Tough lose for Keaton Cole and Harouna Mutombo

Keaton Cole

CULLOWHEE — Midway through the second half, Western Carolina seemed poised to deliver a knockout blow to Georgia Southern.

The Catamounts had clawed back from as many as nine points down, started matching the Eagles’ energy and had a 52-46 lead with 10:50 to go.

That’s when Georgia Southern took its intensity to a level WCU was unable to match, and the Eagles survived some tense moments down the stretch to earn a 68-65 victory in front of 1,607 fans at the Ramsey Center on Saturday.

“We thought we were in pretty good position (with that 52-46 lead),” WCU coach Larry Hunter said. “They came in and scored two dunks and another basket, scored on three straight possessions, and we had four ugly possessions where we didn’t get a look. We’ve done that before, and it kinda crept in again. Then it became a see-saw battle.”

Harouna Mutombo

After the teams exchanged the lead 17 times — including 11 times over the final 10 minutes, WCU’s Preston Ross got off a last-second 3-point attempt that hit the rim then bounced away, and the Cats lost for the fifth time in six games.

“Georgia Southern brought it today,” said WCU senior Keaton Cole, who knocked down 5 of 9 3-pointers and had a team-high 17 points.

“Hats off to them. They battled. They gave us pressure on the ball, and they killed us on the rebounds. We’ve got to take this game and put it behind us.”

Redshirt-senior Harouna Mutombo added 16 points.




Courtesy of Tyler Norris Goode