Casey Rogers scored 18 points Saturday leading Western Carolina to a 63-58 upset of UNC-Greensboro. - Photo by Mark Haskett |
Casey Rogers scored 18 points, including two free throws with 16 seconds left for a three-point lead, as Western Carolina upset UNC-Greensboro 63-58 Saturday.
A Ramsey Center crowd of 1,114 saw the Catamounts conclude the regular season with the Southern Conference win. Rogers was joined in double figures by Willie Freeman, who provided the final five-point margin with a pair of free throws with four seconds left, and Emre Atsur. Freeman finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. Atsur added a career-high 10 points. Jay Joseph and David Schuck both scored 14 points for the Spartans. Ronnie Taylor netted 12, and Nathan Jameson had 11. Western (5-24, 3-13) trailed by as many as six midway through the first half before tying the game 20-20 at the 7:15 mark on an Atsur layup. The Cats were up 31-25 with 2:11 left and held a 31-29 edge at the break. WCU went on a 14-6 run to start the second half and claimed a 45-35 lead, the largest of the game. The Spartans answered with an 11-1 run of their own for a 46-46 tie with 10:17 left. UNC-Greensboro kept the game close over the next nine minutes. With 1:55 left, Taylor's layup gave the Spartans their only lead of the second half. Rogers immediately answered with a layup to put Western back on top 59-58. |