Western Carolina 87, UNC Asheville 76

Cullowhee, N.C. - Jake Robinson matched a career-high with 25 points including six 3-pointers as Western Carolina used a strong start to both halves to fend off the UNC Asheville Bulldogs, 87-76, in front of 2,763 Wednesday afternoon in the Ramsey Center.

The win, WCU's 10th-straight at home dating back to last season, halted a two-game slide to the Bulldogs in the overall head-to-head series. The Catamounts improved to 11-2 overall on the season, matching its best start since 1963-64.

Robinson connected on his first two 3-point attempts - including his first of the game less than 20 seconds after checking into the contest - for 5-of-8 shooting in the first half and 17 of his game-high 25 points at intermission. The Canton, N.C., native finished 7-of-10 from the floor and led four Catamounts in double figures as classmate Brandon Giles chipped in 15 points and five rebounds, adding three assists and a pair of steals.

Junior Richie Gordon tallied 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting before fouling out late in the second half, with three steals, just one shy of his career benchmark. Senior Brigham Waginger rounded out the four in double figures with 10 points, nearly collecting a double-double after dishing out a career-high eight assists and swiping four steals to add to his school career record.

Harouna Mutombo just missed double-figure scoring with nine points and a team-high six rebounds, all credited on the defensive end.

Western Carolina opened the game with a 22-6 run, which included an 18-to-1 spurt over the opening seven minutes to stake itself to a 16-point lead. However, UNC Asheville answered by outscoring the Catamounts 16-to-3 over the next five and a half minutes to claw back to within three, 25-22, at the 7:37 mark of the opening stanza.

UNCA would equal the three-point deficit, 27-24, just six and a half minutes out of halftime, but WCU managed to outscore the upset-minded 'Dogs, 16-to-11, over that time frame to hold an eight-point, 43-35, edge at the break.

Out of the halftime locker room, Gordon sparked a six-point spurt including a finger-tip roll lay-up, a one-handed slam dunk and a pair of free throws following a steal and fast-break opportunity to stretch Western's advantage out to 14, 49-35. UNC Asheville was able to trim the Catamount advantage to 10 on four separate occasions, but were not able to drop it below double-digits as the Catamounts held on for the 11-point victory.

The Bulldogs (3-8), which dropped to 1-8 against NCAA Division I foes this season, put five players in double figures led by Jaron Lane with 12 points. Starting center D.J. Cunningham added 11 points, while J.P. Primm, Sean Smith and Quinard Jackson each scored 10.

All told on the afternoon, the Catamounts turned 27 UNCA turnovers into 31 points.

Western Carolina is off for nearly a full week, returning to action on Tuesday, Jan., 5 when it hosts NAIA-member, Berea (Ky.) College in the Ramsey Center. Tip-off of the first-ever meeting between the Catamounts and Mountaineers is set for 7:00 pm.

Chattanooga 68, Eastern Kentucky 54

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga scored a hard-fought 68-54 win over Eastern Kentucky in the championship game of the 20th Annual Dr Pepper Classic at the McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn., tonight.  With the win, the Mocs improve to 8-6 on the year while the Colonels fell to 8-5.  It is the 13th Dr Pepper Classic Championship for Chattanooga.

The game was much closer than the final score would indicate, but the Mocs seemed to have the upper hand in the early stages of the game.  Chattanooga came out shooting three-pointers from all over the court.  Eight of the Mocs first 10 shots were from long range with UTC hitting six of 20 (30.0%) in the first 20 minutes. 

Leading 11-9 at the 12:38 mark, Chattanooga went on a 13-0 run over the next seven minutes to stretch the first half lead to 15.  Senior Ty Patterson scored the last five points in that run and finished the first half with 13.

Chattanooga was up 30-15 with four minutes left in the period before EKU went on a tear to get back into the ball game.  For the rest of the first period and the first seven minutes of the second half, the Colonels outscored UTC 23-7.  Justin Stommes 3-pointer at 13:08 gave Eastern Kentucky a 38-37 lead. 

The game stayed close for the next few minutes as Papa Oppong's three-pointer tied the score a 43 with 10:26 left for EKU.  Patterson answered with a layup and sophomore Keegan Bell hit back-to-back 3-pointers to help UTC pull away.  Each of Bell's threes in this stretch were from 5-6 feet behind the 3-point line. 

EKU cut the lead to four, 55-51, with 4:47 left on a 3-pt. FG from Joshua Jones.  However, the Colonels would only get one more field goal the rest of the way as the Mocs outscored 13-3 to close out the game. 

Patterson earned Dr Pepper Classic MVP honors with his first career double-double tonight.  He finished with a season-high 22 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.  His two-game totals were 30 points 16 rebounds, 10 assists and no turnovers. 

Bell also made the all-tournament team, scoring 20 points and a game-high six assists.  He went 6-10 from behind the 3-point line, tying his career-high from most 3-pt. FGs in a game.  Also on the all-tournament team were Jones and Stommes from EKU, Morgan State's Reggie Holmes and Long Island's Kyle Johnson. 

Stommes finished with 14 points, but shot just 4-14 from the field.  Jones added 12 points in the loss. 

Morgan State won the consolation game earlier in the evening, defeating Long Island 87-70.  Kevin Thompson led the Bears with 13 points and 17 rebounds.  Holmes added 23 points as MSU improved to 8-5. 

The Mocs will take a week off and be back in action on Jan. 6 when they travel to Georgia Southern.  UTC will be looking to even their SoCon record when they visit the Eagles in Statesboro, Ga., with a 7:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) tipoff.   

Davidson 63, UMass 61

DAVIDSON, N.C. - Davidson freshman JP Kuhlman hit both ends of a one-and-one opportunity from the free-throw line, and UMass junior Anthony Gurley's shot rolled off the rim as time expired as the Wildcats topped the Minutemen 63-61 in men's basketball action Wednesday night in Belk Arena.

With the game tied 61-61, Kuhlman drove left and had a path to the basket when Gurley was whistled for a hand check on the floor with 4.1 on the clock. After a timeout, Kuhlman drained two from the charity stripe to give the 'Cats a two-point lead.

Davidson called a timeout to set up the defense, and UMass inbounded to Ricky Harris, who dribbled past half court and called another timeout with one second remaining. On the sideline out of bounds, the Minutemen tried a lob under the basket, but the ball got tipped off the glass and wound up in the hands of Gurley. His layup attempt rolled off the front of the rim as the final horn sounded.

Kuhlman finished with 18 points for Davidson (6-8), which won its third straight game. Brendan McKillop scored 13 points, and Bryant Barr recorded nine points and six rebounds, hitting three 3-pointers in the first half. Jake Cohen collected eight points, four rebounds and three blocked shots.

Harris led the Minutemen (6-7) with 21 points, and Gurley finished with 17 points and seven rebounds.

With the score tied 49-49, Davidson scored nine straight points to open a 58-49 cushion with 4:48 remaining. Cohen had five points during the run, and McKillop capped it with a pair of free throws.

UMass came roaring back, and Harris took over, scoring 10 points in a 12-3 run that tied the game. The senior ignited the stretch with a conventional 3-point play and followed that with a 3-pointer. Following a McKillop 3-pointer for the Wildcats, Gary Correia scored on a layup, and Harris added another layup to make the margin 61-59 with 56 seconds to go.

Davidson ran time off the clock on its offensive possession but Kuhlman was forced to take an off-balanced runner as the shot clock ran down. Barr got the rebound after the shot didn't draw iron, but his hurried shot also missed the rim giving the ball back to UMass. Harris hit a pull-up jumper to tie the score 61-61 with 11 seconds to play.

Davidson continues its four-game homestand with a 7 p.m. SoCon game against Samford Jan. 4, in Belk Arena.


Wofford 80, Santa Clara 72

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - In the consolation game of the Cable Car Classic, the Wofford men's basketball team defeated Santa Clara 80-72 at the Leavey Center on Wednesday night. The Terriers had four players score in double-figures as they led by as many as 17 points, but had to make free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Wofford is 8-7 overall, while Santa Clara is 7-8. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman and Jamar Diggs with 14 points each, while Cameron Rundles and Junior Salters both added thirteen points. Tim Johnson led the team with ten boards. The Broncos were led by Raymond Cowells with 24 points.

"We made everything we threw up there in the first half and we had 15 assists on the 17 makes," said head coach Mike Young. "We are not going to shoot that well in each half and we had to grind it out in the second half on their home floor. They got a little wind under their sails and we did not defend a few things very well. To come out of here 1-1 and beat the host school, that is okay. I am proud of our team and look forward to the next sixteen games."

The Terriers opened with threes from Jamar Diggs and Junior Salters to take an early 6-2 lead. The score was tied at 14 and 16 before Junior Salters hit another three at 13:14 for a 19-16 advantage. The first was the beginning of a 7-0 run by the Terriers as they took a 23-16 lead.

Wofford kept up the scoring pace and after a three by Cameron Rundles took a 35-22 lead with 5:06 left in the half. Following a bucket from Nathan Parker, the Terriers were up 42-28 with under three minutes on the clock. At the break, Wofford had a 44-31 lead as the Terriers were 8-of-11 from three in the first half.

To open the second half, Wofford pushed the lead to 51-34 after a bucket and free throw by Brad Loesing. However the Broncos would score the next six points to cut the lead to 51-40 with 12:47 on the clock. A three by Santa Clara at 11:25 cut the score to 55-45. Wofford kept the lead at nine for several possessions until a three by Junior Salters gave the Terriers a 63-51 lead.

The Broncos chipped away at the lead and with 5:41 on the clock Wofford's lead was cut to 64-57. After a bucket by Ben Dowdell, the lead was only five for the Terriers at 64-59. Cameron Rundles answered with a lay-up and the Wofford lead was back to 67-60 with 3:21 left in the second. 

The Terriers got the lead back to nine at 69-60 after two free throws by Jamar Diggs, but the Broncos answered with a three by Raymond Cowells with 2:24 left in the game. Brad Loesing hit a floater to take a 71-63 lead, but Cowells hit another three for a 71-66 score with 1:16 on the clock. Brad Loesing added three free throws to extend the Terrier lead to 74-66 with 64 seconds left.

The Broncos had two lay-ups to make it a four point game. Jamar Diggs then hit four free throws for a 78-70 lead with 39 seconds, but the Broncos added a pair as well to make it a six-point game. Corey Godzinski hit a pair of free throws for the 80-72 final score.

The 44 points scored by Wofford in the first half were the most in the opening half this season. The Terriers also faced former assistant coach Dustin Kerns in the game, who served as an assistant under Mike Young and is now an assistant at Santa Clara. Noah Dahlman has scored in double-digits in all 15 games this season. Wofford scored 80 or more for the fourth time this season.

After a week off, the Terriers will return to the floor on Thursday, January 7 at UNC Greensboro.


Campbell 92, Appalachian State 63

BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Donald Sims scored 10 first-half points and added six more in the second, including the three-pointer that gave him 1,000 points for his career, but Appalachian State University men's basketball fell, 92-63, at Campbell on Wednesday evening. 

The Mountaineers (7-6) fell behind early, as Campbell opened a 20-6 lead and expanded the advantage to as many as 21 points in the first half before a late ASU run pulled the squad back to within 48-33 at the intermission. 

Campbell (7-4) then scored the first seven points of the second half and effectively put the game out of reach, as the Apps never pulled closer than 61-49 after the break. 

Sims dished out seven assists, which marked the most by any Mountaineer this season. Jeremi Booth added 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting and led the team with six rebounds. 

Sims is just the 29th player to reach the 1,000-point mark in a career, and the second this season. Senior Kellen Brand reached the milestone in the second game of the season. Against Campbell, Brand scored two points and added a rebound and an assist in 19 minutes. 

Andre Williamson was right behind with five rebounds to go along with four points, two steals and a block, while fellow post Isaac Butts contributed four rebounds and a pair of blocks. 

Ryann Abraham came off the bench to add 11 points and three assists while Tyler Webb added four boards off the bench. 

Campbell's Lorne Merthie led all scorers with a career-high 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting while Jonathan Rodriguez added 20 points and seven rebounds. 

The Mountaineers held a 31-22 advantage on the boards, which marked the 11th time the squad has outrebounded its opponent in 13 games this season. 

ASU dished out 14 assists, which marked the fourth consecutive game the team reached double figures in the category. CU's Junard Hartley tallied 10 assists of his own as the Camels racked up 28 in the game, the most allowed by an Appalachian opponent this season.

Campbell's 92 points also matched the most allowed by the Apps this year, as ASU allowed 92 to Morgan State in an overtime win in November. 

Appalachian has a week off before returning to Southern Conference play on January 6 when The Citadel visits the Holmes Center.