CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina shook off a sluggish start using a spirited defensive effort and a second half charge as the Catamounts earned a 70-59 victory over Southern Conference-leading Chattanooga on Wednesday on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
WCU improves to 8-9 overall and evens its conference record at 2-2, while Chattanooga drops to 13-4 and 3-1 in the SoCon.
Vonterius Woolbright posted his second double-double of the year with 14 points and tied a career-high 11 rebounds, all of which came on the defensive glass.
Nicholas Robinson led the Catamount offense with 15 points and was joined in double figures by
Marvin Price who poured in 13 points off the bench.
Malachi Smith paced Chattanooga with a game-high 33 points. Silvio DeSousa grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds for the Mocs before fouling out.
Trailing 30-26 at halftime and 32-26 after a DeSousa dunk opened second half scoring, the Catamounts whittled away at the deficit over the next five minutes. A Robinson layup brought WCU within one, 37-36, at the 14:26 mark before a Price 3-pointer gave the Catamounts their first lead of the game with 13:32 to play. After a pair of Smith free throws evened the contest at 43 with 10:40 left, WCU answered with an 11-3 run capped by a
Cam Bacote 3-pointer for a 54-46 lead with just under eight minutes left.
Marcus Banks sank two of three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt at the 5:55 mark for a 60-47 edge before the Mocs trimmed the Catamount advantage to single digits with a free throw at the 1:49 mark. Banks answered on the ensuing Catamount possession with a 3-pointer and WCU led by no less than 10 points the rest of the game.
Wednesday's win is the first for WCU this season when trailing at halftime.
Chattanooga opened the game on a 6-2 run and extended its lead to 13-4 after Darius Banks made the second of two free throws at the 13:03 mark of the opening half. Despite struggles from the floor for the Catamounts, the Mocs were unable to pull away as their lead hovered between four and seven points for nearly the next 10 minutes until Robinson hit two free throws at the 3:37 mark to bring WCU within a point, 23-22. Smith drained free throws with four seconds left to send the visitors into the locker room with the four-point lead.
Both teams grabbed 40 rebounds during the game. WCU finished 22-for-61 (36.1 percent) from the field, 6-for-24 (25 percent) behind the 3-point line, and 20-for-27 (74.1 percent) at the free throw line. Chattanooga went 17-for-54 (31.5 percent) from the field, 4-for-25 (16 percent) behind the arc, and 21-for-29 (72.4 percent) at the charity stripe. The Catamounts held Chattanooga to just six-of-24 (25 percent) from the field in the second half while making 13 of 29 attempts (44.8 percent).
The Catamounts welcome Wofford to Cullowhee on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the front end of a doubleheader with the WCU women's team (vs. Mercer, 5 pm). During the men's game, WCU will honor former men's basketball coach and WCU Athletics Hall of Fame member Jim Hartbarger, who guided the Catamounts to a pair of NAIA District 6 regular-season titles and a tournament championship between 1969 and 1975.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount men's basketball and WCU Athletics through our social media outlets on Facebook fb.com/catamountsports, Instagram @catamountmbb @wcu_catamounts, and Twitter @CatamountMBB @catamounts.
