Final Stats |   

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Western Carolina men's basketball team dropped a hard fought battle with visiting North Carolina Central Wednesday night inside the Ramsey Center. The Eagles led for the majority of the evening but the Catamounts kept it close falling 67-59 in the end. WCU placed four of its five starters in double-figures with the fifth scoring eight points.

Sophomore Marc Gosselin led the way for WCU as he scored 13 points while collecting a team-high seven rebounds. Senior Deriece Parks chipped in 12 points, four rebounds and a team-high tying three assists. Juniors Haboubacar Mutombo and Devin Peterson each scored 10 points with Mutombo adding six rebounds, three assists and a team-high two steals while Peterson had a pair of assists and a rebound. The fifth starter was freshman Yalim Olcay who had eight points and five rebounds in the post.

The loss drops WCU's record to 1-2 on the season as they begin a seven game road stretch that lasts until mid-December. The Eagles of NCCU picked up their first victory of the year after falling to Ohio State by six points and Marshall by 12.

Patrick Cole led the NCCU attack with 20 points, four rebounds and three assists. Pablo Rivas came off the bench to score 18 points for the Eagles as he went a perfect 7-for-7 from the field including a pair of 3-pointers and was also 2-for-2 at the free throw line.

The Eagles shot 47.9 percent from the field while holding WCU to just 37.9 percent including 32.1 percent in the first half. Both teams struggled from the 3-point arc as NCCU shot 23.8 percent and WCU hit just 20.0 percent.

WCU edged the Eagles on the boards 33-32 but lost the turnover battle 15-14.

The Catamounts jumped out to an early lead on a Parks 3-pointer on WCU's opening possession. A minute later Gosselin would add a three to put the Catamounts up four, their largest advantage of the game. A 17-4 run by the Eagles opened up a nine point advantage for NCCU with 10:53 left in the first half.

WCU would answer with a 8-0 run of its own with Olcay hitting a pair of shots and Gosselin connecting for a rare four-point play. The Eagles built up their lead to as much as six down the stretch but a late 5-0 run by WCU tied the game at the half as Parks hit a layup with three seconds left in the period.

The second half opened with back-and-forth action. WCU would take its first lead of the period on sophomore Elijah Pughsley's first 3-pointer of the season with 12:39 left in the game. The Catamounts held a slight advantage on the next few possessions but an 8-0 run by the Eagles opened up a six point advantage for NCCU with 8:35 left in regulation. The Eagles would maintain the advantage the rest of the way eventually pushing their lead to the final eight point spread as time expired, 67-59.

The Catamounts will now hit the road for the first two games of their seven game road swing. WCU will travel to Marshall on Saturday before taking on Ohio State on Monday.