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Western Carolina places fifth in Alaska Shootout
Western Carolina’s men’s basketball team went 2-1 to finish fifth in the Great Alaska Shootout.
Harouna Mutombo averaged 16.3 points and was named to the all-tournament team.
Western Carolina’s Harouna Mutombo, shown in action against Northern Illinois, was named to the all-tournament team for the Great Alaska Shootout. He averaged 16.3 points as the Catamounts went 2-1 and won the consolation bracket to finish fifth in the event. – Photo by Mark Haskett
WCU 71 No. Illinois 67
The Catamounts (3-2) wrapped up the tournament Saturday with a 71-67 victory over Northern Illinois behind Mutombo’s 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Jake Robinson added 15, and Brandon Giles had 13.
Darion Anderson paced the Huskies with 15 points. Sean Kowal followed with 14, and Sean Smith had 13.
After Northern went up 17-13 on Smith’s layup at the 9:46 mark, WCU used a 16-1 run, including five by Mutombo, to take a 29-18 lead on Richie Gordon’s layup with 4:09 on the clock.
The Cats led 34-27 at intermission.
The second half was full of streaks by both teams.
The Huskies opened the period with a 16-2 spurt, including four each by Smith and Najul Ervin, to take a 43-36 lead on Michael Patton’s three-pointer with 13:34 remaining.
Western answered with a 10-1 run, including five by Giles, for a 48-47 edge on Mutombo’s layup at the 8:55 mark.
Smith’s two three-pointers sparked a 10-1 spurt as the Huskies took a 57-49 lead following Kowal’s layup with 6:13 on the clock.
Eleven straight points, including four by Mutombo, gave the Cats a 66-60 advantage on Greg Avery’s three-pointer with 1:48 to go.
Northern cut the gap to 69-67 on Mike DiNunno’s free throw with six seconds left.
Robinson’s two foul shots two seconds later sealed the win.
WCU made 44.1 percent of its field goal tries while the Huskies shot 40 percent.
The Cats had a 40-35 rebounding advantage. Kowal led Northern with seven.
The Huskies committed 19 turnovers, and Western had 17.
Completing the WCU scoring were Avery with seven, Blake Gallagher with four, Adrian Gailliard and Brigham Waginger both with three, and Gordon and Joey Parker with two apiece.
WCU 76 La. Tech 62
With Alaska governor and former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in attendance, the Cats downed Louisiana Tech 76-62 Friday.
Avery led the way with 17 points. Giles added 15, and Robinson had 11.
Kenneth Cooper paced the Bulldogs with 13. He was joined in double figures by Magnum Rolle with 11 and Brandon Gibson and Kyle Gibson with 10 apiece.
Avery erupted for 11 points, including a trio of three-pointers, sparking a 20-2 run for a 68-45 lead after Robinson’s jumper with 7:04 to go in the game.
Tech led most of the first half with the biggest margin 19-15 on Rolle’s layup with 5:36 on the clock.
WCU ended the half on a 10-2 run, including a pair of three-pointers by Keaton Cole, to go up 29-23 at intermission.
Giles scored the first five points of the second half extending the margin to 34-23 with 18:58 on the clock.
Kyle Gibson’s three-pointer narrowed the deficit to 36-34 at the 17:13 mark before the Cats pulled away.
Western shot 45.3 percent from the floor compared to 42.2 percent for the Bulldogs.
Avery had six rebounds helping WCU to a 34-29 edge on the boards. Cooper led Tech with five.
The Bulldogs turned the ball over 17 times, and the Cats had 14 miscues.
Rounding out the WCU scoring were Waginger and Cole with eight apiece, Gailliard and Mutombo both with seven, Antonie Childs with two and Kendall Russell with one.
SDSU 59 WCU 58
San Diego State trailed throughout the second half until the final minute as the Aztecs pulled out a 59-58 victory over WCU in last Thursday’s opener.
Kyle Spain, who was named the tourney’s most valuable player while leading his team to the title, had 22 points. Richie Williams added 15.
Mutombo led Western with 20 points, and Robinson had 16.
The Cats held their biggest lead of the second half, 46-38, when Mutumbo converted a four-point play with 10:16 on the clock.
SDSU used a 10-2 run, including five by Spain, for a 48-48 tie on Shelton’s layup with eight minutes to go.
The Cats went back in front until Spain’s three-point play after a steal put the Aztecs up 57-56 at the 1:04 mark.
WCU regained the lead at 58-57 on Mutombo’s jumper with 36 seconds to play.
Western had a chance to extend the lead after a turnover, but Avery missed two free throws.
Spain hit two foul shots with 11 seconds left for the game-winning points, and the Cats failed to get off a shot before time expired.
The game’s biggest lead was 31-19 with 4:42 to play in the half after WCU scored 11 straight points, including seven by Mutumbo.
Western made 42.9 percent of its field goal tries while the Aztecs were held to 37.8 percent.
WCU had a 32-31 rebounding edge as Mutombo claimed six boards. Spain was the game’s top rebounder with eight.
The Cats were hurt by 23 turnovers while SDSU had 16.
The difference in the game was at the foul line where the Aztecs went 18 of 30 while Western was seven of 12.
Completing the WCU scoring were Gailliard with seven, Giles and Waginger with five apiece, Avery with three and Gordon with two.
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