WCU came into today’s matchup with a 3 game winning streak after defeating Chattanooga in the conference opener. UNCA coming in equally as hot after a 83-76 road win over UNC Charlotte.
First Half
WCU would start the night off slowly, with UNCA playing aggressive, utilizing the full-court press often double teaming the Cats. This early aggression caused many turnovers for the Catamounts who racked up 13 in the first half alone. The Catamounts faced an uphill battle as they were once down by a 14 point deficit. Though for the Catamounts, buckets would come from an assortment of players, ending the first half, 33-40 favoring the Bulldogs.
UNCA Sophomore DeVon Baker was lighting up the court who scored 11 points hitting 2-2 from behind the arc. Followed by Thorpe scoring 8, Batts 7, and Jones 6. WCU Junior Marcus Thomas scored 8 points for the Catamounts during the first half with Dotson, Faulkner and Steger adding 6 a piece.
Second Half
The second half saw Western surging back with an 11 to 4 run that tied the game. Though UNCA’s Batts was able to score some key buckets that kept Asheville in a marginal lead, who ended the night with 17 points, shooting 7-14 from the field, 2-4 from behind the arc. DeVon Baker would tack on 7 more points to his total, ending the game with 18 points.
Charging fouls would plague the Bulldogs during the second half as the Catamounts were able to draw four. WCU Senior Onno Steger hit a deep three with under a minute left to play to tie it up. The UNCA Bulldogs Baker and Batts would miss the last two shot attempts during their final possessions. This would allow WCU Junior Mason Faulkner to hit the last free throw of the night to seal the game with under 5 seconds left.
Faulkner would end the night with 11 points, 9-12 which came from the charity stripe and would end the night shooting 1 for 5 from the field. He would also contribute 7 rebounds and a team high 6 assists.The Catamount’s Steger ended the night with 14 points shooting 5-11. Though, WCU Senior Carlos Dotson had an amazing night picking up a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, shooting a perfect 7-7 from the field and is our CSN Player of the Game. The key to success for Mark Prosser’s Catamounts would be crashing the glass and out rebounding UNCA, 38-27.
That would end up being the deciding factor as the Catamounts clawed back in a tough match-up between Mike Morrell’s Bulldogs, falling 78-77. Catamounts (7-2) extended their winning streak to four games and will play at Xavier on 12/18. With UNCA’s (4-3) three game win streak being snapped, they will continue their road tour by playing at SC State on 12/11.