Sports | Cats take two of three in Great Alaska Shootout
Western opened the tournament Thanksgiving night against tournament favorite and eventual champion San Diego State, and led almost the entire way before losing by one, 59-58. The Aztecs won the tourney by beating Seattle University 75-56 and dismantling Hampton 76-47. San Diego State’s only loss this year was a seven-point setback at the hands of Arizona State.
From the Anchorage Daily News:
It was a heartbreaking loss for the Catamounts, a team that led for most of the game and outplayed its opponent just about everywhere on the court except the foul line.
“It was a heckuva ballgame,” Western Carolina coach Larry Hunter said. “They just did a good job getting to the foul line.”
The Catamounts outscored the Aztecs from the floor, outrebounded them and often confounded them defensively. San Diego State won the game with free throws, hitting 18 of 30. Western Carolina, which had key players in foul trouble down the stretch and had three starters foul out, hit 7 of 12.
Aztecs coach Steve Fisher — a former national coach of the year who’s been around the game for a couple decades — offered condolences to the Catamounts for the win that got away them. He’s been on the other side of down-to-the-wire games, including some where his team — like Western Carolina’s on Thursday — should have won but didn’t.
“It’s excruciatingly difficult in the Western Carolina locker room right now,” Fisher said. “When you look at the whole body of work, they played better than we did.
“I feel badly for Larry and his team. But we’re not giving it back.”
Story continues below
More about the Great Alaska Shootout
More from us on Western basketball
San Diego State game story from the Anchorage Daily News
Louisiana Tech game story from the Anchorage Daily News
Northern Illinois game story from the Anchorage Daily News
Photoblog from the Anchorage Daily News
The game might be remembered as a breakout showing for Catamount guard Harouna Mutumbo. The 6-4 Mutumbo, a redshirt freshman from Toronto, had 20 points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists. His astounding four straight open court steals helped give Western a 31-19 lead late in the first half.
The Cats never trailed by more than one.
WCU's Harouna Mutumbo, all-tournament. (Anchorage Daily News photo)
Freshman guard Greg Avery, whose two missed free throws might’ve cost Western the game against San Diego State, bounced back on Friday with 17 points to help the Cats to a 74-62 win over Louisiana Tech in a game WCU blew open shortly after the half. The game wasn’t as close as the final score shows, and Western got good scoring deep into its bench.
Junior sharpshooter Jake Robinson ran his string of double-digit scoring performances to nine, and put the Northern Illinois game away at the free throw line. (WCU photo by Mark Haskett)
The Cats faced Northern Illinois Saturday night in their final game of the tourney, and edged the Huskies 71-67. Western built an early lead in the game, but a horrible night at the free throw line and a long dry spell in the second half nearly doomed the Cats. Junior Jake Robinson hit five of six free throws in the closing seconds to preserve the win. Mutumbo knocked down 22 for Western.
Tags: Catamounts, Western Carolina basketball, Western Carolina University
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