Final Stats

Johnson City, Tenn. - The Western Carolina men's basketball team opened up Southern Conference play Wednesday night at ETSU. It was WCU's first game against ETSU since 2005 prior to the Buccaneers leaving the SoCon. The rematch proved to be worth the wait as both teams combined for 26 3-pointers and the Catamounts came back from a 16-point deficit. WCU was unable to overcome the Buccaneers at home as a late drought and a key offensive foul gave ETSU the 96-89 victory.

Catamount junior Rhett Harrelson notched his fifth career-high scoring game of the season as he topped the 30-point mark for the first time. He finished with 30 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal. He was 10-19 from the field while knocking down eight 3-pointers. Senior James Sinclair added 23 points to the effort along with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Sinclair was 9-20 from the field and had three triples.

Junior Torrion Brummitt and senior Kenneth Hall came up just short of double-doubles. Brummitt had 11 points and eight rebounds while Hall had eight points and seven boards. Brummitt added three blocks while Hall had one.

ETSU tied a school record with 15 3-pointers in the game while the Catamounts finished with 11. The Buccaneers were led by Jalen Riley who scored 31 points off the bench while hitting four triples and knocking down 15 free throws. Rashawn Rembert added 22 points and six 3-pointers while Lester Wilson and A.J. Merriweather added 17 and 16 points, respectively.

WCU falls to 3-5 overall and 0-1 in SoCon action while the Bucs improve to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

The Catamounts hit the opening basket of the game as Sinclair connected on a jumper just 15 seconds into the contest but from that point on the ETSU Buccaneers used long-range shooting to take control of the game. WCU would keep it close early but ETSU would use an 8-0 run five minutes into the game to open up a 12-point lead. The Catamounts were able to cut the lead to four on a Harrelson 3-pointer with 8:09 to play but once again a 10-1 run by the Bucs opened the game back up. The Bucs would milk away the rest of the half as they entered halftime with a 52-36 advantage.

Down 16 at the break, the Catamounts stole the opening pass of the second half and Harrelson knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 13. The shot and defense would set the tone for the rest of the period. The Catamounts played aggressive on the defensive end and Harrelson and Sinclair hit clutch baskets as the Catamounts began their comeback.

Down 13 with 10:02 to play, the Catamounts began a 20-7 run that tied the game at 83 with just over three minutes to play. From that point on the Catamounts would not hit a basket for nearly three minutes. On WCU's second possession of the drought, freshman Tucker Thompson drove the lane and hit a runner but an offensive foul was called and the officials waved off the basket. The shot would have tied the game at 85 but instead the Buccaneers continued their 10-0 run that put the game away. Harrelson eventually ended the scoreless run with a jumper with 33 seconds left on the clock but the Catamounts found themselves down 93-85 at that point. The Bucs hit their free throws down the stretch and hung on to win 96-89.

The Catamounts will head north for a Friday evening contest at Big Ten member Minnesota. Tip-off is set for 7 pm and the game will be aired on ESPN3.