ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Western Carolina erased a one-point halftime deficit by outscoring Mercer 42-27 in the second half to earn a 70-56 win over the fourth-seeded Bears in the quarterfinal round of the 2020 Ingles Southern Conference Tournament presented by General Shale.

The win is the first for WCU in the SoCon Tournament since an 88-83 double-overtime win over Wofford in the 2016 quarterfinals. The Catamounts improve to 19-11 and face top-seeded ETSU in the semifinals on Sunday at 4 p.m. Mercer concludes the 2019-20 campaign at 17-15.

Mason Faulkner led Western Carolina with a game-high 22 points. Carlos Dotson scored 19 points followed by Onno Steger with 13 points. Dotson, Faulkner, and Steger each had five rebounds.

Kamar Robinson paced Mercer with 17 points followed by Djordje Dimitrijevic with 11.  Ethan Stair grabbed a team-best nine rebounds.

WCU opened the game with a 7-0 run capped by a Dotson layup at the 17:22 mark. The Bears answered with six straight points, pulling within one after Stair made a layup with just over 15 minutes to play.  Faulkner's 3-pointer pushed the Catamount lead to six, 12-6 with 13:32 remaining. Robinson's layup brought the Bears back within two, 12-10, only to have the Catamounts tally five straight points capped by a Steger triple for a 17-10 advantage just before the midpoint of the half. Adam Sledd extended the WCU lead to 22-15 on a layup at the 6:58 mark before the Bears took their first lead of the game, 24-23, as James Glisson III completed a three-point play with 3:41 to play. Faulkner knotted the score at 24 after making the second of two free throws on the next WCU possession only to have Jeff Gary put the Bears ahead with a 3-pointer on the next Mercer possession. Mercer took a 29-28 lead into halftime as Xavier Cork emphatically blocked a Robinson shot just before the buzzer that would have given the Bears a 31-28 lead.

Just as in the first half, WCU opened the second half with seven straight points as a Dotson layup gave the Catamounts a 35-29 edge just under two minutes into the stanza. Following a Djordje Dimitrijevic 3-pointer, WCU tallied six straight points for 44-34 lead at the 15:14 mark. Cork's dunk with 11:07 to play gave the Catamounts a 49-35 lead. Mercer clawed back with seven straight points as a Robinson jump made the score 50-43 with 8:44 to play. WCU responded with an 11-2 run capped by a Steger 3-pointer to lead 61-45 with 4:21 remaining. The Bears got no closer than 14 points down the stretch.

WCU went 22-for-42 (52.4 percent) from the field, 7-for-22 (31.8 percent) behind the arc and 19-for-28 (67.9 percent) at the free throw line. Mercer shot 22-for-55 (40.0 percent) from the field, 6-for-17 (35.3 percent) in 3-point attempts and 6-for-11 (54.5 percent) at the charity stripe. Mercer outrebounded WCU 34-26.

Catamount fans may purchase tickets to the Sunday, March 8^th WCU-ETSU basketball semifinal game, tipoff 4 pm, by visiting the lobby of the Renaissance Asheville Hotel (31 Woodfin Street) Sunday from 9 am – 11:30 am. Tickets are available while supplies last and are $20 general admission single session tickets. Fans may also purchase tickets at the Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville Box Office or by purchasing online available through Ticketmaster WCU students with a Student I.D. may purchase general admission single session tickets for $10 at the Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville Box Office.
 
WCU fans are HIGHLY encouraged to arrive at the game early on Sunday. Gates will open by 3 pm. 

Keep track of everything related to Catamount men's basketball and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts) and Twitter (@catamounts, @wcu_mbb).