CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina had a season-best six players finish in double figures and just missed a pair of school records as the Catamounts cruised to a 102-47 victory over Warren Wilson on Wednesday evening in no conference action on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
WCU improves to 4-4 overall, while the contest was considered an exhibition for Warren Wilson.
The Catamounts hit 18 3-pointers, two shy of tying the school record for most made 3-point baskets in a game. WCU's 63 rebounds are the second-most in a game in program history as the Catamounts outrebounded Warren Wilson 63-20. The school record for rebounds in a game is 68 against Averett on Dec. 17, 2003, with Wednesday's game finishing just ahead of the previous second-place mark of 62 in a pair of games against Toccoa Falls College on Nov. 20, 2008, and Jan. 17, 2012.
Wednesday's game marked the first time WCU has pulled down 60 or more rebounds since the Catamounts grabbed 60 rebounds against Hiwassee on Nov. 13, 2016. It is also the highest single-game rebounding performance in the Southern Conference this season.
Junior
Marvin Price led the Catamounts with a career-best 17 points followed by classmate
Madison Monroe with a career-high of 13. Freshman
Marcus Banks and graduate student
Cam Bacote both added 12 points with graduate student
Nicholas Robinson and sophomore
Josh Massey each contributing 11. Massey's 11 points are a new career-best. Junior
Marlow Gilmore pulled down a career-best 11 rebounds. Of Gilmore's 11 rebounds, nine came on the offensive glass. A total of 12 players contributed offensively in the season-high output.
Jerry Daye led Warren Wilson with 22 points. Daye was just 4-for-15 from the field but made 12 of 13 free throw attempts.
The Owls opened the game on a 6-2 run before a pair of Robinson free throws gave WCU a 9-8 lead with 15:43 to play. After Daye was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three awarded free throws at the 15:43 mark, a Banks 3-pointer started an 18-0 run capped by a Price trey for a 27-11 lead with 11:46 to play in the opening half. Monroe gave the hosts a half-best 36-point lead, 51-15 at the 2:59 mark before the Owls closed the half on an 11-2 run for a 53-26 Catamount advantage at halftime.
Robinson opened the second half scoring with a 3-pointer 18 seconds into the frame. WCU led by no fewer than 31 points for the remainder of the game and got its final points of the night on a free throw by freshman
Max Rogers with 36 seconds left as the Waynesville, N.C. product tallied his first collegiate points.
The Catamounts finished the game 36-for-77 (46.8 percent) from the field, 18-for-38 (47.4 percent) behind the 3-point line, and 12-for-21 at the charity stripe. Warren Wilson was 12-for-52 (23.1 percent) from the field but 21-for-27 (77.8 percent) at the free throw line.
WCU hits the road on Saturday, heading to Spartanburg, S.C. to face USC Upstate at 6 p.m. The game will air on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live audio coverage on the Catamount Sports Network beginning at 5:30 p.m.
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