SPARTANBURG, S.C. –
Nicholas Robinson's 3-pointer with 2:36 to play gave Western Carolina the lead as the Catamounts emerged with a 78-73 win over USC Upstate in a back-and-forth affair inside Eddie & Ann Payne Arena at the G.B. Hodge Center.
WCU improves to 5-4 on the season while USC Upstate drops to 2-6.
Robinson paced the Catamounts with 14 points followed by
Travion McCray with 12,
Marcus Banks and
Marvin Price with 11 each, and
Cam Bacote with 10.
Marlow Gilmore grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Jalen Breazeale, Jordan Gainey, and Bryson Mozone led USC Upstate with 15 points each. Mysta Goodloe also finished in double figures with 10 points. Josh Aldrich pulled down a team-best nine rebounds.
Upstate opened the game on a 6-2 run before a Robinson 3-pointer brought WCU within one at the 17:48 mark. After Breazeale completed a three-point play for an 11-9 advantage at the under-16 media timeout, WCU answered with a
Tyler Harris 3-pointer for a 12-11 lead. White answered with a 3-pointer for the Spartans on their next possession and the hosts held a 19-18 advantage at the midpoint of the half. With the Spartans holding a 24-20 lead, WCU went on a 16-3 run capped by a pair of
Josh Massey free throws for a 36-27 lead with 4:45 to play. Upstate answered with a 9-0 run and evened the contest at 36 at the 2:01 mark. The Catamounts led 43-39 at halftime.
A Mozone 3-pointer opened the second half scoring to bring the Spartans within a point before WCU went on a 10-3 run to lead 53-45 with just over 16 minutes remaining. Upstate answered with a 9-0 run, retaking the lead with a Carter Jernigan jumper with 13:27 to play. Bacote put WCU back in front on the next Catamount possession with neither team leading by more than three points for the next six minutes.
Banks drained a 3-pointer to even the contest at 66 with 6:27 to go only to have a Gainey 3-pointer put the Spartans back on top on their next possession. With Upstate leading 71-68, Robinson made the first of two free throw attempts with 3:19 remaining and put the Catamounts ahead for good on a 3-pointer with 2:34 left. Bacote extended the WCU lead to 74-71 with 94 seconds left and Harris sank a crucial jumper for a 76-71 lead with 36 seconds left. The Spartans cut the WCU lead to 76-73 after two Goodloe free throws and had the ball following a WCU offensive foul with 26 seconds left, but Gainey missed the game-tying 3-pointer and McCray corralled the defensive rebound and secured the win with free throws.
The contest featured six ties and 17 lead changes with no team leading by more than nine points. WCU finished 26-for-59 (44.1 percent) from the field and 10-for-28 (35.7 percent) behind the 3-point line. USC Upstate made 27-of-57 (47.4 percent) field goal attempts and 10-of-27 (37 percent) of its 3-point attempts. Free throws proved crucial as the Catamounts finished 16-for-22 (72.7 percent) at the stripe compared to a 9-for-17 (52.9 percent ) mark for the Spartans.
The Catamounts are home for a pair of games next week, facing Tennessee Tech on Wednesday (Dec. 8) at 7 p.m. followed by a 2 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 11) matinee against mountain rival UNC Asheville. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required) with Catamount Sports Network coverage beginning 30 minutes before tip-off.
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