Final Stats |   

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Western Carolina men's basketball team used a strong defensive effort to down visiting Wofford College 53-48 Thursday night. The victory along with a Mercer loss at VMI clinched at least the sixth seed for the Catamounts in the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament. WCU will have the chance to move up to fifth in the seeding with a victory on Saturday at home against Furman.

The 53 points is the lowest output for the Catamounts in a victory since Jan. 22, 1979 when WCU downed Appalachian State on the road 50-49.

Despite the low score, WCU saw seven players score in the game and had six score seven or more points. Seniors Mike Brown and Rhett Harrelson led the way with 12 points apiece. Brown struggled on the offensive end but came up big late as he finished shooting 4-11 from the field. He was able to dish out a team-high three assists in his 35 minutes of play. Harrelson was 3-6 from the field all from 3-point range and a perfect 3-3 at the free throw line.

Senior Torrion Brummitt chipped in nine points and five rebounds while leading the team with a pair of blocked shots. Senior Justin Browning and sophomore Devin Peterson each scored seven points. Browning added six rebounds while Peterson had two. Browning also had a pair of steals including one with 25 seconds left on the clock and the Terriers looking to tie or take the lead down two. Sophomore Haboubacar Mutombo scored just two points but led the team with eight rebounds while picking up a pair of steals.

The win ended Wofford's six game winning streak over the Catamounts and gave WCU a 26-25 lead in the al-time series.

WCU improved to 14-16 overall and 9-8 in Southern Conference play while the Terriers fell to 15-15 overall and 11-6 in conference action.

The Terriers had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half and led the rebounding battle 23-12 at the break. WCU limited Wofford's second chances to just two in the second half and controlled the boards 21-16. Wofford won the overall battle of the boards 39-33 but the strong effort in the second half secured the victory for the Catamounts.

After an early back-and-forth battle, WCU used a 13-4 run midway through the opening period to take a 24-14 lead with just under seven minutes to play in the half. The Terriers quickly responded with a 13-1 run off their own to retake a 27-25 advantage with just under four minutes remaining. The half would end with another run by the Catamounts as they closed out the period scoring five-straight points including a 3-pointer by Harrelson with 1:31 remaining which proved to be the final basket of the period. The Catamounts took a 30-27 lead into the break. WCU led by one at Wofford at halftime earlier this season and saw the Terriers use a dominating second half to claim the victory.

Thursday night would not be a repeat of the earlier meeting between the two teams as the Catamounts saw the Terriers try to pull away but kept them within reach before eventually taking the victory. The Terriers hit three 3-pointers in the opening five minutes of the second half and took a 38-35 lead with 15:29 remaining. A Harrelson 3-pointer followed by a Brown layup gave WCU a one-point advantage exactly half way through the second period.

The Terriers would again open up a four-point lead after a Fletcher Magee 3-pointer with 7:59 left but a quick 7-0 run by the Catamounts gave WCU its largest lead of the half since the 18:30 mark, 49-46 with 5:20 left.

Both teams would go scoreless until a free throw by Brummitt extended WCU's lead to four with 1:57 remaining. A Justin Gordon jumper with 1:36 left on the clock cut the WCU lead to just two. After a missed jumper on the offensive end it looked like Wofford would sprint down the floor for a fast break layup by Browning came from behind and blocked the layup attempt preserving WCU's two point advantage. The Terriers collected the rebound and Browning came up huge again as he stole the ball 20 seconds later to give the Catamounts the ball with under 25 seconds to play.

Brown hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to four and after an empty Terrier possession he hit one of two free throws to solidify the final score of 53-48.

Wofford was led by Magee who scored a game-high 22 points as he nailed six 3-pointers in the game. CJ Neumann added nine points and 11 rebounds while Eric Garcia dished out a game-high seven assists.

The Catamounts will now turn their attention to Furman who will come to the Ramsey Center Saturday for both teams regular season finales. The Catamounts will honor their four seniors prior to the 2 pm tip-off.