JOHNSON CITY, TENN. – Senior guard and Kingsport, Tenn., native Matt Halvorsen led Western Carolina with 19 points but the Catamounts were unable to hold off a second half rally by ETSU in an 86-78 setback to the Bucs inside Freedom Hall on Wednesday night.
 
ETSU improves to 5-4, 1-0 in SoCon play while WCU drops to 7-3, 0-1.
 
Halvorsen's 19 points consisted of a 5-for-8 performance behind the 3-point line and a 4-for-7 mark at the free throw line. It is the fifth game this season that he has led the Catamounts offensively. Junior Cory Hightower tallied 14 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Redshirt senior Mason Faulkner (13) and sophomore Xavier Cork (12) also finished in double figures.
 
ETSU was led by the Brewer brothers with Ty scoring a game-high 24 points and Ledarrius adding 21. Damari Monsanto and Silas Adheke each finished in double figures with 13 and 12 points respectively.
 
A Hightower layup opened the scoring as the WCU lead wavered between three and five points before a McCray 3-pointer sparked a 12-2 run that saw that Catamounts lead 20-8 with just over nine minutes to play in the first half. A 3-pointer by Monsanto brought the hosts within six, 25-19, with 5:19 remaining before the Catamounts scored seven of the next nine points for a 32-21 lead at the 3:32 mark. The Bucs closed the half on a 12-6 run as a Ledarrius Brewer jumper cut the Catamount lead to 38-33 heading into halftime.
 
The Bucs opened the second half on a 13-3 run as a layup by Serrel Smith Jr. put ETSU ahead 46-41 with 17:29 remaining. WCU answered with an 11-0 run capped by a Hightower three-point play to lead 52-46 with just over 15 minutes left. With WCU holding a 62-59 lead just before the midpoint of the second half, ETSU went on a 15-3 run for a 74-65 lead with just under six minutes to play. The Bucs led 79-68 at the under-four minute media timeout before the Catamounts slashed the deficit to within three, 81-78, after a Cork layup with 1:27 to play. After Vonnie Patterson made one of two free throw attempts for a four-point lead, WCU had a turnover and a missed 3-pointer on its next two possessions as the Bucs made four free throws in the final 16 seconds to seal the win.
 
In a game where both teams shot 50 percent from the field and grabbed 33 rebounds, turnovers proved to be a big difference in the outcome. WCU had 19 turnovers which turned into 20 ETSU points while the Bucs had 12 turnovers that resulted in 17 Catamount points. WCU made 78 percent of their free throws compared to 58 percent for the hosts with ETSU holding a 40 percent to 37 percent advantage in 3-point shooting percentage.
 
The Catamounts are slated to open both 2021 and the home portion of the SoCon schedule on Saturday, Jan. 2, hosting The Citadel at 1 p.m. with coverage available on ESPN+ and the Catamount Sports Network.
 
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