Jan. 21, 2012

Box Score |   

Boone, N.C. - Western Carolina erased a 14-point second half deficit to tie the game at 59 with six and a half minutes remaining on Saturday afternoon. However, Appalachian State used clutch free throw shooting, nailing all 16 charity tosses over the final 2:13 to hold off the Catamounts in an 84-72 win Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference North Division play at the Holmes Center.

ASU outscored the Catamounts 25-to-13 over the final six minutes including the perfect showing from the foul line to halt WCU's two-game winning streak in the head-to-head series.

Down by 14, 52-38, Western Carolina used a feverish second-half rally to claw back into the game, forcing the game's fourth tie at 59 points apiece with 6:24 to play. The run was bookended by lay-ups by Harouna Mutombo, who scored six during the rally. Redshirt sophomore Trey Sumler pumped in 10 points during the comeback, while sophomore Brandon Boggs chipped in five including one of his three 3-pointers.

All told, the Catamount run totaled out at 21-to-7 with WCU shooting 8-for-10 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the foul line.

After tying the game, though, WCU missed its next three field goal attempts and turned the ball over once while the Mountaineers capitalized with seven-straight points to retake the lead it would never relinquish. Tawaski King made one of two free throws to pull WCU back within six points, but that was as close as the Catamounts would get the remainder of the game as ASU managed to secure the victory from the free throw line.

Sumler led four Catamounts in double figures with 17 points including 13 in the second half alone, while Boggs got 11 of his 16 points after intermission. King and Mutombo both scored 13 points with the latter pacing the team with seven rebounds. A native of Pickering, Ontario, Mutombo moved into 17th on WCU's all-time career scoring chart, now with 1,367 career points to by-pass Cory Largent (1,360 points from 1999-2002).

Western Carolina (9-11, 3-4 SoCon) took the first advantage of the afternoon, erasing a three-point, 12-9, ASU lead with a 14-to-3 run midway through the opening 20 minutes to take its biggest lead of the game at eight points, 23-15. However, the Mountaineers closed the first half by outscoring WCU, 18-to-6, which included holding the Catamounts off the scoreboard for a three-minute span to take a four-point, 33-29, edge at the break.

Out of the halftime locker room, the Catamounts tied the game at 33 on a Boggs' triple, but quickly found themselves again trailing as Carter answered with a 3-pointer of his own. The Mountaineers scored nine-straight points to take a double-digit lead, stretching the advantage to 14 on the fifth-straight point from Isaac Butts off the bench. WCU then embarked on its comeback, falling just short in the rivalry game.

Appalachian State put five players in double figures with Jamaal Trice and Omar Carter finishing with 21 and 20 points, respectively. Butts scored 11 points off the bench with Andre Williamson posting a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Mike Neal rounded out the five Mountaineers with 10 points.

Both squads finished with 33 rebounds and 14 turnovers. ASU turned WCU's 14 miscues into 24 points while the Catamounts managed 17. The Mountaineers held a commanding edge on the free throw line with season-highs of 30 made foul shots of the 36 attempts for 83.3-percent.

Looking to snap the current three-game slide in league play, Western Carolina returns to the friendly confines of the Ramsey Center on Thursday, Jan. 26, as it hosts the Elon Phoenix. The Catamounts have won three-straight over Elon including sweeping the regular season series over the Phoenix a year ago, the first time since 2005.