Final Stats |   

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - A strong second half was not enough to propel the Western Carolina men's basketball team to victory Saturday afternoon as the Southern Conference leading ETSU Buccaneers hung on for a 72-61 victory inside the Ramsey Center. WCU outscored the Bucs 36-32 in the second half but it was not enough to erase a 15-point halftime deficit. Senior Deriece Parks led the Catamounts with 17 points including nine in the second half in the losing effort.

The Catamount defense limited ETSU's leading scorer Desonta Bradford to just 10 points but the Buccaneers turned to Devontavius Payne who scored a team-high 22 points which is 13 points higher than his seasonal average of 9.3 ppg. Bo Hodges also came off the bench to score nine points higher than his seasonal average as he poured in 17 points while hitting 6-of-7 from the field.

Parks was joined in double-figures on the Catamount squad by freshmen Marcus Thomas and Matt Halvorsen. Thomas scored 12 points while making the first start of his career and Halvorsen added 10 points while going a perfect 5-for-5 at the free throw line.

WCU's leading scorer entering the game, junior Mike Amius, was limited to eight points and three rebounds. Junior Marc Gosselin was held to just seven points but he was able to make a difference on the defensive end as he picked up a team-high five steals in the game.

The loss drops WCU to 12-16 on the year and 7-8 in Southern Conference play while the Buccaneers improved to 23-5 overall and a league-leading 14-1 in SoCon action.

The Buccaneers dominated the glass Saturday as they outrebounded the Catamounts 44-24, an area that the Catamounts rely on when winning games. WCU is a perfect 10-0 when either winning the rebounding battle or tying in rebounds and the Catamounts are just 2-16 when losing on the boards.

WCU forced 22 Buccaneer turnovers while making 16 miscues of its own which led to a 21-14 advantage in points off turnovers for the Catamounts.

The Catamounts struggled to get into rhythm on offense and shot just 38.9 percent from the field including 34.5 percent in the opening 20 minutes. The Buccaneers on the other hand hit 51.6 percent of their first half shots to build the double-digit lead. That percentage dropped to 42.3 percent in the second half as the Catamounts out-shot the Bucs in the second 20 minutes.

The Catamounts kept the game close for the opening 12 minutes of the game but a late 11-0 run by the Buccaneers opened up a 31-15 advantage for ETSU with 6:19 left in the period. That lead grew to as much as 18 points in the half but a 3-pointer at the buzzer by freshman Desmond Johnson cut the deficit to 15 at the break.

The Buccaneers came out of the locker room inspired and built up a 23-point edge just four minutes into the second half. From that point on WCU would battle back-and-forth with ETSU until an 8-2 run midway through the period cut the lead to just 13. ETSU's Hodges ended the run by WCU with an emphatic dunk followed by a layup which re-opened a 17-point advantage. Thomas nailed a 3-pointer on WCU's next possession to cut the deficit to 14 but ETSU once again had the answer as Payne hit a triple of his own. Gosselin was next to try to break the ETSU momentum as he nailed a 3-pointer on WCU's next offensive set but once again the Buccaneers responded as David Burrell dunked the ball to push the lead to 16. The hits would continue to go back-and-forth until the final 1:09 of the game when WCU went on a 6-0 run to close out the game, falling 72-61.

The Catamounts will now travel to Macon, Ga., Tuesday night to take on Mercer who WCU is battling for the fifth and sixth spots in the Southern Conference standings. WCU defeated the Bears by two points in Cullowhee earlier this season but Mercer has rattled off four-straight victories heading into tonight's contest with UNCG.