CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina closes out the 2020-21 regular season on Saturday as the Catamounts host Mercer at the Ramsey Regional Activity Center at 1 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required) with live audio available on the Catamount Sports Network beginning at 12:30 p.m.
Prior to Saturday's game, WCU seniors
Mason Faulkner,
Matt Halvorsen, and
Marcus Thomas will be honored in a special pregame ceremony.
With a win over the Bears, WCU would secure the #9 seed at next week's Ingles Southern Conference Tournament presented by General Shale and a matchup with #8 seed The Citadel at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 5. A loss would relegate WCU to the #10 seed and a contest with #7 seed VMI at 7:30 p.m. Either match-up will be streamed on ESPN+
(paid subscription required) with audio from the Catamount Sports Network beginning 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
WCU is 10-15 overall and 3-13 in the Southern Conference following an 81-80 upset win at then league-leading UNCG on Wednesday. Faulkner scored a WCU season-best 28 points including the game-winning 3-pointer with under a minute to go. Halvorsen and junior
Kameron Gibson both finished with 15 points while junior
Cory Hightower just missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Mercer brings a 15-9 overall mark and an 8-8 league record to Cullowhee after an 81-77 overtime win at home against Chattanooga on Monday. Ross Cummings had a Senior Night to remember as he sank a 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds left in regulation to force overtime and led the Bears with 14 points in the win. Mercer has won two-straight games and three of their last four entering Saturday's regular-season finale.
Saturday's game is the 22
nd overall meeting between the schools with Mercer holding a slim 11-10 edge in the series thanks to a 78-76 win in Macon on Jan. 16. In that contest, the Bears raced out to a 21-point lead in the first half and held off a late Catamount charge to secure the win. WCU tied the game with 68 seconds remaining but Mercer used four made free-throws late to escape with the victory.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount basketball and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountMBB).
