Cullowhee, N.C. – Redshirt junior Mason Faulkner led three Western Carolina players in double figures as the Catamounts defeated Mercer in a 79-71 on Saturday at the Ramsey Center.

WCU is 12-3 overall and 4-0 in Southern Conference play after its fifth straight win and logs its first undefeated start through the first four league games since the 2012-13 season. Mercer is 6-11 and 0-4. As a result of the Catamount win and a Furman loss to UNCG, the Catamounts end the day in sole possession of first place in the SoCon.

Faulkner finished in double figures for the 14^th time in 15 games this season with 18 points and made 10 of 12 free throw attempts. Matt Halvorsen had 16 points, going 3-for-5 from the field with three made 3-pointers. Carlos Dotson tallied 12 points despite playing a season-low 14 minutes. Xavier Cork had a strong game off the bench, scoring a career-high eight points along with a team-best eight rebounds. WCU's reserves contributed a season-high 22 points.

Djordje Dimitrijevic led Mercer with a game-high 34 points and was the only Bear to finish in double figures. Maciej Bender grabbed a game-best 13 rebounds.

Dotson hit the second of two free throw attempts 34 seconds into the contest to put the Catamounts on top before a Bender layup gave Mercer a 2-1 lead with 18:32 remaining. Cork's layup on the next WCU possession gave the hosts a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. Kameron Gibson drained a 3-pointer for a 17-12 WCU lead at the 10:31 mark before the Bears clawed back and cut the lead to one, 17-16, after a pair of Jeff Gary free throws. The Catamounts answered with five straight points only to see Mercer even the score at 22 with 4:07 to play in the first half. The teams traded baskets to remain tied before Halvorsen scored five straight points to put the Catamounts ahead 31-26. WCU led 36-30 at halftime.

Steger stretched the Catamount lead to nine with a 3-pointer in the early moments in the second half as the Catamount lead wavered between five and nine points for the first eight minutes of the stanza. Steger put the Catamounts ahead by 10, 54-44, with a bucket at the 11:07 mark as WCU continued to lead by no fewer than six points. Halvorsen was fouled on a 3-point attempt at the 7:38 mark and made all three free throws to give WCU a game-high 11-point lead, 61-50.

Mercer answered with a 9-2 run as a Dimitrijevic 3-pointer brought them within four, 63-59, with just over four minutes remaining. The Catamounts answered with baskets on their next two possessions and added a pair of Faulkner free throws to extend the lead back to double digits, 69-59, with 2:48 to play. A pair of Dimitrijevic free throws allowed Mercer to pull within five, 70-65, with 94 seconds remaining but the Catamounts used a Halvorsen 3-pointer and six made free throws in the final minute of regulation to emerge with the victory.

The Catamounts finished 22-for-51 (43.1 percent) from the field and were 9-for-18 behind the 3-point line. Mercer went 24-for-63 from the field (38.1 percent) and made only two of 19 3-point attempts but converted 21 of 24 attempts (87.5 percent) at the free throw line. The Catamounts held a 38-35 edge on the glass.

Western Carolina hits the road Wednesday, traveling to Furman at 7 p.m. in a battle for purple supremacy. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with audio on the Catamount Sports Network. 

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