Dec. 29, 2011

Final Stats |   

Cullowhee, N.C. - Redshirt senior Harouna Mutombo posted a double-double with 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds to pace four Catamounts in double figures as Western Carolina surged past mountain-rival UNC Asheville, 86-67, Wednesday night in nonconference action in the Ramsey Center.

Mutombo scored 12 of his team-high 18 points in the second half, recording his seventh-straight, double-digit scoring outing and sixth career double-double. Sophomore Brandon Boggs got the Catamounts off to a strong start with 14 first half points, finishing with 17 including a pair of 3-pointers. Both Boggs and Mutombo dished out four assists apiece.

Senior Keaton Cole came off the bench to score 13 points for the Catamounts. The Toronto, Ontario, native continued his solid shooting from beyond the arc, draining three 3-pointers to stretch his streak of three-or-more treys in a game to seven-straight.

Sophomore Ishmael Hollis recorded his first career double-digit scoring outing with 10 points, making his second career start - both coming in the past two games. Trey Sumler, who was saddled with early foul trouble, and Tom Tankelewicz both finished with eight points in the win with Tankelewicz recorded his career-high off the bench while Sumler also added four assists.

WCU (7-6) used a 14-to-0 run in the first half to take a double-digit lead in the opening 20 minutes. The Catamounts stretched the advantage to as many as 18 in the opening stanza on a Cole 3-pointer from the left wing, and carried a 15-point cushion at 40-25 into the halftime locker room.

All told, the Catamounts rallied from an early 9-7 deficit with a 26-to-7 run to build a 33-16 lead with 3:50 remaining before the half.

The Bulldogs chipped away at WCU's lead early in the second half, trimming the deficit to nine, 44-35, just over three minutes into the final frame. However, with every UNCA run, the Catamounts had an answer. The closest the Bulldogs were able to pull was eight points on three separate occasions.

Matt Dickey led UNCA with a game-high 23 points including 14 in the first half. Jeremy Atkinson added 16 points and Chris Stephenson recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Guard J.P. Primm, who scored 26 points in last year's 85-79 overtime game between the two, was held to just six points on 2-of-11 shooting.

Western Carolina shot a season-high 54.4-percent (31-of-57) from the field for the game and 52.9-percent (9-of-17) from beyond the arc. UNC Asheville shot just 38.6 percent (22-of-57) from the field and a dismal 18.8 (3-of-16) from long distance.

Western Carolina returns to action in its final game of 2011 when it travels to Raleigh and the RBC Center to face North Carolina State on Dec. 31. Tip-off between the Catamounts and Wolfpack is scheduled for 2:00 pm on New Year's Eve.