Final Stats

Asheville, N.C. - The Western Carolina University men's basketball team trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half against UNC Asheville Sunday afternoon but that would not be the entire story as the Catamounts clawed their way back into the game and eventually won 66-62 over the Bulldogs. Senior James Sinclair scored a game-high 20 points for the Catamounts. Sinclair also led the Catamounts on the boards with eight rebounds.

Freshman Devin Peterson played a large role in WCU's comeback effort after he was forced into action following a Rhett Harrelson injury. Peterson played 23 minutes in the game including 16 in the second half. He helped slow down UNC Asheville's leading scorer, Andrew Rowsey, who was held to just 2-of-10 shooting in the second half. Peterson also scored a career-high six points including a thundering dunk in the second half that helped swing the momentum in WCU's favor.

Harrelson left the game after playing 22 minutes and scoring 10 points for the Catamounts. Junior Mike Brown hit one of the biggest shots of the season late in the second half as he buried a 3-pointer off an assist from Sinclair with just over two minutes to play which gave WCU its first lead of the contest. Brown finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

Junior Torrion Brummitt chipped in 11 points and five rebounds while going 7-of-8 at the free throw line including hitting clutch free throws in the final minutes of the game.

WCU shot 40.4 percent from the field including 46.2 percent in the second half. The Bulldogs shot 38.2 percent from the field and only 32.3 percent in the second half. Both teams were solid at the free throw line as the Catamounts connected on 22-of-28 attempts and the Bulldogs knocked down 13-of-16.

The Catamounts won the turnover battled 16-9 and turned that into a 22-5 advantage in points off turnovers.

Both teams played even basketball even basketball over the opening five minutes of play but then the Bulldogs began to pull away. A 7-2 run opened up a 12-7 advantage for the Bulldogs with 14:02 to play. Another 6-0 run later in the half gave the Bulldogs the biggest advantage of the period, 26-12. Following a media timeout the Catamounts began to claw their way back into the game. Brummitt hit a pair of free throws and then Sinclair hit back-to-back baskets to cut the lead to eight. An old-fashioned three-point play by Browning followed by another Sinclair basket cut the lead to just three. After a 3-pointer by UNCA's Andrew Rowsey, the Catamounts used five free throws to cut the Bulldogs advantage to just one but that would be as close as they would get. A three by David Robertson and a layup for Jaleel Roberts closed out the half for UNCA giving the Bulldogs a 34-28 lead at the break.

The second half began much like the first with the Bulldogs taking control early. UNCA hit its first two shots of the period to go up by 10 with 19:20 left in the game. The lead would eventually balloon to 16 at the 12:29 mark. From that point on the Catamounts went on a 13-0 run that featured five points from Sinclair, four points from Peterson and four points from Brown. A dunk by Jaleel Roberts ended the run but the Catamounts had set the tone and trailed by just five with 7:34 to play.

Browning hit WCU's next basket and on the very next possession Peterson made a steal and took it coast-to-coast as he threw down on the Bulldog defense to cut the deficit to just one. Both teams traded free throws over the next couple possessions before Brown found himself open in the corner due to an outlet pass from Sinclair. Brown sank the 3-pointer with 2:25 to play which gave WCU its first lead of the game at 61-60. After both teams had two empty possessions, Brummitt was fouled and hot one-of-two at the free throw line to put the Catamounts ahead by two with 49 seconds to play. The Bulldogs would miss four 3-pointers down the stretch as Sinclair sank four free throws. UNCA would get one tip-in basket late but it was not enough as the Catamounts captured a 66-62 victory.

Asheville was led by Rowsey who had 17 points in the game. Jaleel Roberts added 12 points and six boards off the bench while David Robertson chipped in 11 points.

The Catamounts will take a nine-day break for the holidays and return to action Dec. 30 at 7 pm as they host St. Catharine College inside the Ramsey Center.