Catamounts Rout Bulldogs

Three pointers were swished, swipes became steals, and passes turned into assists. That's the type of game Western Carolina had in its 86-67 win against mountain-rival UNC-Asheville at the Ramsey Center on Wednesday night.

Harouna Mutombo led WCU with 18 points and 13 rebounds (Courtesy Soconsports.com)

The Catamounts (7-6) used stifling defense and red-hot shooting to overwhelm the Bulldogs (6-6) to take a 40-25 halftime advantage. WCU held its oppenent to 32% shooting in the first half while shooting a solid 55% themselves. The Cats took the lead 11-9 on a Brandon Boggs jumper and never let up with the largest lead of the half coming on the heels of 31-13 run after a Ishmael Hollis 3-pointer with 1:27 left gave Western a 40-22 edge over the Bulldogs.

Western's double digit halftime lead can be attributed to a 23-13 rebounding advantage and shooting over 50% 3 point range while UNCA only made 2-9 three point attempts.

The second half was more evenly contested as the Bulldogs were able to chip the lead down to 9 with 4:53 remaining on a Quinard Jackson jumper. However, the Catamounts responded with 10-1 run of their own to ice the game on two free-throws by Keaton Cole to take a 81-63 advantage with 2:44 left to play.

Harouna Mutombo lead four WCU players in double figures with 18 points and 13 rebounds to earn a double-double. Boggs finished with 17 points, Cole with 13, and Hollis with 10. The Bulldogs were led by Matt Dickey with 23 points, Jeremy Atkinson with 16, and Chris Stephenson with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

The Catamounts will return to action this Saturday in Raleigh as they face ACC opponent North Carolina State. Tip-off from the RBC Center is slated for 2:00PM. Fans can watch the game online at ESPN3.com or listen in on the Catamount Sports Network.