Mercer tops Western; coach dismisses Wells

Rodney Kirtz scored 22 points for the Bears. Scott Emerson added 14 points and 10 rebounds while Wesley Dunn had 11 points.

Cory Largent paced the Catamounts (2-8) with 18 points. Willie Freeman and Corey Wells both had 13.

The news got worse Friday when Coach Steve Shurina announced Friday that Wells, a senior from Killiam, Texas, has been dismissed from the team. Shurina said he was dismissed for disciplinary reasons and violation of team policy. Wells averaged 10.4 points per game and was the leading scorer in two of the last four games.

A three-pointer by Casey Rogers capped an 18-5 run giving Western a 60-57 lead with 1:52 remaining.

Mercer answered with a trey by Rodney Kirtz for a 60-60 tie. He hit six straight free throws in the final 1:10 giving his team the victory.

A 10-2 spurt put the Bears up by seven at the 8:22 mark, and they led 30-26 at the half.

Both teams struggled with their shooting as Mercer made 39.3 percent of its field goal tries compared to WCU's 36.9 percent.

The Bears dominated the boards 50-34. Rans Brempong led WCU with eight rebounds to go with five blocks. Both teams had trouble holding on to the ball. Mercer committed 24 turnovers, and the Cats had 18.

Completing the WCU scoring were Rogers with nine, Brempong with eight and Todd Seibert with two.

The Cats were scheduled to be at Marquette for a 7 p.m. game Wednesday. Results were not known at Herald press time.

Back to Sports: 12/21/00.