ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Western Carolina used a 25-3 second half run to race past UNCW in a 98-76 season-opening victory on Wednesday afternoon at Kimmel Arena.

Sophomore Xavier Cork scored a career-best 22 points to lead the Catamounts. Redshirt senior Mason Faulkner tallied 21 points with senior Matt Halvorsen recording 20. Sophomore Travion McCray also finished in double figures with 11 points.

The 98 points are the most for the Catamounts in a season-opening game since scoring 96 in an 96-76 win over Eckerd to start the 1991-92 season.
Faulkner and Harris both pulled down a team-best eight rebounds. Of Faulkner's eight rebounds, seven came on the defensive glass. Cork dished out a new career-high four assists.

UNCW's Jaylen Sims had a game-high 27 points with 13 points coming at the free throw line. Jake Boggs tallied 17 points while Ty Gadsden finished with 13 points. Boggs pulled down a team-best eight rebounds.

A pair of free throws by Faulkner 28 seconds into the game opened the scoring before UNCW scored four of the next six points to even the game at 4 with just over 17 minutes remaining. The Seahawks took an 11-8 lead after three Sims free throws before WCU used a 9-0 run to claim a 17-11 edge at the 11:41 mark. After UNCW battled back for a 19-18 lead thanks to a Sims jumper, the Catamounts used an 11-1 run capped by a McCray 3-pointer to lead 29-19 with 5:41 to go. WCU enjoyed a 10-point lead on three separate occasions, the latest being a 36-26 advantage with 3:56 remaining. Boggs brought UNCW within five, 38-33, thanks to a 3-pointer with just over three minutes left. Halvorsen extended the Catamount lead back to eight thanks to a 3-pointer on the next Catamount possession, but the Seahawks made seven out of eight free throw opportunities down the stretch as WCU led 44-40 at halftime. The teams combined to shoot 32 free throws in the opening stanza.

WCU opened the second half on a 7-2 run, leading 51-42 as UNCW called a timeout just 98 seconds into the frame. A dunk by Imajee Dodd brought the Seahawks within three, 55-52 before a Halvorsen 3-pointer on the next WCU possession ignited a game-changing 25-3 Catamount run as WCU led 80-55 with 5:16 remaining. The Seahawks would get no closer than 17 points the rest of the way.

The Catamounts finished at 56.3 percent (36-for-64) from the field for the game and made nearly 65 percent of their shots from the field in the second half. UNCW shot 37.1 percent from the field (23-for-62) on the afternoon but made 22 of 31 free throw attempts. WCU sank 17 of 20 free throw attempts.

The Catamounts face Troy at 1 p.m. Friday and UNC Asheville at 4 p.m. Saturday as part of the Mako Medical Asheville Classic. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with Saturday's game airing on WYCW-62 in the Asheville/Greenville/Spartanburg television market.

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