Anchorage Daily News

Harouna Mutombo scored a double-double and Jake Robinson hit five of six free throws in the final 18 seconds Saturday to lift Western Carolina to a thrilling 71-67 victory over Northern Illinois in the Shootout's fourth-place game.

Mutombo, a 6-foot-4 guard from Canada, racked up 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Catamounts, who improved to 3-2 with their second win of the tournament. Northern Illinois dropped to 3-4.

It was a back-and-forth game that featured four ties and four lead changes in the second half. Greg Avery's 3-pointer gave Western Carolina a 66-60 lead with less than two minutes to play, but that was the last field goal the Catamounts scored. It was Robinson's foul shooting -- he hit two with 18 seconds left, one of two with eight seconds left and two with four seconds left -- that held off Northern Illionois.

Robinson finished with 15 points and was 7 of 11 from the line. He added seven rebounds as the Catamounts outrebounded the Huskies 40-35.

Three players hits double figures for Northern Illinois -- Darion Anderson (15 points), Sean Kowal (14) and Sean Smith (13).

Northern Illinois27 40 -- 67

Western Carolina34 37 -- 71

NORTHERN ILLINOIS -- Anderson 3-14 8-10 15; Kowal 6-7 2-5 14; Smith 5-8 0-0 13; Ervin 3-5 0-0 6; Patton 2-5 0-0 6; Fisher 1-2 2-2 4; Storm 1-2 0-0 3; Hall 1-2 0-0 2; DiNunno 0-8 2-4 2; Dzepina 0-0 2-2 2; Landers 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-55 16-23 67.

WESTERN CAROLINA -- Mutombo 10-17 1-2 22; Robinson 3-10 7-11 15; Giles 5-10 2-4 13; Avery 3-7 0-0 7; Gallagher 2-2 0-2 4; Gailliard 1-3 1-2 3; Waginger 1-5 0-2 3; Gordon 1-4 0-0 2; Parker 0-0 2-2 2; Cole 0-0 0-0 0; Russell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-59 13-25 71.

3-point goals -- Northern Illinois 7-19 (Smith 3-4; Patton 2-4; Storm 1-2; Anderson 1-3; DiNunno 0-4; Landers 0-2), Western Carolina 6-18 (Robinson 2-7; Giles 1-2; Avery 1-2; Mutombo 1-4; Waginger 1-3). Fouled out -- Northern Illinois-Anderson, Western Carolina-Parker. Rebounds -- Northern Illinois 35 (Kowal 7), Western Carolina 40 (Mutombo 10). Assists -- Northern Illinois 15 (Anderson 5), Western Carolina 13 (Waginger 3; Giles 3; Mutombo 3). Total fouls -- Northern Illinois 23, Western Carolina 24. Technical fouls -- Northern Illinois-None, Western Carolina-None. A -- 5486.

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