Steger with 23 leads Western Carolina past Samford 76-69

Jan 5, 2019, 09:29 pm

CULLOWHEE, N.C. -- Onno Steger scored 23 points and Western Carolina picked up its first conference win, beating Samford 76-69 on Saturday.

Steger was 9 of 14 from the field including five from distance for the Catamounts (4-13, 1/3 Southern Conference). Kameron Gibson added 20 points and five assists, Carlos Dotson had 13 points and 13 rebounds and Matt Halvorsen had 10 points.

The Catamounts inched ahead 17-14 on a Josh Cottrell 3-pointer with 12:13 to go in the first half, fell behind by six late, then finished the period on a 13-4 run to take a 37-35 lead into the break.

Western Carolina led through most of the second half, outscoring Samford 39-34.

Western Carolina shot 53 percent from the field compared to 45 percent for Samford and had a 33-24 rebounding edge.

Myron Gordon led the Bulldogs (11-6, 1-3) with 21 points.