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Western Carolina loses to Clemson, UNC-Asheville
Largent

Cory Largent scored 16 points for Western Carolina in Monday's 79-69 loss to UNC-Asheville.

Photo by Mark Haskett 		Western Carolina took on teams from the Big South and Atlantic Coast conferences during the past week and came up on the short end both times.

The Catamounts fell to 1-6 with a 79-69 loss to UNC-Asheville Monday before 2,650 fans at the Asheville Civic Center.

Brett Carey, a former WCU player, scored 20 points for the Bulldogs. He had 15 in the first half helping his team to a 38-19 lead.

Andre Smith added 17 points for the winners, and Colin Shaw had 10.

Western was led by Corey Wells with 17 points. He was joined in double figures by Cory Largent with 16 and Kori Hatcher with 10.

The Cats shot 44.3 percent from the field, including just 29.6 percent in the first half. UNC-A made 48.3 percent of its field goal tries.

Western committed 18 turnovers, and the Bulldogs had 13.

Eight rebounds apiece by Willie Freeman and Rans Brempong helped WCU to a 39-33 edge on the boards. Adam Earnhardt had eight rebounds for UNC-A.

Smith directed the Bulldog offense with six assists. Western's Hatcher and Casey Rogers handed out four assists apiece.

The Bulldogs jumped to a 14-2 lead after the first five minutes. Carey keyed the quick start with eight points.

The game's biggest margin was 52-26 on a three-pointer by Brandon Carter with 14:15 on the clock. Western rallied within 69-60 at the 1:11 mark on a dunk by Rans Brempong.

The Bulldogs hit four consecutive free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Completing the WCU scoring were Rogers and Brempong with eight each, Willie Freeman with six and Todd Seibert with four.

Saturday in a regionally-televised game, Will Solomon and Jamar McKnight both had 12 points leading Clemson to an 87-52 before 7,500 fans at Littlejohn Coliseum. Tony Stockman added 11 points as the Tigers displayed a balanced attack. They had 13 players hit the scoring column.

Freeman and Rogers paced WCU with 13 points apiece.

Clemson shot 43.7 percent from the field while limiting Western to 29.9 percent.

Edward Scott and Solomon handed out seven and six assists, respectively.

The Cats held their own in rebounding as Clemson had just a 46-44 edge. Dustin Braddick had nine rebounds for the Tigers. Wells led WCU with nine boards. Freeman and Seibert both pulled down eight.

The Cats committed 20 turnovers, and Clemson had 11.

The 35-point margin of victory was Clemson's largest since the Tigers beat Western 102-67 on Feb. 11, 1998. The Tigers took command with an early 17-4 run that featured five three-pointers.

After Rogers hit a three-pointer at the 12:44 mark of the first half, the Cats went almost six minutes without scoring. When they finally broke their drought on a basket by Seibert with 6:45 remaining, Clemson's lead was 35-11.

The Tigers led 49-28 at the half.

Rounding out the WCU scoring were Seibert with seven, Largent with six, Wells, Hatcher and Brempong all with four, and Emre Atsur with one.

Back to Sports: 12/07/00.