Three losses send WCU to worst start in history

Willie Freeman drives past an East Tennessee defender in Western Carolina's 88-75 loss Saturday. Freeman had 15 points for the Catamounts. - Photo by Mark Haskett

They played tough Monday before losing at Southern Conference power College of Charleston 67-57. They fell at home Saturday to league foe East Tennessee 62-55 after losing a non-conference game at home Jan. 10 to Belmont 88-75.

Jeff Bolton scored 19 points and handed out six assists while Jody Lumpkin added 18 points and 10 rebounds in Charleston's victory. Troy Wheless netted 12 points.

WCU was led by Corey Largent with 16 points. Also in double figures were Willie Freeman with 11 and Rans Brempong and Casey Rogers with 10 each. Rogers dished out eight assists.

After the Cats took a 9-6 lead, Wheless capped an 18-2 run with a pair of free throws as the Cougars took their largest lead of the game at 24-11 with 5:01 remaining in the first half.

Kori Hatcher's three-pointer at the 1:12 mark capped a 12-5 spurt cutting the gap to 29-23. Charleston led 31-23 at intermission.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Rogers trimmed the Cougar lead to 52-47 with eight minutes remaining, but the Cats could come no closer.

The Cats shot 44.4 percent from the floor while Charleston made 42.9 percent of its field goal tries.

Western was zero for two on free throws as the Cougars were called for just seven fouls in the game.

The Cats were hurt by 23 turnovers while Charleston committed 15.

Completing the WCU scoring were Ricky Gandy with seven points and Hatcher with three.

East Tennessee used its superior depth and size in the closing minutes to turn back the Cats before 1,328 fans at the Ramsey Center.

D.J. McDuffie and Dimeco Childress both scored 15 points for the Buccaneers, and Cliff Decoster added 11.

WCU was led by Freeman with 17 points and nine rebounds. Gandy and Rogers both scored 15 with Rogers having five assists and four steals.

ETSU built a 50-40 lead with 7:35 left in the game. The momentum swung WCU's way when Gandy scored nine straight points for his team and Rogers drained a three-pointer cutting the deficit to 55-52 at the 4:02 mark.

The Cats went cold down the stretch allowing the Bucs to hold on.

ETSU dominated he boards 46-31. Leading the way were Renaldo Johnson and Ryan Carson with nine each. The Bucs had 21 offensive rebounds helping them overcome 35.1 percent field goal shooting. Western didn't shoot much better and finished at 38 percent.

The Bucs went to the foul line 31 times and made 19 while WCU went 10 of 16.

Western turned the ball over 16 times compared to ETSU's 13.

The Cats jumped out to an early 9-2. McDuffie made a free throw at the 4:05 mark of the first half putting his team ahead to stay.

Rounding out the WCU scoring were Largent with six and Brempong with two.

Belmont placed six players in double figures en route to its 88-75 victory before just 714 Ramsey Center fans. Leading the way was B.J. Proffitt with 20 points. He was followed by Wes Burtner with 14, Adam Mark and Omari Booker with 12 apiece and Adam Sonn and Jay Lannin both with 10.

Largent matched his career-high with 24 points. Freeman added 15, and Hatcher netted 14.

Western led 17-10 midway through the first half, but the Bruins closed the half with a 20-4 run over the final 7:30 to lead 39-24 at intermission.

Both teams shot well. Belmont made 54.8 percent of its field goal tries while the Cats shot 52.6 percent.

The Bruins controlled the boards 37-24. Booker led the way with eight rebounds while Freeman had six for Western.

Michael Couey directed the Belmont offense with eight assists. WCU's Rogers handed out four.

Completing the WCU scoring were Brempong with nine, Emre Atsur with seven, Rogers with four and Gandy with two.

The Cats will travel to Appalachian State for a 1 p.m. game Saturday and return home to face Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. Monday. Both are conference contests.

Back to Sports: 01/18/01.