Men's Basketball: Bradley Braves

Missouri Valley’s Bradley University travel to Cullowhee on Tuesday for a 6 pm clash with the Catamounts.   This will be the final home game of 2010 for the Cats.  The Braves  are 4-2,  and are coming into this game with 2 straight losses, after wins over Southern Cal and TCU in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. 

Women's Basketball: SoCon play starts Monday

The Cats (1-3)  will host the first of three home game and open conference play on Monday, 11-29-10 in Cullowhee at 7 pm when they host conference foe Samford  (3-2) in the RAC.   The women’s team will be looking for their first home win of the season,  with Samford holding a 3-2 edge over the Cats since joining the SoCon.   The Cats have not defeated Samford in Cullowhee, with both wins over the Lady Bulldogs coming at Samford or on a neutral court.

Catamount Basketball: Monday and Tuesday

Legends Classic - Cats drop 1st game in Williamsburg

The Cats lost in the first game of the Legends Classic sub-regional round held in Williamsburg, Virginia on Friday evening to the Mercer Bears, by a final score of 71-66.  The Catamounts are now 2-3 on the season. 

Western Carolina continues play in the Legend's Classic on Saturday afternoon against Gardner-Webb, with a start time of 3:30 pm. The Bulldogs fell by one point, 56-55, Friday night to the host William & Mary. WCU trails in the all-time basketball series with the Runnin' Bulldogs, 5-6.  Saturday's game against the Bulldogs will be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network starting with the pregame show at 3:00 pm.

http://www.catamountsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/112610aaa.html

Happy Thanksgiving to all the Catamount Fans

I certainly hope each and everyone one of you had a very Happy Thanksgiving Day.  I hope the food, family and friendship was as good at your house as it was at mine.  

OC relieved of coaching duties

Western Carolina announced today that Catamount head football coach Dennis Wagner has relieved third-year offensive coordinator Keith Heckendorf of his coaching duties.  It was also announced that Coach Wagner would assume the role of offensive coordinator for the 2011 season. 

Bell & Cain named to All-SoCon team

   

WCU senior defensive back Mitchell Bell and junior punter Blake Cain were both named to the second team All-SoCon squad, it was announced by the conference office today.

Three first-year  WCU players were named to the SoCon All-Freshman team.   Redshirt freshman defensive back Randy Pressley, who made a successful transition from quarterback to defense this season, redshirt freshman wide receiver Deja Alexander and true freshman Sidney Rhodes were all named to the first-year player honorary squad.

Legends Classic - Sub-Regional Round Play

What:  Legends Classic

Where: Williamsburg, Virginia

When: Nov. 26-28

In Sub-Regional Round play, The Tribe of William & Mary will host Gardner-Webb, Mercer, and the Western Carolina Catamounts in three days of doubleheaders beginning on Friday, November 26th.   The Catamounts will play Mercer on Friday, Gardner-Webb on Saturday, and ending with host William & Mary on Sunday. 

Warren Wilson College

The Catamounts (1-2) host the Warren Wilson Owls (3-4) in the first-ever meeting in men's basketball  between the two schools.  The Cats are coming off a road win at DePaul last Tuesday before falling at UTEP in the opening round of the Legends Classic, 77-65, on Saturday.  The Owls have dropped three games after winning their first three. The Owls lost to Milligan College, 95-65, back on Nov. 16 before dropping consecutive games in the Roanoke College Classic to Ferrum, 72-56, and to the the host Maroons, 88-63.

Tip-off on Monday night is set for 7:00 pm.

Wabby - Spangler Touchdown

For our friends in California….. great job Matt. 

Warren Wilson comes to the RAC Monday

Another Football Season to Forget

The 2010 Catamount football season ended on the same note it started.  On the road and on the low side of a blowout.  
Back in early September, the Catamounts traveled to Raleigh, NC and returned to Cullowhee with a 7-48 loss to the Wolfpack.  On Saturday, the Cats traveled east once again, and returned with basically the same results, a 14-45 blowout.  Only this time, it was at the hands of Elon University.   The football Catamounts are finishing up the 2010 season with a pitful 2-9 record, losing to a Division II school, no home field wins, and tied with The Citadel for the worst overall record in the Southern Conference.   In case you’ve forgot, this is the 5th straight season the Catamount football team has finished with 9 or more losses. 
Is anyone being held accountable in Cullowhee?  I think we all know the answer to that question.

The Dennis Wagner Show (11-19-2010)

The Dennis Wagner Show


Gary Ayers interviews Dennis Wagner.

Baseball: Western Carolina's Fall World Series

The Gold Team rallied from one game down to take the final two games over the Purple Team in the best of three series to win the WCU Fall World Series at Hennon Stadium in Wednesday night's finale.   

"Overall, I thought it was a very competitive set of World Series scrimmages," said WCU head coach Bobby Moranda. "There was a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of energy. I am looking for that type of activity to carry over into the spring in our quest for a Southern Conference championship."

The coaching staff selected a pair of MVP's for the fall series.  Julian Ridings was named offensive MVP while Jordan Smith was tabbed pitching MVP.  Ridings is a  Shelby, N.C., native  and hit 4-for-8 with a pair of doubles, driving in seven runs during the three-game series.   Freshman right-hander Jordan Smith is from Liberty, N.C., and  worked five innings of two-hit baseball, striking out three without a walk in securing the win which evened the best-of-three series.

The Fall Series concludes practice for this year, but first pitch for the new season is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 18 against Morehead State in Cullowhee.

MBB: Cats travel to El Paso for Legends Classic

                                                            

The Catamount will travel to El Paso, Texas for a game with the University of Texas at El Paso on Saturday, November 20th.   Lead by 1st year head coach Tim Floyd, the 1-1 UTEP Miners enter the game with high expectations for the season based on the play of senior guard Randy Culpepper . 

Culpepper, is 6-0, 165 pound product of Sheffield High School in Memphis, TN  and ranks 4th in UTEP history with 1664 points and second with 180 steals.   He has scored 20+ points 28 times in his career and 30 or more on five  different occasions. 

For more on the game:  Catamount Sports Forum

Volleyball: Cochran on All-Freshman Team

A bright spot on an otherwise dismal volleyball season is the selection of WCU’s Morgan Cochran on the SoCon’s All-Freshman Team.  Morgan is the first WCU player to earn the honor. 

“Morgan has no limits on her talent, especially since she is one of the most athletic players that we have, if not the most,” said Concepcion, WCU’s head volleyball ball coach. “It is impressive to see the way that she adjusted to a defensive system that she has never been part of, and made it seem so easy to run.”

Congregations to Morgan. 

WBB: Cats Defeat Asheville 78-59

The women’s basketball team played their final game in UNC-A’s Justice Center defeating the Bulldogs by a score of 78-59 Wednesday night. 

Emily Clarke came off the bench to score a season high of 22 points in the game and is now just 2 points shy of the 1,000 career point mark.  Eleven of the 12 players  on the Catamount roster saw action in the game, while the Cats out rebounded the Dogs 43-34 and scored 34 points in the paint, with 24 points coming off Bulldog turnovers. 

The Catamounts will travel to Chapel Hill to play ACC foe UNC on Sunday at 3 pm. 

MBB: Cats win over DePaul, 69-64

The Cats' trip up to the Allstate Arena  on Tuesday resulted in the second win over a Big South team in as many seasons.  The Cats traveled to Louisville’s Freedom Hall last season for their first ever win over a Big South team.

In Tuesday’s game, Harouna Mutombo lead the scoring for both teams with a game high of 17 points, while freshman Brandon Boggs posted his first career double-digit scoring outing.   The Cats opened the second half with an 11-to-2 run that saw the Cats build a 21 point second half lead. 

The Catamounts outrebounded the Blue Deamon’s 48-34, and forced 12 turnovers. 

MBB: Hunter signs four for 2011-12 season

Head Basketball Coach Larry Hunter announced the signing of four student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to play for the Catamounts beginning in the 2011-12 season today.

Three high school seniors and one junior college transfer make up the early signing class.  Seniors Kenny Hall (Dallas, Tex. / South Oak Cliff HS), Rawane Ndiaye (Raleigh, N.C. / Body of Christ Academy) and James Sinclair (Savannah, Ga. / Savannah HS) and transfer Josh Mendenhall (Waycross CC / Berea HS / Greenville, S.C.) will play for the Catamounts next season. 

"We are very excited about the young men we have signed this fall," said Hunter "Our goals for this class were to add a talented guard and several versatile big men with some size.”

“This class along with the current newcomers we added this year will provide us with the talent and depth we need to continue to operate a very competitive program for the next few years.”

WBB: Cats Sign Three for the 2011-12 season

Head Women's Basketball Coach Karen Middleton announced the signing of three players to National Letters of Intent (NLI) to play for the Catamounts in the 2011-12 season. 

The three high school seniors signing were:  Makensey Campbell (Sullivan South High School, Kingsport, Tenn.), Ali Lane (Charlotte Catholic High School, Charlotte, NC) and Nancy Thacker (Fort Chiswell High School, Max Meadows, Va.).

"We are extremely excited to have Ali, Nancy and Makensey officially join the Catamount family today," Middleton said. "They are very special young ladies that will make a difference in our program, on campus, and in the community. As a class, they are good scorers, hard workers, team players, and exceptional students. They have high basketball IQ's and each have a passion to play the game. "

MBB: Cats travel to DePaul Blue Demons

 

The Catamounts travel to the Allstate Arena (18,500) in Rosemont, Ill., to face the DePaul Blue Demons at 7:30 pm CT / 8:30 pm ET on Tuesday, Nov. 16th. 

DePaul returns 10 players including three that started at least 17 games, with Mike Stovall the top returning scorer (7.0 per game).  

DePaul was picked to finish 16th the Big East Conference.

Men’s Basketball: Cats fall to Clemson

Clemson used a strong inside performance, outscoring the Catamounts 42-to-14 in the paint to win by a score of 87-64 on Saturday in Clemson, SC.   

‘We're a very young team. We're evolving and getting better. This was a tall order for us to start with. We graduated five seniors and we're just re-tooling," said head coach Larry Hunter during his post-game comments. "I'm not really pleased, but I'm not too discouraged."

The Cats fell to 0-11 all-time against Clemson.

Cats lose Home Finale

For the first time since moving to Whitmire Stadium in 1974, the Catamounts will not win a home game during an entire football season.   With home losses to Tusculum, Chattanooga, Samford, Appy State and finally Georgia Southern (28-6), the Cats are now 0-5 at home this season. 

The 16-game losing streak to GSU is now the longest losing streak between current SoCon members, surpassing Elon’s 15-game losing streak to Appalachian State.

The Cats seem to be well on their way to another 9 game loss in a season.

A Game of Inches

Men's Basketball Travels to Clemson to Open Season

Western Carolina travels to Littlejohn Coliseum on the campus of Clemson on Friday night to open the 2010-11 season against the Tigers.

Tip-off is set for 8:00 pm.

The Cats are 37-27 in season openers, including a 18-15 mark since joining the Southern Conference in the 1977-78 season. but are just 3-12 away from Cullowhee in season openers, including a 2-2 mark on a neutral court.

“Under Hunter, Western is 4-1 in season openers with two wins over Bowling Green in 2005-06 and `07-08, and also a victory over mountain-rival, UNC Asheville, in 2006-07 in the Justice Center.  Last year, WCU won at home over St. Catharine College, 65-41. The lone loss was at No. 2 Connecticut at the start of the 2008-09 season.”

The Dennis Wagner Show

 

Watch the Dennis Wagner Show

http://wnctelevision.com/2010/11/the-dennis-wagner-show-3/

Western Carolina Women's Basketball

Women's Basketball Opens Season Friday Against Richmond

WCU women’s basketball will open the 2010-11 season in the Ramsey Center on Friday night at 7 p.m. against the University of Richmond.   The Cats opened last season with the Spiders, with a 42-65 loss in Richmond.  This is the second ever meeting with the Spiders.

The Cats 29 game schedule includes 15 home games and 14 games on the road, with the first 7 games being played inside the state of North Carolina. 

Catamount Basketball Coaches Luncheon

2010-2011 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Season Outlooks
Time:Thursday, November 11 · 11:30am - 1:00pm

Location: O’Malley’s in Sylva

Coach Hunter and Coach Middleton will be talking about their teams/schedule and show highlight clips and video
Admission is free, O’Malley’s menu available for lunch
Time Frame: 11:45-1pm

Hall of Fame Day

 

The Purple Zones Travels to Furman: Saturday, Nov. 6th

The Catamount Club will be coordinating an Away Game Tailgate at Furman University for Saturday’s Football game.  We are very grateful for the generosity of Kenny Messer and Melanie Clark as well as Bill and Malissa Hawkins for hosting this week’s Tailgate Party. All Catamount Club Members are invited and we look forward to seeing everyone after the week off.

Away Tailgate Party Details

Tailgate Location: Grassy Area by the CHAPEL PARKING LOT adjacent to the Visiting Team Stands.

Tailgate Start time: 10:30 a.m.

Football Game Start time: 12:30 p.m.

Tale of the Tape

In the upcoming WCU @ Furman football game, I thought it would be interesting to look at the stats of how both Western and Furman did against a common opponent – ASU.   Since the Mountaineers were the last opponent for both teams, seeing how they compared against ASU, might give us some insight how Saturday’s game will play out.

Against ASU……

First downs:  FU 14 – WCU 22

 Net Yards Rushing: FU 137 – WCU 88

Net Yards Passing: FU 129 - WCU 261

Total Offense : FU 266 - WCU 349

Fumbles: Number-Lost:  FU 3-1 , WCU  3-3

Possession Time: FU 24:01 -  WCU 33:48

3d Down Conv: FU 2 of 13  - WCU  4 of 13

4th Down Conv:  FU 1 of 1 – WCU 2 of 6

Obviously, in many areas, the Catamounts put up better numbers against ASU, only meaning that we should be able to compete against Furman.  If the Catamounts can control their turnovers (fumbles and interceptions), they just may come home with their second Southern Conference win.  

Furman gets a taste of SoCon official’s love of ASU, too

In last week’s Furman/ASU game, heading into the 4th quarter, with Furman down only 8 points,  the Mountaineers fumbled on the Paladin 4 yard line.  The ball bounced into the end zone and as Furman’s Max Lerner dove for the ball, he was hit from behind by Cadet.  The ball hit off Lerner's hand and went out the back of the end zone for an apparent touchback.

However, the linesman flagged Furman for “illegal touching”  -  ruling that Lerner had intentionally knocked the ball out of the end zone. ASU was awarded the ball and first-and-goal at the Paladin 1 yard line. Cadet followed up the by scoring on the next play to give the Mountaineers a 35-20 lead with 9:27 left in the game. 

Saturday’s Game Information

Opponent: Furman
Date: Saturday, November 6
Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
TV: CSS-TV
Online Audio: Audio
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
Location: Greenville, S.C.