Final Stats

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - For the ninth-straight time, the East Tennessee State Buccaneers downed the Western Carolina men's basketball team in Johnson City, Tenn., 83-77. The Catamounts led at the half and held the lead for nearly nine minutes of the second half before the Bucs pulled ahead and held on for the victory. Senior Mike Brown led a group of four Catamounts in double-figures with 18 points.

The loss drops WCU to 11-16 overall and 6-8 in Southern Conference action while the Bucs impro9ved to 17-10 overall and 10-4 in league play.

Brown added six rebounds and a steal to his total while senior Torrion Brummitt added 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Senior Justin Browning scored 14 points and dished out a team-high three assists while sophomore Devin Peterson added 11 points.

Senior Rhett Harrelson came up just short of double-figures with nine points as he hit two big 3-pointers to try and keep the Catamounts in the game late.

The Bucs outrebounded WCU 34-24 and limited WCU's second chance points to seven. WCU won the turnover battle 13-10 but shot the ball just under five percentage points lower than the Bucs (54.7%-50.0%)

The first half saw WCU jump out to an early 7-3 lead but the Bucs stormed back with a 12-3 run to give themselves a 15-10 lead with 13:42 left in the period. The Bucs would hold onto the lead for most of the period eventually opening up a seven-point advantage. An 11-2 run by WCU late in the period gave the Catamounts a two point lead with just over a minute to play until the halftime break. ETSU tied the game on their next possession but a three-quarters court heave by Browning gave WCU a 38-35 lead at the break.

WCU maintained its lead for nearly nine minutes of the second half but a ETSU 3-pointer with 11:37 left gave the Bucs a 54-52 lead. WCU would regain the lead two possessions later but that would be it as the Bucs eventually built an 11 point lead with under three minutes to play. The Catamounts continued to battle down the stretch and got the game within four twice but the Bucs made enough free throws down the stretch to capture the victory.

ETSU was led by Deuce Bello who led a group of five double-digit scorers with 20 points and seven rebounds. Desonta Bradford added 18 points off the bench to go along with six rebounds and four assists.

The Catamounts will now turn their attention to Mercer. WCU will travel to Macon, Ga., Thursday night for a 7 pm game against the Bears.