CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Richie Gordon led five Catamounts in double-figures as Western Carolina (16-4, 6-2) handed the College of Charleston (13-7, 8-1) its first Southern Conference loss of the season with a 100-90 victory in front of 4,765 fans at the Ramsey Center in Cullowhee, N.C.

The loss snaps the Cougars' current seven-game win streak as well as their string of 13 straight regular season SoCon victories that dated back to February 16 of last season. Their last loss was a 72-58 decision to The Citadel on February 14, 2009. CofC remains in first place of the South Division ahead of 6-3 Wofford despite the loss.

Leading by only five points, 73-68, with 10:21 to play in the game, the Catamounts used a 7-0 run to push their lead back to double-digits at 81-68 at the 8:43 mark and weathered a late CofC rally. The Cougars clawed to within 88-84 with a 16-7 run before Western Carolina responded with an 8-2 run that extended their lead to 96-86 with 1:33 to go and all but secured the 100-90 victory.

Early in the game, Western Carolina blitzed the Cougars as they opened with nine straight points over the first 2:02 before pushing their lead to a daunting 15-3 with only 3:40 gone by in the game. Trailing 20-10, back-to-back threes from freshman forward Willis Hall (Charlotte, N.C.) and junior guard Andrew Goudelock (Lilburn, Ga.) sparked an 11-5 run that saw Goudelock score eight straight points for the Cougars and pull them to within 25-21 with 10:15 to play in the half.

CofC would keep the game close for the rest of the half as they did not allow the Catamounts a lead of more than five points as they headed into the break trailing only 47-45.

The Cougars used consecutive hoops coming out of the half to take their first lead of the night at 49-47 and eventually lead by as many as four points at 60-56. With CofC holding a slim 65-64 advantage, Western Carolina took the lead for good with a 9-3 run that gave them back the lead at 73-68.

In addition to Gordon's team-high 19 points, the Catamounts also got 16 points and perfect 4-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc from Jake Robinson and 14 points from Mike Williams. Keaton Cole and Brigham Waginger rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 and 10 points respectively while Brandon Giles added nine points and a game-high six rebounds.

Goudelock's game-high 24 points, 18 of which came from beyond the three-point arc, and career-high 11 assists led the College of Charleston. Senior guard Tony White, Jr. (Knoxville, Tenn.) added 23 points, including 5-of-10 from three-point range, while senior forward Casaan Breeden, Hall and junior guard Donavan Monroe (Waxhaw, N.C.) each added 10 points apiece.

The Cougars continue their three-game road swing on Thursday, January 28 when they travel to Davidson for a 7 p.m. contest.

NOTES
The six threes by Goudelock ties his career-high while his 11 assists represent a career best ... the 100 points is the first time the Cougars have surrendered triple digits since January 7, 2009 when eventual national champion North Carolina defeated them 108-70 in Chapel Hill, N.C. ... the two teams combined to knock down 30 three-pointers with the Cougars going 19-35 (54.3 perc.) while the Catamounts drilled 11 of their 16 attempts for a 68.8 percentage.