ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Sophomore Xavier Cork sent mountain-rivals Western Carolina and UNC Asheville into overtime with a game-tying offensive stick back in the closing seconds of regulation at Kimmel Arena in the finale of the Mako Medical Asheville Classic. The Catamounts then outlasted the Bulldogs, 83-81 Saturday afternoon.
 
Senior Matt Halvorsen scored a team-best 21 points to lead four Catamounts in double figures in the fourth game in the all-time series that needed overtime and first since the 2010-11 season.
 
WCU improves to 2-1 while UNC Asheville drops to 0-2.
 
Halvorsen surpassed the 20-point mark for the second time this season and eighth time in his career. He finished a perfect 9-for-9 at the free throw line and hit four of the team's five made 3-pointers. Xavier Cork tallied 16 points followed by Mason Faulkner with 15 and Travion McCray with 11. Faulkner handed out a game-best seven assists and grabbed six rebounds along with Cork and Ahmir Langlais.
 
Taijon Jones led the Bulldogs with a game-best 24 points. Jamon Battle posed a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. LJ Thorpe (12) and Trent Stepheny (11) also finished in double figures.
 
The Catamounts jumped out to an 8-4 lead following back-to-back Halvorsen 3-pointers at the 16:19 mark. UNC Asheville battled back and claimed an 11-10 advantage with a Jones 3-pointer at the 14:21 mark. WCU led 20-14 at the midpoint of the half only to have a Thorpe jumper bring the hosts within two, 23-21, with just over seven minutes remaining. WCU responded with a 10-2 run for a 33-23 lead after a Marcus Thomas layup with just over four minutes remaining. The Catamounts went into the locker room with a 44-28 edge after a pair of Faulkner free throws. WCU forced 11 UNC Asheville turnovers in the first half and converted them into 14 points.
 
A dunk by Harris opened the second half scoring as the Catamounts took a 20-point lead, 48-28, thanks to a Cork layup just inside the 19-minute mark. After a Langlais layup put the Catamounts ahead 54-34 with 15:17 to play, UNC Asheville used a 15-2 run to pull within seven, 56-49, following a Stephney 3-pointer with just over 10 minutes remaining. A Faulkner layup followed by a Halvorsen 3-pointer pushed the Catamount lead back to 12 and remained between seven and 12 points until a pair of Lavar Batts free throws brought the hosts within five, 69-64, with 2:44 left. Batts brought the Bulldogs within two on a layup at the 2:07 mark before the Bulldogs made four free throws over the next 90 seconds to lead 71-69. Following a timeout with 27 seconds left, Halvorsen missed a layup but Cork tipped in the rebound to tie the game at 71 with three seconds left. UNC Asheville was unable to get a shot off before time expired as the game went to overtime.
 
Evan Clayborne's layup opened the overtime scoring but Halvorsen was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer and made all three free throws for a 74-73 lead. Thomas' layup boosted the WCU lead to four, 77-73, but the Bulldogs battled back within two thanks to free throws. Halvorsen and Jones traded 3-pointers as the Catamount lead remained at two with 41 seconds left. On the next Catamount possession, McCray missed a 3-pointer but McMahon grabbed the offensive rebound and made a free throw to stretch the WCU advantage to 81-78 with 12 seconds left. Jones came up empty on a potential tying 3-point attempt with Thomas grabbing the rebound and sinking two free throws to seal the win. Thorpe's long 3-pointer as time expired brought the contest to a close.
 
Free throws proved to be an important part of the game as the teams combined to shoot 67 of them. WCU went 24-for-29 (82.8 percent) at the charity stripe while UNC Asheville was 23-for-38 (60.5 percent). The Bulldogs committed 20 turnovers resulting in 27 Catamount points; WCU had 17 turnovers that turned into 18 points for the Bulldogs.
 
WCU kicks off the home portion of the 2020-21 schedule on Monday, hosting Piedmont College at 11 a.m. on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
 
In accordance with executive orders from North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, only student-athlete families will be able to attend basketball games in the Ramsey Center for the start of the 2020-21 season. Families of student-athletes will adhere to public health guidance when attending games, including but not limited to mask-wearing, maintaining a social distance between different parties, and observance of North Carolina's executive orders as well as WCU's Catamounts Cares community standards.
 
Season tickets will not be offered and single game tickets are currently not available. Should North Carolina executive orders change in regards to indoor attendance capacities during the season, the current directives could be adjusted.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount basketball and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountMBB).