CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Cam Bacote's layup with .7 seconds remaining in regulation forced overtime and Nicholas Robinson tallied eight points in the extra session as Western Carolina defeated Bowling Green 79-71 in overtime in front of a raucous crowd in the 2021-22 season opener on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
 
The win is the first for Catamount head coach Justin Gray in his debut and is the second straight season-opening win for WCU.
 
Robinson paced the Catamounts with 15 points and grabbed a team-best 13 rebounds, 11 of which came on the defensive glass. Joe Petrakis added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds followed by Bacote with 12 points and Tyler Harris with 11. Vonterius Woolbright dished out a game-best eight assists and also swiped four steals.
 
Daeqwon Plowdon led Bowling Green with a game-best 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, 12 coming on defense. Joe Reece added 10 points and 12 rebounds. Myron Gordon, who played against WCU during the 2018-19 season at Samford, added 10 points off the bench.
 
With the Catamounts trailing 68-66 with seven seconds remaining in regulation, Bacote took the inbounds pass at the top of the key, slipped through the defense and drove to the basket untouched to even the score. Bowling Green was unable to get off a game-tying shot before time expired.
 
A pair of Robinson 3-pointers gave the Catamounts a 74-69 lead with 2:40 remaining in the extra session. After a Plowden jumper brought the Falcons within three, 74-71, Robinson missed a layup but Marlow Gilmore put-back the offensive rebound to push the WCU lead back to five, 76-71, with 1:46 remaining. The Catamounts salted the game away with free throws down the stretch.
 
Western Carolina opened the game on a 12-1 run capped by a Marvin Price free throw at the 14:23 mark. Bowling Green chipped away at the WCU lead in the opening half, pulling with two, 19-17, on a Kaden Metheny 3-pointer with just under nine minutes remaining before the break. The Catamount advantage teetered between one and five points for the next five minutes before a late WCU run pushed the lead back to double digits, 37-27, after a Price layup with 53 seconds remaining. WCU took a 37-29 lead into halftime.
 
Tyler Harris gave the Catamounts a 39-31 second half lead before Bowling Green used a 12-3 run to take their first lead of the game, 43-42, with 12:47 to play in regulation. WCU retook the lead on its next possession and led 49-45 at the midpoint of the period. The Falcons didn't fade, evening the contest at 49 just over two minutes later and took a 56-51 lead on a Gordon 3-pointer with 5:34 to play. Bowling Green led 61-57 with three minutes remaining before the second of two Petrakis 3-pointers tied the game at 66 with 1:24 left. Reece put the Falcons back ahead 68-66 on the next Bowling Green possession, setting the stage for the game's thrilling conclusion.
 
WCU outrebounded Bowling Green 53-48 and finished 26-for-70 from the field (37.1 percent) compared to a 25-for-74 (33.8 percent) mark for the Falcons. The Catamounts made 12 of 34 3-pointers (35.3 percent) compared to 5 of 34 (14.7 percent) for Bowling Green, but the Falcons did their damage at the free throw line, shooting 72.7 percent (16-for-22) at the charity stripe compared to 55.6 percent (15-for-27) for WCU.
 
The Catamounts hit the road this weekend, venturing to Wake Forest on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off that will air on ACC Network Extra and the Catamount Sports Network.
 
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