'Cats Fall in OT to Western Carolina in Semifinals

Sunday, March 9

Asheville, N.C.

6:00 pm

Davidson College

20-12

No. 5 Western Carolina^ (ESPN3/CSS)

19-14

OT 1

Western Carolina

Davidson

Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com

'Cats Fall in OT to Western Carolina in Semifinals

3/9/2014 9:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score
Postgame Interview (Associate Head Coach Jim Fox)

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Despite six players in double figures and shooting 54.9 percent, top-seeded Davidson suffered a 99-97 overtime setback to Western Carolina in the semifinals of the 2014 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Sunday evening at the U.S. Cellular Center.

The Wildcats, who had their 13-game winning streak snapped, will play in the postseason NIT by virtue of their regular season crown.

Senior Chris Czerapowicz paced Davidson (20-12) with a season-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including a perfect 5-for-5 effort from the line. De'Mon Brooks, who played just 26 minutes due to foul trouble, finished with 17 points, Jake Belford and Tyler Kalinoski added 15 each, while Brian Sullivan and Jack Gibbs had 11 and 10, respectively.

Western Carolina (19-14) was just as impressive at the offensive end shooting 51.6 percent overall and making 27-of-34 free throws. The Catamounts also held a 36-25 advantage on the glass and pulled down 15 offensive rebounds, which led to 25 second-chance points.

James Sinclair, who went 10-of-15 from the floor and drilled some key 3-pointers down the stretch, scored 20 of his game-high 26 points after intermission to lead three 20-point scorers for the Catamounts. In addition to hitting a pair of game-winning free throws with three seconds left in the extra session, Trey Sumler made 15-of-16 charity tosses to score 25 points, while Brandon Boggs had 21 points.

In overtime, Sinclair gave the Catamounts a 3-point lead on separate occasions, but Davidson got a layup from Czerapowicz and free throws from Gibbs to go up, 96-95, with 58 seconds left. With the score deadlocked for a 12th and final time, 97-97, Sumler drew a foul while driving to the basket in the closing seconds.

Davidson had one final possession with 3.3 seconds remaining, but was unable to get a good look at a game-tying or winning attempt.

After the Wildcats pushed the margin to as many as 15, 51-36, early in the second half, Western Carolina outscored them 30-12 over the next 8 minutes and 24 seconds to grab its first lead, 66-63, since the opening minutes.

Trailing 70-66 with under eight minutes to play, Davidson got seven straight points from Belford to go back in front, 73-70, but the Catamounts wouldn't go away and tied it 79-79 on a Sinclair trey. The final 3 minutes and 44 seconds of regulation featured four lead changes and three ties, including a Brooks' jumper with 1:12 left that forced overtime.

The Wildcats drilled 33-of-41 from the free-throw line for an 80.5 percent clip, but shot just 34.8 percent from long range, going 8-for-23.

Davidson, which shot 58.3 percent in the first half, raced out to an 11-4 lead and stretched it to 13 before going to the break up, 44-34. With Brooks on the bench with two fouls, Kalinoski and Czerapowicz combined for 19 points in the opening period.