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Appalachian eliminates Cats from conference tournament
Appalachian State took control early in the second half and ended Western Carolina’s season at 11-20 with a 78-59 victory last Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Basketball Tournament at the North Charleston (S.C.) Coliseum.
D.J. Thompson led the Mountaineers with 15 points. Doug McLaughlin-Williams added 12 while Eduardo Bermudez and Donte Minter both had 11.
Nick Aldridge paced the Catamounts with 24 points. He was an all-conference selection by the league’s coaches and media and was named to the all-freshman team by the coaches.
Teammate Jake Robinson was also a member of the all-freshman squad.
A three-pointer by Bermudez capped a 10-2 spurt for a 50-37 advantage at the 13:45 mark. He scored six straight points for his team as the margin reached 58-39 with 10:57 on the clock.
Western Carolina’s Nick Aldridge was named to the all-tournament team after his play in the Southern Conference Tournament. – Photo by Mark Haskett
The game’s biggest lead was 70-50 after Kellen Brand’s layup with 3:49 to go.
Western led much of the early going and was up 10-5 on an Aldridge three-pointer with 16:39 on the clock.
McLaughlin-Williams’ trey started a string of 11 straight points, capped by Jeremy Clayton’s three-point play, for a 23-16 ASU advantage at the 6:57 mark.
The lead reached 34-25 on another McLaughlin-Williams three-pointer with 58 seconds to go, and it was 34-27 at intermission.
The Mounties shot 48.2 percent from the floor while holding WCU to 37.5 percent.
Clayton’s seven rebounds helped Appalachian to a 40-32 edge on the boards. Aldridge and Brandon Giles both had six for the Cats.
ASU committed 17 turnovers, and Western had 12.
Completing the WCU scoring were Robinson with nine, Giles and Eric Wilson with eight apiece, Arnold Gore with five, Negus McKenna with three and Antonio Russell with two.
Cats win opener
Aldridge and McKenna scored 20 and 18 points, respectively, as the Cats won their tournament opener 69-65 over Elon on Feb. 28. It was their first tourney win since 2001.
Elon’s Brett James led all scorers with 21, Brian Waters finished with 17, and LeVonn Jordan had 11.
WCU scored the game’s first nine points, including five by Giles, in the first three minutes.
Waters and Chris Chalko both had three-pointers in a 10-0 run as the Phoenix moved in front 24-19 with 5:28 on the clock.
McKenna’s three-pointer to beat the buzzer put Western up 36-34 at halftime.
The Cats took the lead for good with 10 straight points, including seven by McKenna, making it 54-46 at the 9:14 mark.
Elon cut the gap to 62-60 on James’ layup with 1:37 to play.
Giles converted a key three-point play with 40 seconds left for a 67-60 margin.
The Cats made five of six free throws in the final minute.
Western shot 49 percent from the field compared to Elon’s 38.3 percent.
With Scott Grable claiming 11 boards, the Phoenix had a 37-31 rebounding advantage. McKenna topped WCU with seven.
The Cats had 13 turnovers while Elon committed 12.
Rounding out the WCU scoring were Gore and Giles with nine apiece, Russell with five, Robinson and Brigham Waginger both with three, and Wilson with two.
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