Final Stats

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Junior Devin Peterson of the Western Carolina men's basketball team tied a career-high with 20 points against the Spartans of UNCG but it was not enough to propel the Catamounts to victory. The Spartans connected on 12 3-pointers in the game to capture a 76-68 victory Saturday afternoon.

Peterson scored 14 of his 20 points in the opening half and added five rebounds and a team-high three assists to his stat line. Junior Haboubacar Mutombo added 17 points including 11 in the second half. He also had five rebounds in the game.

Sophomore Marc Gosselin was WCU's final double-digit scorer as he poured in 11 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman Adam Sledd came close to a double-double as well with seven points and seven rebounds.

WCU led in nearly every statistical category but UNCG's 12 to three edge in 3-pointers proved to be the difference. The Catamounts controlled the boards outrebounding the Spartans 40-31 and also won the turnover battle 13-11.

Both teams shot the ball in the 40s with WCU connecting on 41.2 percent of its shots and UNCG knocking down 48.2 percent including 54.5 percent from 3-point range.

The victory gives UNCG an 18-8 overall record and a 9-4 SoCon mark. WCU fell to 7-19 overall and 2-11 in league play.

UNCG had three scorers reach double-figures including Francis Alonso who scored a game-high 24 points while knocking down five 3-pointers. RJ White added 17 points down low while grabbing seven rebounds. The final double-digit performer was Marvin Smith who scored 12 points while connecting on four shots from downtown.

WCU jumped all over the Spartans taking an 18-6 lead just eight minutes into the game. The Catamounts would hold the lead for most of the opening half but a 13-2 run by the Spartans late in the period gave UNCG a two-point edge. The run featured three 3-pointers by the Spartans. UNCG would continue to grow its lead the rest of the half as the Spartans took a 38-31 lead into the break.

A quick 5-0 run to open the second half by WCU cut the deficit to just two points with 18 minutes left. WCU would tie the game for the first time in the second half at the 15:32 mark as Peterson knocked down a jumper to knot the game at 43. The Spartans would respond with a 15-5 run that featured two 3-pointers by Alonso.

The Catamounts slowly chipped away at the lead and eventually cut the deficit to five with 5:58 left in the game. WCU was able to create a turnover on the very next possession as Gosselin knocked the ball away from Alonso but WCU lost control of the ball on the breakaway which led to a UNCG dunk on the other end to push the lead back to seven. The dunk would spark a 9-0 run by the Spartans to put the game out of reach. WCU tried to battle back but the closest the Catamounts would come would be on a layup with five seconds remaining to cut the lead to 76-68.

WCU will now begin to prepare for Southern Conference leader Furman who will visit the Ramsey Center this Wednesday at 7 pm.