CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Senior Onno Steger and redshirt junior Mason Faulkner both finished with over 20 points, but Western Carolina was unable to knock off Furman in an 82-73 setback to the Paladins on Saturday at the Ramsey Center.

Steger scored a team-best 24 points, going 8-for-15 from the field including a 7-for-12 mark behind the 3-point line. The Upper Arlington, Ohio native accounted for half of WCU's made 3-pointers in the game. Faulkner tallied 22 points, his tenth game this season eclipsing the 20-point mark. Carlos Dotson pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds but saw his six-game consecutive double-double streak snap as he finished with nine points.

Jordan Lyons' 33-points led Furman (20-5, 10-2 Southern Conference), followed by Alex Hunter with 21 and Noah Gurley with 11.

Steger opened the scoring for Western Carolina (15-8, 7-5) with a 3-pointer 19 seconds into the game before the Paladins knotted the contest on a Lyons 3-pointer at the 19:03 mark. After Dotson completed a three-point play on the next Catamount possession, Furman went on a 10-0 run as a Lyons 3-pointer put the Paladins ahead 12-6 with just under 16 minutes remaining. Lyons was fouled on a made 3-pointer and tacked on a free throw for a 17-8 Furman lead at the 14:33 mark before the Catamounts answered with a 16-3 run capped by a Faulkner 3-pointer for a 23-20 advantage just past the midway point of the period.

Dotson sank two free throws to give WCU its largest lead of the game at five points, 30-25 with just over seven minutes remaining. Furman responded with 12 straight points as Tre Clark's layup gave the visitors a 37-30 advantage with 3:34 to play. The Paladins led 39-37 at halftime after Travion McCray drained a 3-pointer to bring WCU within two.

Matt Halvorsen sank a 3-pointer on the first WCU possession of the second half to put the Catamounts back on top as the teams traded the lead five times in the first three minutes of the second half. A Steger 3-pointer knotted the game at 57 with 10:44 remaining after Furman opened up a five-point lead.

Following a Faulkner 3-point play that brought the teams together at 60 with 8:25 left, the Paladins went on a 10-2 run that spanned the next three minutes for a 70-62 lead after a Gurley layup. WCU responded with a 9-3 run as a pair of Faulkner free throws brought the hosts within two, 73-71, with 2:16 remaining. On the next Paladin possession, Lyons hit two free throws before WCU came up empty on its next two possessions before Lyons completed a three-point play with 56.1 seconds to play for a 78-71 Furman lead. Dotson made a layup on the ensuing Catamount possession to bring WCU within five with 34 seconds left but the Catamounts would get no closer.

Furman finished the game 27-for-53 (50.9 percent) from the field and 12-for-25 (48 percent) behind the arc. WCU made 25 of 54 attempts from the field (46.3 percent) and 14 of 29 shots from behind the arc (48.3 percent). The Catamounts outrebounded Furman 33-29 but made 15 turnovers compared to 11 by Furman.

The Catamounts hit the road for their next two games beginning with a 7 p.m. visit to UNCG on Wednesday.

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