting performance by the Mountaineers (30-of-50, 60%), Appalachian State was near flawless from the free throw line making 24-of-28 from the stripe including 11-straight in the closing three minutes for 85.7-percent overall.

Seniors Jake Robinson and Brandon Giles each scored 19 points to lead four Catamounts in double figures with Robinson connecting on five of WCU's 10 3-pointers on the afternoon. Harouna Mutombo scored 15 on 6-of-12 shooting while Mike Williams rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points while also dishing out four assists.

Western Carolina (18-6, 8-4 SoCon) rattled off 10-straight points including consecutive 3-pointers by Robinson and an exclamation point dunk by Giles off a diving steal by Mutombo to break open a one-point affair and give the Catamounts an 11-point, 28-17, lead inside an electric Ramsey Center.

However, the Mountaineers were able to stem the tide, responding with a 16-0 run over a four-minute stretch to erase the 11-point deficit and build a five-point advantage, 33-28. During the run, Western Carolina was 0-for-5 from the floor, 0-for-2 from the free throw line and committed four turnovers and allowed Appalachian State to eventually carry a two-point, 36-34, lead into the break.

Neither team was able to pull away in the second half as the game see-sawed between six points either way. With ASU leading 69-63, Giles drained a 3-pointer to close the gap back to three, with Robinson pulling the Catamounts to within a couple, 71-69, with his fifth triple of the game two possessions later. But, that was as close as Western Carolina could get as Sims answered with a 3-pointer on the other end.

Western Carolina was able to pull within three, 74-71, on a Williams' lay-up, but a two-minute scoring drought allowed the Mountaineers to pull out to its first double-digit lead at 82-71. Appalachian State was able to hold the Catamounts at bay from the free throw line, connecting on all 11 attempts inside the final three minutes.

ASU's Sims was joined in double figures by Isaac Butts with 14 on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting while also boarding a game-high nine. Josh Hunter and Marcus Wright each added 10 for the Mountaineers which snapped a two-game seasonal slide with the win.

Western Carolina, which has not dropped consecutive games all season, returns to action on Monday night in a tough North Division match-up, on the road against the Elon Phoenix. Tip-off from Alumni Gym in Elon, N.C., is set for 7:00 pm. The game will be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network and can be heard locally on 920 AM WPTL in Canton and online at www.CatamountSports.com.

Post-Game Notes: - Western Carolina had its 15-game home winning streak inside the Ramsey Center snapped on Saturday afternoon ... Despite the loss, Western Carolina has won 25 of its past 28 home games and 16 of its last 18 in Southern Conference play in the Ramsey Center ... Over the past two seasons, WCU is 23-3 at home, an 88.5 winning percentage;

- In the head-to-head series with ASU, Western Carolina has dropped 12 of the last 13 meetings with the lone Catamount victory coming a year ago in Cullowhee;

- Western Carolina lost at home for the first-time in nearly one full calendar year ... WCU's last home defeat came to The Citadel, 75-66, on Feb. 7, 2009 ... the Catamounts opened their string of 15-straight home wins on Feb. 14, 2009 against Appalachian State;

- The crowd of 6,024 that was on hand Saturday afternoon is the second largest in Ramsey Center history according to available records ... WCU surpassed its previous seasonal high in attendance -- 4,765 in the home win over the College of Charleston - by 1,259 ... the facility record attendance was 8,114 set when WCU hosted North Carolina State on Dec. 6, 1986;

- Already WCU's career 3-point leader, senior Jake Robinson made five 3-pointers Saturday afternoon to give him 257 for his career and moves him into 10th on the Southern Conference's career 3-pointers made chart by-passing Travis Cantrell from The Citadel (255, 1999-02) ... Robinson is just four shy of tying for ninth-place currently held by Jay Joseph of UNC Greensboro (261 from 2001-04);