Final Stats

LEXINGTON, Va. - The VMI Keydets connected on a season-high 13 3-pointers Thursday night to down the visiting Catamounts of Western Carolina, 79-78. WCU and VMI each placed four scorers in double-figures. Both teams lit up the 3-point line in the second half as WCU hit six of its 12 attempts in the closing half while the Keydets nailed eight of 18 from long range.

Freshman Adam Sledd finished with his second career double-double with a career-high 16 points and 10 rebounds playing just 45 miles down the road from his hometown of Roanoke, Va. Sophomore Elijah Pughsley scored a team-high 18 points while nailing four 3-pointers including three in the second half. Pughsley also picked up a career-high six rebounds and tied a career mark with five assists.

Junior Devin Peterson had an outstanding first half and finished with eight points and a career-high seven assists in the game but missed minutes in the second half due to cramping. Junior Haboubacar Mutomobo struggled to hit his shots but was able to finish with 12 points, four assists and three rebounds while sophomore Marc Gosselin chipped in 11 points and seven boards.

The loss gives WCU its first 0-4 Southern Conference start under head coach Larry Hunter since the 2007-08 season. The Catamounts are sitting at 5-12 overall as well. VMI improved to 4-11 overall and 1-3 in league action.

VMI was led by QJ Peterson who finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds including 14 second half tallies. Trey Chapman added 18 points while Julian Eleby and Keith Smith finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

WCU won the rebounding battle 36-34 and limited its turnovers to a season low eight. The Catamounts collected 15 offensive boards which led to an 18-10 lead in second chance points for WCU.

The first half was all about helpers for the Catamounts as Peterson surpassed his career-high in assists with six in the first 20 minutes while sophomore Elijah Pughsley dished out four helpers. All told, WCU assisted on 11 of their 17 first half field goals.

VMI edged WCU in shooting percentage during the opening stanza shooting at a 50.0 percent (15-30) clip while WCU was just shy of that mark at 48.6 percent (17-35). The difference came at the free throw line where WCU hit just one of its three attempts while the Keydets connected on five of their seven free throws.

VMI opened the game on a 13-3 run as WCU struggled to find its offensive rhythm. WCU found its shooting stroke and responded with an 11-2 run of its own to cut the lead to just one. The Catamounts would take their first lead of the contest several minutes later at the 8:05 mark as a jumper by Gosselin gave WCU a 21-20 advantage. WCU’s largest lead of the half would come on WCU’s next possession as Pughsley drained a 3-pointer to give the Catamounts a four point lead. The lead would bounce back-and-forth between the two squads down the stretch before a free throw by Chapman with two seconds remaining gave VMI the 40-38 lead at the half.

Sledd tied the game just 40 seconds into the second half on a jumper and the lead would bounce back-and-forth the rest of the way. WCU would take its largest lead of the game at the 12:09 mark as freshman Onno Steger connected on a 3-pointer to give the Catamounts a 59-54 advantage. VMI would respond with an 8-1 run to retake the lead at 62-60 with just under nine minutes remaining. From that point on the largest lead would not surpass three points for either team.

With just under 40 seconds to play, Pughsley was fouled with the Catamounts trailing by three. The sophomore connected on a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to just one with 36 ticks left on the clock. WCU committed a foul on VMI’s lowest percentage free throw shooter on the floor with nine seconds remaining and he would miss the front end of a one-and-one giving WCU the ball for one final shot. Pughsley found himself trapped on the wing and tried to raise up and find a teammate but the ball was blocked and VMI collected it to close out the game, 79-78.

WCU will now travel to one of the four remaining one loss SoCon teams in ETSU. The Buccaneers suffered their first conference loss Thursday night at the hands of UNCG. The Catamounts and Bucs will tip-off in Johnson City at 4 pm Saturday afternoon.