Final Stats

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - After leading 34-33 at the half, the Western Carolina men’s basketball team saw its halftime advantage slip away for the first time this season as the Wofford College Terriers outscored the Catamounts 44-34 in the second half. Junior Mike Amius led the Catamount offense with 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting while pulling down four rebounds.

Junior Marc Gosselin notched a double-double in the setback with 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Senior Deriece Parks added 13 points and three assists to the effort.

Freshman Desmond Johnson scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds all of which came in the opening half. Freshman Matt Halvorsen knocked down all five of his free throws to move his made free throws streak to 14 after going 9-of-9 against Furman and 4-of-4 versus Wofford.

The loss drops WCU’s record to 9-13 overall and 4-5 in Southern Conference play while the Terriers improved to 16-6 overall and 7-2 in league play.

Wofford placed four players in double-figures led by Fletcher Magee who had a game-high 18 points including 15 in the second half. Trevor Stumpe and Nathan Hoover each had 17 points in the victory while Matthew Pegram added 14.

The Terriers led by three for much of the opening half but with 6:17 left to play in the opening 20 minutes, the Catamounts began a 10-0 run that flipped the advantage WCU’s way. Freshman Marcus Thomas started things off with an old-fashioned 3-point play followed by a Johnson 3-pointer. The final four points came off a pair of Amius layups. Following the surge, WCU led 32-27.

The Catamounts held onto the slight lead the rest of the period eventually closing the half ahead 34-33.

After Wofford tied the game at 39 with 16:39 left in the game, the Catamounts responded with a 6-0 run that featured points from Johnson, Parks and Amius. A quick 5-0 spark by the Terriers cut the lead to just one with 13:41 left. The Terriers would continue to push and they eventually took the lead with a free throw with nine minutes remaining, 53-52.

A layup by Gosselin retook the lead for WCU but that would be the final lead the Catamounts would hold as a quick 5-0 spurt by the Terriers opened up a 58-54 lead. The Terriers would slowly grow their lead and eventually lead by as many as 11 points at 71-60. The Catamounts tried to fight back down the stretch but the Terriers hung on for the 77-68 victory.

The Catamounts will now return to Cullowhee to face a pair of tough foes to close out the week. Up first for WCU is Chattanooga Thursday night at 7:30 pm.