news-record.com

GREENSBORO — There were plenty of times Saturday when UNCG could have thrown in the towel against Western Carolina.

But once again, the Spartans refused to fold and earned an 89-86 overtime win against the Catamounts. It was the sixth win in a row for UNCG, putting the Spartans (8-14 overall) in first place in the SoCon's Northern Division with a 6-4 record.

"These guys are really special in the way that they just keep fighting," interim coach Wes Miller said. "It didn't go our way multiple, multiple times tonight, and I thought we kept responding positively and we kept responding the right way."

After leading by 10 at halftime, they were trailing by five with 5 minutes to play. UNCG reclaimed the lead on a layup by Derrell Armstrong, who scored 23 points, with 2:53 to play.

Later, a foul with 1.9 seconds to play gave Western Carolina (9-13, 3-6) three free throws to send the game into overtime at 69-69. Even when they took an 87-80 lead with 24 seconds left in overtime, the Catamounts still had to miss a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left to avoid a second OT.

"What I'm most proud of is we have different guys stepping up every game," Miller said. "We had different lineups we were playing down the stretch and the guys that were on the bench during those stretches are standing up cheering for their teammates and I can tell that they are genuinely happy we're winning. The word team is becoming a little more prevalent and it really means something."

There were plenty of players that made contributions with defensive pressure or key baskets. Trevis Simpson led all scorers with 26 and made two shots to start the overtime session. David Williams had 18 rebounds, including three defensive boards in the extra period.

"We approach every game in 4-minute segments, and the overtime was just another segment," Simpson said. "If we came out and kept our defensive intensity up and ran out sets, we would be in the game. I just do whatever I can to help my team. What helps a lot is Derrell Armstrong. He's playing like a maniac and it takes a lot of pressure off me when you have another guy over there who the opposing team has to focus on."

And opposing coaches are starting to take notice of the combination of Simpson, who starts, and Armstrong, who comes off the bench.

"Usually the team that jumps out and gets a hold of the overtime with a four-point lead or so, their in the driver's seat, which they were," Western Carolina coach Larry Hunter said. "Their big two are really playing well. He's (Miller) got them playing hard, and they are gaining some confidence."

WESTERN CAROLINA (9-13, 3-6)

King 4-9 4-5 12, Ross 0-1 2-2 2, Cole 5-19 3-3 18, Sumler 6-13 9-10 22, Sinclair 1-3 0-0 3, Tankelewicz 3-4 0-1 8, Hall 0-0 0-1 0, Mutombo 4-11 6-10 14, Boggs 3-13 1-1 7, Hollis 0-0 0-0 0, Smithson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-73 25-33 86.

UNCG (8-14, 6-4)

Williams 1-2 5-7 7, Brackett 2-3 2-2 6, Parker 2-3 5-5 11, Van Dussen 4-6 0-0 9, Simpson 8-20 8-9 26, Armstrong 7-15 8-10 23, Randall 2-4 0-0 5, Henry 0-2 1-2 1, Hoffer 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 26-56 30-37 89.

Halftime—UNCG 41-31.

End of regulation—Tied 69.

Percentages—Western Carolina (FG .356, FT .758), UNCG (FG .464, FT .811).

3-point goals—Western Carolina 9-27 (Cole 5-15, Tankelewicz 2-3, Sinclair 1-3, Sumler 1-3, Mutombo 0-1, Boggs 0-2), UNCG 7-18 (Parker 2-3, Simpson 2-7, Van Dussen 1-2, Randall 1-2, Armstrong 1-3, Williams 0-1).

Fouled out—Boggs, Mutombo.

Rebounds—Western Carolina 43 (King 11), UNCG 43 (Williams 18).

Team rebounds—Western Carolina 6, UNCG 4.

Assists—Western Carolina 8 (Cole, King, Sumler 2), UNCG 13 (Armstrong 4).

Blocks—Western Carolina 5 (Boggs 2), UNCG 6 (Williams 3).

Turnovers—Western Carolina 16 (Sumler 7), UNCG 21 (Williams 5, Armstrong 5).

Steals—Western Carolina 13 (Cole 4), UNCG 10 (Armstrong 3).

Total fouls—Western Carolina 25, UNCG 25.

A—3,585.

Officials—Matt Lee, Kyle Neve, Alan Crosby.