CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Mason Faulkner saved his best shot for last as the redshirt senior drained the game-winning 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds remaining in overtime in a 76-75 Western Carolina win over Tennessee Tech on Sunday afternoon in the Ramey Center.
 
Western Carolina improves to 5-1 while Tennessee Tech drops to 0-5. The Catamounts are 2-0 in overtime games this season.
 
Faulkner's game-high 23 points are a season high. Sophomore Xavier Cork tallied 14 points followed by classmate Travion McCray with 12. Sophomore Tyler Harris grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds, eight of which were on the defensive glass.
 
Jr. Clay led Tennessee Tech with 20 points followed by Keishawn Davidson with 18.
 
Down six inside the game's final two minutes of regulation, Faulkner and Travion McCray both sank 3-pointers for WCU to tie the game at 69 with Tennessee Tech missing twice inside the final 60 seconds to send the game into overtime. Then in the extra session with the Catamounts trailing by two following a pair of Davidson free throws with 6.8 seconds remaining, Faulkner received the inbounds pass following a timeout and dribbled up the court. Creating space by driving just inside the 3-point line, Faulkner took a step back and drained the winning shot.
 
The Golden Eagles opened the game on an 8-2 run and led 21-10 following a Clay 3-pointer at the 8:04 mark of the first half. WCU used a 15-2 run capped by a McCray free throw to rally back and grab a 25-23 edge with 3:54 to play in the stanza. After the Golden Eagles knotted the game at 25, WCU pulled ahead by four points but Davidson's jumper with just over two seconds left sent the teams into halftime tied at 29.
 
WCU took a 42-35 lead in the second half following a Harris layup with 15:32 to play with the seven-point lead being the largest Catamount lead of the afternoon. Tennessee Tech chipped away at the WCU lead as a Clay layup brought the visitors within one, 49-48, just inside the midpoint of the half. The Catamounts pushed the lead back to four, 54-50, only to see Tennessee Tech pull ahead 60-59 after a Kenny White, Jr. three-point play with just over four minutes left.
 
Clay handed the Golden Eagles a 69-63 edge with 1:42 left in regulation before the back-to-back treys by Faulkner and McCray during the next 30 seconds evened the score. A late shot by Dane Quest with two seconds remaining was off target and Harris gobbled up the defensive rebound to force overtime.
 
Clay opened the overtime scoring with a layup before a pair of Cork free throws tied the game at 71 at the 3:55 mark. Davidson put the Golden Eagles ahead 73-71 on a layup with 2:10 remaining and would have been the go-ahead score until McCray grabbed a defensive layup and went the floor to tie the contest with eight seconds left. Davidson was fouled shortly after the inbounds pass which set the stage for the concluding moments.
 
For the game, the Catamounts finished 26-for-67 (38.8 percent) from the field while the Golden Eagles went 29-for-65 (44.6 percent). Tennessee Tech held a 41-40 edge in rebounds and had 19 turnovers compared to 17 for the Catamounts.
 
WCU hits the road for its final three nonconference games, beginning with a trip to North Carolina A&T on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
 
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