Box Score CULLOWHEE, N.C. – North Carolina Central University junior forward Pablo Rivas (Phoenix, Ariz.) did something that no Eagle since Dominique Sutton has done as NCCU took down Western Carolina 67-59 at the Ramsey Center on Wednesday, Nov. 16.
 
Rivas was a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor, 2-for-2 from the arc and 2-for-2 at the free throw line for a total of 18 points and nine rebounds, tying the mark set by Sutton against Johnson & Wales in 2011 for the most points and rebounds in a spotless shooting performance.
 
Just like the first two games of the road trip for NCCU (1-2), the first half was tightly contested as the Eagles went to the half level with WCU (1-2) at 28 points apiece.  NCCU led by as many as nine in the first half, with Rivas coming off the bench to chip in nine points. 
 
Kyle Benton (Long Beach, Calif.) also was a presence in the post with seven points and three rebounds on his way to 11 points and eight caroms, backed up by four boards and six points from Patrick Cole (Newark, N.J.) in the first period.
 
The second half followed the same trend as the first at the start, until the Eagles gained some momentum to pull away late as Rivas came alive down the stretch with another nine points to help push the Eagles to the finish line.  Cole was also a big factor after the intermission moving to a total of 20 points and Dajuan Graf (Charlotte, N.C.) dished out four assists with 12 points and two steals.
 
WCU had four double-digit scorers of their own as Marc Gosselin led with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Deriece Parks contributed 12 points and four boards.
 
NCCU will play its first home game of the year against Jackson State on Friday, Nov. 18 at 8:00 p.m. at McDougald-McLendon Arena.