The Catamounts fell to the Bulldogs in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament , Friday , March 3, in the U.S Cellular Center. The score was 78-72.
WCU’s Haboubacar Mutombo hits one of his five three’s in Friday night’s loss to the Citadel. Photo taken by Jesse Pigeon.
The entire game was a fight to the finish, and with the help of the SoCon’s freshman of the year, Preston Parks, the Bulldogs came out on top and are moving on to the next round of the tournament. The Citadel came into last night’s game with an 11-game losing streak and had lost the previous two regular season matchups with Western.
With 10 different lead changes, the game was a nail-biter till the end.
“After we lost the 11th-straight game, I was the most optimistic coach and I couldn’t be more proud of my guy’s to get such a big win,” said Citadel head coach, Duggar Baucom.
WCU sophomore Marc Gosselin and junior Devin Peterson both managed to put up 10 points each.
point shooting game against VMI as he went 4-4, looked like he still had his touch from outside as he went 2-point range. The Cats were able to dominate the boards in the first half of the game as they grabbed 28 points to the Bulldogs’ 12.
With the Cats turning the ball over 10 times and Citdael’s freshman point guard, Preston Parks, scoring 11 of his 27 points, they were only down by one to end the first half of play.
WCU’s Marc Gosselin knocking down his second three of the half in the first round of the SoCon Tournament at U.S Cellular Center March 3. Photo by Jesse Pigeon.
The second half was just as tightly contested as the first as the Cats and Bulldogs had seven different lead changes.
The Citadel’s Parks remained hot as he put up 16 points. Scoring 10 points with help from sophomore center, Zane Najdawi, the Bulldogs looked to gain control of the game. Bulldogs were able to make up for their lack-luster rebounding performance as the out rebounded the Cats 22- 15 in the second half.
After a strong first showing, Gosselin did not make another basket in the second half and Peterson was only able to add four points to his total. WCU’s junior guard, Haboubacar Mutombo, picked up the slack as he went 7-10 shooting and was able to score 18 points to keep the Cats in the game. Cats got into late foul trouble and the Bulldogs went 11-12 from the line to close out the game. Despite Mutombo’s efforts, the Bulldogs hold on to their five point lead to win the game.
Preston Parks showed why he was the SoCon’s freshman of the year as he lead all scorers with 27 points on 8-18 shooting and going 7-8 at the line. WCU’s Gosselin and Peterson both leaving last night’s game with double-doubles. Peterson sets an new career high in assists at 11 in this game.
WCU’s Haboubacar Mutombo lead the Cats in scoring 25 points on 10-18 shooting, which makes it his new career high for points in a game. Mutombo also went 5-10 from three-point range marking another career high for three’s made in a single game.
“I just tried to stay aggressive as the game went on,” said Mutombo.
With the loss, the Catamount’s season is over as they finish the with a 9-23 record. Catamount head coach, Larry Hunter, believes that his team has become a lot better, but still has a long way to go and will need to have a great offseason. Cats look to improve on their offense after finishing last in the SoCon in scoring offense.
“We have some pieces to the puzzle with some good players coming in. It will help us, but we just need to be better mentally and physically,” said coach Hunter.
