FARMVILLE, Va. – Junior
Vonterius Woolbright led four Western Carolina players in double figures with a career-high 16 points as the Catamount defense allowed a season-low 53 points in a 64-53 win over Longwood in the final game of the Jerome Kersey Classic at Willett Hall on Sunday afternoon.
WCU evens its record at 3-3 while Longwood drops to 4-2.
Woolbright's 16 points surpassed his previous career-best of 11 points against American on Saturday. He also grabbed 10 rebounds for his first double-double of his WCU career. Redshirt junior
Joe Petrakis tallied 12 points followed by freshman
Marcus Banks and graduate student
Cam Bacote with 11. Junior
Travion McCray grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds, nine of which were on the defensive glass.
Leslie Nkereuwem led Longwood with a game-high 17 points followed by Justin Hill with 10. Isaiah Wilkins pulled down a team-best nine rebounds.
Watson opened the scoring for the Lancers just over a minute into the game before a pair of 3-pointers gave the Catamounts a 6-4 edge at the 17:26 mark. A Wade 3-pointer put the Lancers back in front as Longwood led 17-9 after a Nate Lliteras 3-pointer with 14:01 to play. WCU chipped away at the Longwood lead over the next five minutes, using a 10-2 run to pull within two, 19-17, after a pair of Robinson free throws at the 9:12 mark. Banks' 3-pointer with 5:43 remaining put the Catamounts ahead 23-21 before the Lancers tallied four straight points for a 25-23 lead at the under-four media timeout. A pair of Robinson 3-pointers inside the final 2:04 sent WCU into halftime with a 29-27 lead.
A McCray 3-pointer 17 seconds into the second half pushed the Catamount lead to five, 32-27 before the Lancers trimmed the WCU lead to one after a Hill free throw. WCU answered with an 11-3 run capped by a Woolbright three-point play for a 43-34 advantage with 11:22 remaining. A layup by Nkereuwem brought Longwood within four, 45-41, with just over eight minutes to play but seven straight WCU points gave the Catamounts a game-high 11-point lead, 52-41, at the 6:05 mark. Longwood made one final push, pulling within four, 57-53, on a Wilkins layup with 1:26 remaining but a Petrakis 3-pointer on the ensuing possession along with a pair of McCray free throws secured the win. Woolbright put the finishing touch on the win as his dunk with 32 seconds remaining was the final basket of the contest.
The Catamounts are off until Saturday, Nov. 27 when they head to Gardner-Webb for a 2 p.m. matchup. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network.
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