Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina men's basketball puts its 7-0 home record on the line on Saturday night as the Catamounts welcome mountain rival ETSU to the Ramsey Center for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
Fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets in advance in order to secure the best seats and avoid lines on game day. The Catamount Ticket Office and Ramsey Center doors will open at 6 pm. Students sitting in the Cat Cage Student Section will receive a free WCU winter hat courtesy of Zaxby's that will be given out at some point during the game.
The Catamounts are 12-4 overall and 4-1 in the Southern Conference following an 83-79 loss at Furman on Wednesday.
Carlos Dotson posted his eighth double-double of the season with a game-high 21 points and 11 rebounds, 10 coming on the defensive glass.
Mason Faulkner tied a career-high with 10 assists and also had a double-double thanks to 12 points.
Matt Halvorsen and
Onno Steger both finished with 14 points apiece.
ETSU is 16-3 overall and 5-1 in league games thanks to an 88-63 home win over Samford on Wednesday night. Tray Boyd led five Bucs in double figures with 16 points as ETSU extended an eight-point halftime lead to a 15-point victory. ETSU sports a 5-3 road record this season.
Saturday's game is the 82
nd all-time meeting between the schools with ETSU holding a 56-25 advantage. The Bucs have won the last eight contests and 25 of the last 26 games played.
The game between the Buccaneers and Catamounts is this week's "Ingles SoCon Game of the Week" and will be broadcast throughout the league's six-state footprint across a network of Nexstar stations. Nexstar affiliates airing games include: WCBD (Charleston), WGHP (Greensboro/High Point), WJHL (Johnson City), WYCW (Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville) and WWCW (Lynchburg/Roanoke). The game can also be seen on ESPN+ (subscription required). WSPA Sports Director Pete Yanity will provide play-by-play and 20-year coaching veteran Dean Keener will serve as analyst for the regular-season broadcasts. Audio coverage of Saturday's game is available on the Catamount Sports Network.
WCU travels to Mercer on Wednesday for the second meeting against the Bears in the span of 10 days. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount men's basketball and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts) and Twitter (@catamounts, @wcu_mbb).
