Final Stats

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Western Carolina men’s basketball team ran into an offensive juggernaut Wednesday night as the Golden Eagles of Marquette shot over 70 percent from the field in the opening half to take a commanding lead over the visiting Catamounts. After trailing 56-18 at the half, WCU went on to fall to Marquette 90-44 in the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Junior Haboubacar Mutombo led the WCU attack as he surpassed his career-high in scoring for the second-straight game. Mutombo poured in 17 points while knocking down a pair of 3-pointers and connecting on five of seven attempts at the free throw line. The Pickering, Ontario native also led the team on the boards as he grabbed seven rebounds in the losing effort.

Sophomore Elijah Pughsley scored in double-figures for the second-straight game as he scored 12 points including nine from 3-point range. The Lima, Ohio native also dished out a team-high three assists in the contest.

The loss drops WCU’s record to 2-5 on the season while the Golden Eagles improved to 5-2.

Junior Devin Peterson chipped in eight points for the Catamounts while junior Charlendez Brooks came off the bench to finish second on the team in rebounds with six.

The Catamounts struggled offensively shooting just 28.0 percent from the field while turning the ball over 19 times.

Marquette finished the game shooting 55.2 percent from the field including 48.1 percent from 3-point range where the Golden Eagles knocked down 13 triples.

The Golden Eagles were led by former UNC Asheville star Andrew Rowsey who scored a game-high 21 points. Markus Howard (17), Luke Fischer (15) and Jajuan Johnson (13) all finished in double-figures.

The Golden Eagles torched the net in the opening half missing just eight of their 29 shots in route to a 72.4 first half shooting percentage including an outstanding 72.7 percent (8-11) from 3-point range. WCU helped out the Marquette cause with 13 opening half turnovers which led to 17 points for the Golden Eagles. The Catamounts were only able to connect on six of their 23 shots at 26.1 percent while knocking down three 3-pointers.

The Golden Eagles opened the game on an 11-3 run and forced WCU into five turnovers in the opening four minutes of play. Marquette would steadily increase its lead throughout the opening half including closing the period with a 15-2 run over the final 3:19. The final margin in the opening period stood at 56-18.

The second half was a much closer contest as the Golden Eagles outscored WCU 34-26. The Golden Eagles cooled down shooting just 37.9 percent from the field in the second stanza while knocking down 31.3 percent from 3-point range.

WCU cut the deficit to 37 on two separate occasions in the second half but that would be as close as the Catamounts would get as the Golden Eagles cruised to a 90-44 victory.

The Catamounts will now return to Cullowhee to prepare for the trek north to former Southern Conference rival Appalachian State on Saturday. The Catamounts and Mountaineers will battle at 3:30 pm on Dec. 3 in Boone, N.C.