The Catamounts avoid losing their third straight and pull out a victory and a regular season sweep of the Chattanooga Mocs in a tightly contested ball game. The Cats beat the Mocs 70-68 on Thursday night, Feb. 1, at the Ramsey Center.
Cats forward Ashley Williams driving and scoring. Photo taken by Kennerly Rotz. Feb. 1, 2018.
The Cats looked dominant in the first half getting most of their points through turnovers and in the paint. They outscored the Mocs in the paint 14-6 and somehow the Mocs were able to stay in this ball game with help from junior forward, Nat Dixon, who put up 9 of his 21 points in the first half.
The Mocs were able to stay in this game in the first half by connecting on 6 three pointers. However, the Cats were able to go into the half with a one point lead thanks to freshman guard, Matt Halvorsen, nailing two threes racking up eight points in 9 minutes of play. Ending the half with a lead was crucial since the Cats are 1-11 when trailing at the half and 7-1 with the lead going into halftime.
The second half of play was filled with non stop action as both of these teams played lights out shooting above 50 percent from the floor and putting up 40 plus points in the half. There were 15 different lead changes in just the second half alone and, in such a tight game, someone had to step up and WCU senior guard, Deriece Parks, did just that. After not scoring in the first half, he put up 17 points to help the Cats keep this game in reach.
Cats guard Deriece Parks driving the basketball up the court. Photo taken by Kennerly Rotz. Feb 1, 2018.
However, with 16 seconds left in the game junior forward, Mike Amius, channeled his inner clutch gene he had back in December during the App State game, and nailed two crucial free throws to put the Cats up by two points. The Cats were able to close out the Mocs with a good defensive stance and a much needed win.
“I am pleased with the win. I just told our guys after the game that I thought we had great poise tonight and we kept battled,” said WCU coach, Larry Hunter.
Coach Larry Hunter will be looking for his 700th career win as a head coach as the Catamounts host Samford University on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. inside the Ramsey Center. Make sure you come out and cheer on your Catamounts in support of coach Hunter’s impending milestone win.
