Final Stats |   

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Western Carolina men's basketball team limited its fouls and turnovers but it was not enough as the Spartans of UNCG pulled away in the second half Saturday night inside the Ramsey Center to claim a 66-55 victory. The Spartans controlled the boards all evening, an area in which the Catamounts have excelled in over the last several games, and limited WCU to just four second chance points.

The first half was a defensive battle with both teams scoring just 24 points in the opening 20 minutes. UNC, who hit just one 3-pointer in the opening period, drained eight second half triples to pull away from the feisty Catamounts.

The loss drops Western Carolina's record to 7-10 on the season and 3-2 in Southern Conference play. UNCG improved to 12-5 overall and 3-1 in league action.

Junior Mike Amius once again led the WCU effort as he scored a team-high 19 points while pulling down four rebounds, which tied for the team-high. Senior Deriece Parks added 12 points, all of which came form 3-point range.

Senior Devin Peterson had seven points off the bench while freshman Desmond Johnson added six. Junior Marc Gosselin tied Amius for the team lead in rebounds with four.

UNCG was led by a pair of 20-point scorers. Marvin Smith Jr. had 24 points and nine rebounds while Francis Alonso added 20 points. It is the third-straight 20-plus point performance for Alonso against the Catamounts.

The Catamounts committed just 11 fouls in the game while sending UNCG to the free throw line seven times. UNCG committed 19 fouls and WCU took 29 free throws. WCU also limited its turnovers to just 15 including just four in the opening 20 minutes. UNCG turned the ball over 21 times but still had a 20-11 edge in points off turnovers.

The biggest difference in the game came in the paint where UNCG picked up 36 rebounds compared to WCU's 19. The Spartans limited WCU to just five offensive boards which is an area head coach Larry Hunter stresses for the WCU team. UNCG collected 14 offesive boards and scored 17 second chance points compared to just four for the Catamounts.

UNCG led for nearly the entire game. The Spartans built up a seven point lead with just over six minutes to play in the first half. WCU would not go away easily as the Catamounts used a 7-2 run late in the period to cut the deficit to just two. After UNCG pushed its lead back to four, WCU used four late free throws to tie the game entering halftime at 24-24.

WCU jumped out to a two-point lead to open the second half but UNCG responded with a 16-4 run to pick up the first double-digit edge in the game with 15:47 left to play. A 6-0 run just two possessions later by WCU cut the lead to just three but that would be as close as the Catamounts would get. UNCG once again broke the double-digit advantage with just under six minutes to play and WCU was unable to recover. The Spartans carried the advantage the rest of the game eventually winning the contest, 66-55.

The Catamounts will have a very short turnaround as WCU hosts VMI Monday night at 7 pm. The game has been dubbed "Star Wars Night" with a Star Wars-inspired WCU jersey being auctioned off for charity.