Men's Basketball Southern Conference

WCU Men's Basketball Wins at Carleton, 70-64

Ottawa, Ontario - Thanks to a double-double by sophomore David Berghoefer, the Western Carolina men's basketball team improved to 2-0 on its Canadian tour with a 70-64 win at Carleton University late Tuesday night.

Berghoefer scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while adding two blocked shots. He was the key to Western's 36-34 halftime lead, scoring 15 points in the first 20 minutes. Overall, he was 5-of-11 from the field and 8-of-12 at the free throw line. The Cats were led in scoring by junior Kevin Martin, who scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half. The Zanesville, Ohio, product contributed seven rebounds, two assists and three steals. Corey Muirhead, a Canadian native and sophomore on the WCU basketball team, added 14 points and five rebounds, while keying Western's solid defensive effort.

"David (Berghoefer) was the man," said WCU head coach Steve Shurina. "He carried us on his back in the first half and has put together great back-to-back games.

"We did not have a great game offensively, shooting just 38 percent from the field and making just 1-of-12 from 3-point range. However, we held them to just 36 percent shooting and forced 18 turnovers. Although we did not shoot for great percentage from the free throw line (63 percent), we were able to get to the line often (43 times to their 17).

"This was a great win for our team. The Carleton team was well coached, played extremely hard and played with a lot of pride. We were able to dig ourselves out of a hole, being down five with 7:11 to go. We really grew up thanks to this win."

Rans Brempong, a Canadian native who has played on its national team, added eight points, six rebounds and five blocked shots. James Johnson and Emre Atsur rounded out Western's scoring with five and three points, respectively. Jared Outing, who battled foul trouble, did not score, but came down with six rebounds, four on the offensive end.

Western will return to action on Aug. 12, facing the University of Ottawa at 8 pm. Western will wrap up its tour with a game on Aug. 14 versus an All-Star team comprised of Montreal natives and a game on Aug. 16 versus the Canadian National Team. The Canadian National Team will use its game with Western as they prepare for the Olympic qualification tournament later this summer.