Box Score Feb. 13, 2016
Final Stats |
CULLOWHEE, N.C. -
For the first time this season, the Western Carolina men's basketball team has won three-straight after a 76-71 come from behind affair with Samford Saturday afternoon inside the Ramsey Center. The Catamounts trailed by as many as 10 points in the opening half before storming back late in the second half to secure their first win over the Bulldogs since 2014.
Senior Rhett Harrelson came off the bench to lead the Catamounts with 19 points as he nailed five shots from 3-point range and was a perfect 4-4 at the free throw line. Senior Torrion Brummitt added 16 points and seven rebounds while senior Mike Brown had a double-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Freshman Marc Gosselin had seven points and eight rebounds from his starting forward spot while senior Justin Browning picked up a team-high three steals to go along with seven points.
The Catamounts outrebounded the Bulldogs 40-27 including 20-12 in the second half. Seventeen of WCU's 40 rebounds came on the offensive glass which led to 13 second chance points.
The win improves WCU's record to 11-15 overall and 6-7 in SoCon action while the Bulldogs drop to 12-16 overall and 3-12 in conference play.
Samford held a slight lead for the opening few minutes of the game before an 8-0 run gave WCU its first advantage of the game at 15-10. The Bulldogs immediately answered with an impressive 11-0 run which turned the tables and gave Samford a six-point lead. WCU would cut the lead to two on a layup by Gosselin before another 9-1 run by the Bulldogs opened up their largest lead of the game, 30-20 with 1:39 left in the first. The Catamounts answered once again with a 6-0 run to close out the period down 30-26.
The second half opened with a free throw from Gosselin followed by a 3-pointer from sophomore Devin Peterson which tied up the game with 19:40 remaining. The Bulldogs would open their lead to as much as eight with 12:42 to play but an 11-1 run by the Catamounts which began with 8:48 remaining proved to be the difference as the Catamounts never trailed from that point on. Harrelson began the run with a huge 3-pointer which cut the Bulldog lead to just two before a layup by Brummitt knotted things at 51.
After a free throw by the Bulldogs, WCU hit back-to-back 3-pointers from Harrelson and Browning which opened up a five-point WCU lead. Just over a minute later, Harrelson hit another huge 3-pointer to put the Catamounts up six with 5:11 left in the game. The Bulldogs cut WCU's lead to one on three different occasions but every time the Catamounts answered with a bucket on the other end eventually hanging on for the 76-71 victory.
The Catamounts will now hit the road for three-straight starting with a day trip up to mountain rival ETSU on Monday. The game is set for 7 pm and will air on the American Sports Network.
