HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Trailing by a dozen points inside the game's final five minutes, Western Carolina methodically chipped away at Marshall's advantage, knotting the game at 88 on a 3-pointer by Brandon Giles, the fifth Catamount trey during that same span. On the ensuing possession, the Thundering Herd's Tyler Wilkerson fumbled the ball down the right sideline while trying to push for the game's final shot. WCU's Harouna Mutombo collapsed on the loose ball where time apparently ran out.
However, WCU was tagged with a technical foul for calling an excessive timeout - one it did not possess - during the loose ball scrum. Damier Pitts then calmly buried the two technical free throws to hand the Thundering Herd a two-point, 90-88, advantage.
With just half a second put back on the scoreboard clock after the technical, Giles corralled a long inbounds pass just beyond mid-court and missed what would have been a game-winning desperation heave from well beyond NBA 3-point range at the buzzer to end WCU's remarkable season in the opening round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
Senior Jake Robinson made four of his six 3-pointers during the late rally to finish with a team-high 21 points in the heart-breaking road loss while classmate Giles finished with 13 points and eight rebounds for the Catamounts.
Pitts led all scorers with 24 points including 15 from the charity stripe for Marshall (24-9) which advances to the second round of the CIT.
"We were aware [we had no timeouts]. We communicated it, but obviously not near enough, and that's probably my fault," said WCU head coach Larry Hunter during post-game interviews with the media. "I thought we did a great job. We tied it up and got a deflection, it's a loose ball and we dove on the floor, a great hustle and effort play after it - and we also told the officials we had no timeouts - and the official said, 'Hey, I saw him call it; I've got to make the call.'"
Hunter added, "But I've also seen lot of situations you just say, 'Hey, that's a loose ball,' and you know what's going on and you don't decide a game at that particular point. [But] you know, I'm a big boy, I'm in my 39th year of college coaching, so I've been in a lot of situations, and those things happen."
In addition to Robinson and Giles, junior Richie Gordon also finished in double figures, scoring 13 points before fouling out late in the second half. Both Harouna Mutombo and Mike Williams finished with 10 points apiece with Mutombo matching a career-high with five steals. Anthony Phillip just missed double digits with nine points off the WCU bench.
Western Carolina (22-12) erased a nine-point first half deficit and led by two before heading to the halftime locker room tied at 37.
Mutombo's lay-up at the 13:53 mark of the second half gave the Catamounts their largest lead of the game, a four-point edge, 52-48, prompting a Marshall timeout. After the stoppage, the Herd rattled off six-straight points to reclaim the lead, 54-52. Ahead by one, 61-60, Marshall embarked on a 13-to-2 run which included six free throws by Pitts on three-consecutive possessions to build a game-high 12-point lead, 74-62.
It was at this point, with the season hanging in the proverbial balance, WCU responded. Beginning at the 3:46 mark, Western Carolina outscored Marshall, 23-to-11, to rally, tying the game on a 3-pointer inside the final six seconds of regulation.
Robinson's four treys during the Catamounts' run were sandwiched around a triple by Phillip and a combined five made free throws. Robinson, a native of Canton, N.C., missed what would have been a game-tying fifth 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining as the shot rattled out after falling halfway through the cylinder and catapulted over the top of the backboard. However, Giles came up with a steal as Marshall attempted an inbounds pass and drained a triple from the right win that did knot the game, setting up the closing second theatrics.
The loss ends the collegiate career of five Western Carolina seniors. Brandon Giles, Jake Robinson and Brigham Waginger played all four years in Cullowhee, while Adrian Gailliard and Kendall Russell each transferred to WCU prior to last season and played two seasons for the purple and gold. Giles and Robinson each eclipsed 1,000 career points, with the latter setting the school record for 3-pointers made. Waginger set both single-season (90) and career (285) records for steals.