CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Donald Sims scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, but Western Carolina supplemented its early lead with late free throws to hang on for an 89-84 win over Appalachian State University men's basketball on Saturday night.

The Mountaineers (10-14, 7-9 SoCon) held a 43-28 rebound advantage and shot 51.8 percent from the field, but fell victim to turnovers. The Apps turned the ball over 28 times compared, to just 10 times for WCU in the first loss in the last 11 meetings between the teams.

After trailing by eight points early on, five points from Josh Hunter cut the deficit to one point at 16-15. A Kellen Brand three-pointer then tied the game at 21-21. Brand finished the game with 18 points 6-of-10 shooting with three boards and a steal.

From that point, WCU's Harouna Mutombo carried the home team to a 45-39 halftime advantage with 14 points in the opening 20 minutes, while Brand had 12 for the Apps. Mutombo finished the game with 28 points, one shy of his career high.

Western Carolina (13-12, 8-7) opened the second half on a 15-8 run and extended the lead to as many as 14 points at 62-48. The Apps then began a comeback behind seven points from Donald Sims.

For the second-straight game, Sims scored a majority of his points after the intermission as he sank four three-pointers and 7-of-8 free throws in the game.

Six players pulled in at least four rebounds, led by Isaac Butts who had six - five on the offensive end - to go along with nine points and a pair of blocks.

Andre Williamson played 17 minutes off the bench and swatted half of the team's six blocks to go along with six points and four rebounds, while Marcus Wright again led the team with four assists.

The Mountaineers return home on Monday to host College of Charleston at 7:30 p.m. The game is part of a double-header with the women's basketball team and will be broadcast on CSS.