Feb. 21, 2011

Box Score

Greensboro, N.C. - Western Carolina seniors Mike Williams and Richie Gordon combined for four made free throws inside the final three seconds as the Catamounts held off the upset bid from UNC Greensboro, 70-66, Monday night at the Greensboro Coliseum.

UNCG (5-22, 5-11 SoCon) chipped away at the Catamounts' game-high 15-point lead in the second half, taking its lone lead of the second half on a four-point play by Brandon Evans with 3:30 to play. WCU managed to regain the lead, stretching it back to three on an offensive stick-back by Harouna Mutombo. But Evans sank his fourth 3-pointer of the game less than 30 seconds later to knot things at 66 with 88-seconds remaining.

Following a WCU miss and a Spartan defensive rebound, the Catamount defense then came up huge on consecutive possessions as freshman Brandon Boggs intercepted a would-be entry pass to the low blocks with 37 seconds remaining. WCU held for what it hoped would be the final shot of the game with Williams weaving his way through the lane for a lay-up that missed, but he was fouled. The New Orleans, La., native hit both of his charity tosses for a two-point lead, 68-66, with 2.8 seconds remaining.

On the ensuing inbounds pass, Gordon intercepted the court-length heave and was fouled, stepping to the line and making both free throws to make it a two-possession game with two seconds showing on the clock, providing the final tally.

Western Carolina (16-13, 11-5 SoCon) won its seventh-straight game on the year to match a school-record with its 11th victory in league play. The Catamounts kept pace with co-divisional leader, Chattanooga, which won at home over Furman, 75-59, to remain deadlocked at 11-5 with two games remaining.

The win was also the sixth-straight for WCU over UNCG in the head-to-head series and the third-straight road victory for the Catamounts this season.

Williams struggled from the floor on the night, but finished with 11 points and five assists. Gordon likewise had troubles finding the bottom of the basket, scoring six, but contributed five rebounds, four assists and four steals in the win.

Mutombo led the Catamounts with 20 points and eight rebounds, adding three steals with Boggs scoring 10. Redshirt freshman Trey Sumler shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor in the first half, scoring 15 of his 16 points before intermission as WCU took a nine-point, 40-31, edge into the locker room.

WCU pulled out to a game-high 15 point lead early in the second half before the resurgent Spartans rallied back thanks to offensive rebounds and second-chance points. The game was tied five times in the second half with the two lead changes.

Brandon Evans scored a game-high 23 points in his final home game for the Spartans, shooting 7-of-11 for the game with UNCG shooting 52-percent from the floor in the second half. The Spartans also got 12 points from Trevis Simpson and 10 from Aloysius Henry in the paint.

WCU won the battle of the boards on Monday night, outrebounding UNCG by two, 38-to-36, including a 16-to-15 edge on the offensive glass. The Catamounts turned 17 Spartan turnovers into 27 points in the win.

Western Carolina returns home to wrap-up the regular season with back-to-back games in the Ramsey Center. The Catamounts welcome The Citadel to Cullowhee on Thursday for "Beach Night" with tip-off at 7:00 pm. Then, on Saturday, WCU hosts SoCon South Division leader, the College of Charleston, in the night cap of a WCU basketball double-header as the women host Chattanooga at 2:00 pm followed by the men at 4:30 pm.