CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Travion McCray made a pair of 3-pointers inside of 14 seconds remaining but a late Western Carolina rally fell just short in a 73-72 loss to UNC Asheville on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center on Saturday afternoon.

UNC Asheville improves to 6-4 while Western Carolina drops to 6-5. The Bulldogs snap a four-game WCU winning streak in the series, earning their first win in Cullowhee since 2007.

Nicholas Robinson paced the Catamounts with 15 points followed by Joe Petrakis with 13 and Vonterius Woolbright with 10. Woolbright narrowly missed a double-double with a team-best nine rebounds.

Drew Pember scored a game-high 19 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, 12 of which were on the defensive glass. Pember was 6-for-15 from the field and 4-for-4 at the free throw line including the game-winning free throws with nine seconds remaining. LJ Thorpe also logged 19 points, going 7-for-14 from the field and 3-for-4 behind the arc. Tajion Jones also finished in double figures with 12 points.

A Marvin Price layup at the 14:45 mark gave WCU a 9-3 advantage. UNC Asheville answered with a 17-4 run, taking a 20-14 advantage on a Coty Jude jumper with 9:03 remaining. WCU battled back, trimming the deficit to three, 27-24, with a Petrakis dunk at the 5:24 mark. A Thorpe layup sparked a 7-0 Bulldog run for a game-high 10-point lead, 34-24, with 3:40 to play. WCU closed the half on a 9-3 run, heading into halftime trailing 37-33 after Tyler Harris made a layup before time expired.

A Pember 3-pointer opened the second half scoring for a half-best seven-point lead, 40-33 with 18:19 to play. WCU battled back, taking a 50-47 advantage on a Marcus Banks layup at the 11:16 mark. Tied at 54, the Catamounts tallied four straight with a Petrakis dunk giving the hosts a 58-54 lead with just over seven minutes left. Pember tallied four straight points to even the score at 58 as the teams traded the lead four times over the next two minutes with UNC Asheville leading 62-61 at the under-four media timeout.

Robinson drained a 3-pointer to bring WCU within three, 65-64, with 2:58 to play before a 6-2 UNC Asheville spurt gave the Bulldogs a 71-66 lead with 31 seconds left. Travion McCray hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to bring WCU within two before Pember was fouled with nine seconds to play and made both free throws for a 73-69 lead. McCray hit a 3-pointer with just over one second remaining with a foul sending Jamon Battle to the free throw line. Battle missed both free throws and the Catamounts grabbed the defensive rebound, but time expired before WCU could attempt a shot.

WCU outrebounded UNC Asheville 42-34 and outscored the Bulldogs 44-28 in the paint. UNC Asheville finished 27-for-60 from the field (45.0 percent), 12-for-30 (40 percent) behind the arc, and 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) at the free throw line. The Catamounts were 28-for-65 (43.1 percent) from the field, 6-for-22 (27.3 percent) behind the arc, and 10-for-16 (62.5 percent) at the charity stripe.

Following Saturday's game, WCU pauses for final exams until Dec. 20, when it heads to Georgia for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The game will be streamed on SEC Network Plus (paid subscription required) with audio coverage on the Catamount Sports Network beginning at 6:30 p.m.
 
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