CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Sophomore forward Xavier Cork continued his streak of double-figure scoring, but Western Carolina was unable to overcome shooting struggles in a 59-48 loss to ETSU in the Ramsey Center on Wednesday afternoon.

ETSU improves to 8-5 overall and 4-1 in the SoCon while the Catamounts drop to 7-6 and 0-4.

Cork led the Catamounts with 13 points and has finished in double figures in each game this season. Senior Matt Halvorsen also finished in double figures with 12 points, netting three 3-pointers. Sophomore Tyler Harris grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds and swatted a career-best three blocks.

Ledarrius Brewer paced the Bucs with 15 points followed by his brother Ty Brewer and David Sloan with 12 apiece. Damari Monsanto just missed a double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds.

The teams were scoreless through the first two minutes of the game before Halvorsen was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made three free throws to spark a 12-2 run by the home squad, capped by a Cork layup at the 13:21 mark. After the Bucs cut the WCU lead to six points, 14-8, WCU scored seven-straight points to take a game-high 13-point lead, 21-8, with just over eight minutes remaining before the break.

ETSU answered with a 13-0 run to even the game at 21 with 3:41 to play before Catamount senior Marcus Thomas sent the Catamounts into halftime with a 28-27 lead after sinking two free throws with 12 seconds left.

A Halvorsen 3-pointer pushed the Catamount lead to five, 34-29 with 16:35 remaining in the second half. WCU stayed in front until a Brewer layup put the visitors ahead 37-36 at the 10:50 mark. ETSU's lead oscillated between one and three points for the next six minutes until Halvorsen tied the game at 45 with 4:26 to play. The Bucs regained the lead with a Brewer 3-pointer on their next possession and outscored WCU 14-3 down the stretch to secure the win.

ETSU finished 22-for-56 (39.3 percent) from the field and made four of 17 (23.5 percent) of their 3-point field goal attempts for the game. WCU shot 16-for-54 (29.6 percent) from the field and was just 4-for-26 (15.4 percent) behind the arc. The Bucs enjoyed a 41-36 edge in rebounds.

The Catamounts hit the road on Saturday afternoon, traveling to Wofford for a 4 p.m. start. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with live audio on the Catamount Sports Network beginning at 3:30 p.m.

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