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Western Carolinian Volume 69 Number 12

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  • a in te Nat Mn i ie ae 28 Western falls short in upset bid, by Andy Gambill WCnewsmagazine | 3 snewsmagazine Monday, Feb. 7 was a heartbreaking night for Western Carolina basketball. In what was one of the most exciting games all year, the Catamounts scratched and clawed their way back into the game against a much better Appalachian State team (11-9 overall, 5-5 conference) and even took the lead before eventually failing in their attempt at an upset. ASU used a balanced attack to hold off the upset hungry Catamounts. The Catamounts fell to 7-17 overall and 2-9 in conference play with the loss. The Mountaineers had five players in double digits, led by guard Nathan Cranfords 6 for 9 three-point shooting performance for 18 points. Also in double digits for the Mountaineers was point guard D.J. Thompson, forwards Clint Deas and Douglas McLaughlin-Williams and backup Noah Brown. Thompson finished the night with 13 points (3-4 from 3 point range), 5 assists and 3 steals. Deas chipped in 10 points and 8 rebounds while McLaughlin-Williams scored 15 points on 6 for 8 shooting and also pulled down 8 rebounds. Brown played 20 minutes off the bench and also scored 10 points. After a timeout with 1:15 left and a 70-66 lead for the Mountaineers, Brown drove to the basket for a lay-up and pushed the lead to six. The Catamounts pulled back within three, though, with the precocious play of freshman Trey Hopkins. Hopkins came right down the court and pulled up for a three-pointer without even passing the ball. After an Appalachian timeout, Brown was fouled and missed his one in one attempt. With a surge of energy from the crowd pushing the underdog Catamounts down the court, Hopkins drove the basket but was fouled with 29.2 left on the clock. Hopkins hit only one of two attempts to cut the lead to two. McLaughlin-Williams was then fouled with 25 seconds left and also missed his one in one attempt. Western pushed the ball down the court but could not get a good shot attempt. The other freshman sensation, Antonio Russell, grabbed a rebound off the bad shot attempt but drew a foul before getting a shot off. Russell could only convert one of his two free throws, though. With the lead at 72-71 and ASU up, Western took a timeout with 7.8 seconds left. Super quick guard D.J. Thompson was able to get up the court without getting fouled and found McLaughlin-Williams for a wide-open dunk with 4 seconds left. With time running out, the ball was thrown into Hopkins who pushed the bail to half court before throwing up an errant three-pointer that missed horribly. It was a very disappointing end to what seemed like a great underdog comeback story for Western. The heartbreak was just another symbol of what has been a long season for the Catamount men. The game was Western's third straight loss within 10 points of an opponent. Six of Westerns seventeen losses this year have come within 10 points of an opponent. .Western.. was. led... by what was probably junior David Berghoefers best performance of the year. Berghoefer scored 24 points (6-8 from the free throw line), pulled down 11 rebounds, had 2 blocks and 2 steals. Berghoefer displayed - a toughness and ability to finish that neeendannencitt has sometimes been lacking this season. While showing his enormous W C U potential, the 6'11 Berghoefer also ' : gave glimpses of what should be an C ATA M O U N T S excellent senior year in 2005-2006. Also leading the Catamount upset bid was the sensational freshman Hopkins. Hopkins continued his excellent debut season with 18 points, 5 assists and 2 steals. Hopkins definitely created a lot of match up problems for App and will no doubt cause them nightmares for the next four years. The other Catamount in double digits on Monday night was the other fantastic freshman Russell. Russell finished with 14 points and 6 steals. Russell, who is from Florida, invoked thoughts of another Floridian in Miami Heat All-Star Dwayne Wade. Russell would repeatedly take the ball to the basket with the same intensity of Wade and played outstanding defense. Many other Catamounts contributed greatly to the effort on Monday night, among those were freshman Eric Wilson and junior Corey Muirhead. The 62 Wilson displayed extraordinary toughness and grit while pulling down 8 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists. Muirhead, who was playing in his first home game since the Davidson game on Jan. 19, came off the bench to pull down 9 rebounds and provide very intelligent and heady play for the Cats. While the Catamounts may have lost on Monday night, they displayed a toughness and never-give-up spirit that they have not always shown this year. It was no doubt a tough loss for the team, playing against our hated rivals ASU, but they showed many good things on Monday night. Many Western students showed up for the game against rival ASU and while most all of the students probably left the game with a bad taste in their mouths, they also saw why the men are so much better than their record shows. The Catamount men gave ASU quite a scare, and with the sensational play of Hopkins, Russell and Berghoefer the Catamounts showed that there could be a chance of scaring a couple more teams in the upcoming conference tournament. Textbook(s) may be returned by pick include your full name and student 1D number to:
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