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WCU knocks off Elon, North Division leader
Corey Muirhead and Negus McKenna scored 25 and 24 points, respectively, as Western Carolina slipped past Southern Conference North Division leader Elon 85-78 in overtime Saturday before 2,803 fans at the Ramsey Center.
Eric Wilson scored 14 points for the Catamounts (12-15, 6-6), and Antonio Russell had 12.
Colin Wyatt led the Phoenix with 21 points. Also in double figures were Scottie Rice with 14, Chris Chalko with 12 and Jackson Atoyebi with 10.
Western Carolina’s Corey Muirhead slams home two of his 25 points in Saturday’s 85-78 overtime victory over Southern Conference North Division leader Elon. – Photo by Mark Haskett
WCU took the lead for good at 71-69 on McKenna’s three-pointer with 4:23 to play in OT.
Wilson and Russell also nailed treys in the extra session keeping the Cats on top.
Western held a 38-26 lead following McKenna’s three-pointer with 19:41 left in regulation but failed to score over the next seven minutes.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix reeled off 13 unanswered points, including seven by Wyatt, to take a 39-38 edge at the 13:10 mark.
The remainder of the game saw 10 lead changes and seven ties.
Elon led 68-63 with 2:18 on the clock following Rice’s trey but failed to score again.
Western tied it 68-68 on Muirhead’s foul shot with 33 seconds to go.
The Phoenix jumped on top 21-13 on Michael Brandon’s three-pointer with 8:29 remaining in the first half.
The Cats ran off 10 straight points, including four by Muirhead, to go up 23-21 with 5:52 on the clock.
Wyatt converted a three-point play at the 4:55 mark, but WCU went on a 12-2 spurt to close the half. A three-pointer by Kyle Greathouse at the buzzer made it 35-26.
WCU hit 51.9 percent of its field goal tries compared to Elon’s 46.7 percent.
LeVonn Jordan’s eight rebounds helped the Phoenix to a 34-27 advantage on the boards. Muirhead and McKenna led Western with six apiece.
Elon committed 16 turnovers, and the Cats had 12.
Completing the WCU scoring were Greathouse with six and David Berghoefer with four.
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