CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Western Carolina men's basketball team trailed for most of Sunday afternoon's match-up with mountain-rival UNC Asheville but a late surge tilted the scales in the Catamounts favor as WCU pulled away for a 90-81 victory at home. WCU had four players reach double-figures in the win with three setting new career-highs. Senior Mike Brown led the Purple and Gold attack as he poured in 29 points including an impressive 22 in the second half.

The 29 points by Brown bested his previous career-high of 27 set last season at home against UNCG. Brown also helped out his teammates games by dishing out a career-best seven assists.

After becoming the first freshman at WCU since Trey Sumler to score double-figures in the first career game, freshman Elijah Pughsley wowed the Ramsey Center crowd with five deep 3-pointers as he surpassed his opening game performance of 18 points with 19 against the Bulldogs. He also nabbed a team-high three steals in the contest.

Senior Justin Browning matched a career-high with six assists while surpassing his career-best in scoring with 16. He also led the team on the boards with seven caroms. Fellow senior Torrion Brummitt did not hit a career-high but he had an outstanding game in the post with 18 points off of 7-of-9 shooting and a 4-of-5 performance at the free throw line. He also chipped in five rebounds.

The final career-high set on Saturday came from sophomore guard Devin Peterson who grabbed a career-best six rebounds in the game.

The 90 points by the Catamounts are the most points scored by WCU against a Division I opponent in a non-overtime game since Dec. 18, 2013 against Charleston Southern.

WCU struggled to find its offensive rhythm in the first half as the Catamounts shot just 37.0 percent from the field. The Bulldogs on the other hand shot 60.0 percent from the field in the opening period but WCU's defense kept the Catamounts in the game as they forced 14 Asheville turnovers. Despite the lopsided shooting percentages, WCU entered the break trailing but just three.

The second half was another story for WCU as the Catamounts went 21-of-32 from the field for 65.6 percent. Asheville continued to knock down shots as they went 12-of-24 from the field in the second half. The Bulldogs cut down on their turnovers but WCU turned up the heat on the boards. UNCA had just five turnovers in the second 20 minutes while WCU enjoyed a 19-10 advantage on the boards.

The Catamounts trailed by five points with 9:13 left in the game as they began their comeback. Just under a minute later an old-fashioned 3-point play by Brummitt tied the game at 60. Both teams would trade baskets over the next several minutes until a 10-2 run by the Catamounts including seven from Brown opened up an 83-76 lead for WCU with 1:26 to play. UNCA was able to cut the lead to four with just under a minute to play but five points from Brown and a fast break dunk by freshman forward Marc Gosselin stretch the advantage to nine in the waning seconds.

UNCA was led by Kevin Vannatta's 20 points as four Bulldogs reached double-figures.

The Catamounts will be back in action Saturday, Nov. 21 at 7 pm as they travel to High Point University.