Mountaineers edge Catamounts, 69-64

By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

CULLOWHEE — It’s always good to win a basketball game, especially in on the road in a hostile arena.
So, Appalachian State will gladly take its 69-64 victory over rival Western Carolina in front of 2,487 at the Ramsey Center Saturday night.

But as nice as it was to move into a tie with Chattanooga, a 78-71 loser to Davidson, their thoughts were with teammate Kellen Brand, who fainted on the court with 1:23 left in the game.

Brand was speaking to Mountaineers head coach Houston Fancher while he was on the court and was taken to the Harris Regional Hospital in Silva as a precautionary measure. He was conscious when he was taken out of the Ramsey Center and was later released and rode back to Boone with the team.

“He was talking and breathing,” Fancher said. “His vitals were good. He was looking at me and said ‘Make sure these guys go out and finish.’”

The Mountaineers made sure that they did just what Brand asked, finish and win the game.
“Oh man, it was just win for him,” Appalachian State guard Eduardo Bermudez said. “You worry about him because you really don’t know what was going on with him, but we got fired up. There were two minutes left and we were like, ‘We’ve got to win this for him.’”

The Mountaineers did just that by outscoring the Catamounts 12-4 in the game’s final 2:46. Appalachian State 14-7, 9-3) won its 11th of its last 13 games and is tied with Chattanooga for first place in the North Division. The Mountaineers’ next three games are at home, including Thursday’s showdown with College of Charleston.

Western Carolina (6-15, 2-9) lost its third straight and fifth of its last six games.

Brand was knocked unconscious with 6:31 left in the game after running into Western Carolina’s Arnold Gore, who was setting a pick at midcourt. Brand regained consciousness and returned to the Appalachian State bench.

He returned to the game a few minutes later and buried a key two-point jump shot from 18 feet, which gave the Mountaineers a 62-60 lead.

Western Carolina’s Brandon Giles went to the foul line, missed his first attempt, but made his second shot, which pulled the Catamounts to 62-61.

As the teams started running downcourt, Brand, who was positioned along the left side of the key, fainted.
“I think we rallied together,” center Donte Minter said. “It motivated us. When you see a teammate like that, you have to see him like that. We took it as a challenge.”

The Mountaineers had to finish the game without Brand and forward Jeremy Clayton, who fouled out of the game with 9:26 left after being called for a regular foul and then a technical. They started the stretch run when Minter, who was still feeling the effects of illness, hit a critical basket with 1:03 left.

Ryann Abraham followed by hitting one of two foul shots with 29.7 seconds left, giving the Mountaineers a 65-61 lead the Catamounts could not overcome.

However, it’s not like Western, which has just eight active players on the team, didn’t try. Giles buried a 3-pointer with 20.5 seconds left to pull the Catamounts to 65-64, but Donald Sims and Jeremi Booth sealed the victory by each hitting two foul shots to put the game on ice.

“They only had eight players, but they didn’t have anything to lose,” Sims said. “They played loose and were hungry. It’s always tough to play a team like that.”

Western Carolina missed its final two shots, leaving them making 30.8 percent from the field in the second half.

That was a sharp contrast to the 51.7 percent the Catamounts hit in the first half.

“They play hard and they never quit,” Minter said. “It was like they never got tired.”
Gore said the Catamounts are more focused with fewer players in the rotation.

“Now we are more capable of focusing on each other’s strengths and opposed to having more players relying on depth. So we have to focus on each other and not on being shorthanded,” Gore said.

Appalachian State hit a blistering 57.1 percent from the field in the first half, but could only muster a 40-40 halftime tie. For the game, Appalachian State hit 51.3 percent from the field and made 20-of-24 from the foul line.

Western Carolina hit just 6-of-10 from the foul line, but also hit 12-of-23 from 3-point range.
“Both teams at times played great defense and had great offensive execution,” Western Carolina coach Larry Hunter said. “Really, that ballgame could have gone either way.”

Five Mountaineers scored in double figures, led by Minter and Sims, who each had 13 points. Eduardo Bermudez came off the bench to score 11, while Brand and Abraham each had 10. Booth, making his first start of the season, had seven.

Western Carolina got 19 from Giles, while Gore and Jake Robinson each scored 12 points.

Appalachian State 69, Western Carolina 64
Appalachian State (14-7, 9-3)
Clayton 1-1 0-0 2, Minter 5-8 3-4 13, Sims 3-8 5-5 13, Brand 3-5 2-2 10, Booth 1-1 4-4 7, Abraham 3-5 1-2 10, Bermudez 3-4 4-4 11, Bowne 0-1 1-2 1, McLaughlin-Williams 1-3 0-2 2. Totals 20-39 20-25 69.
Western Carolina (6-15, 2-9)
Gore 4-8 1-1 12, Robinson 5-8 1-2 12, Gordon 1-4 1-2 Giles 7-22 1-2 19, Wilson 3-5 0-0 7, Waginger 2-5 0-0 6,