CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Western Carolina men's basketball team returned to Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center for the first time in two weeks on Saturday, but the Catamounts were tripped up by Samford as the Bulldogs emerged with a 74-64 victory.
Samford improves to 13-8 overall and 3-6 in Southern Conference games while Western Carolina drops to 8-14 and 2-7.
Tyler Harris paced the Catamount offense with 14 points, going 6-for-11 from the field.
Joe Petrakis also finished in double figures with 12 points.
Nicholas Robinson narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. He also swatted two blocks.
Cam Bacote also contributed nine points.
Jermaine Marshall led five Samford players in double figures with 18 points. Jaron Rillie added 15 points, followed by Ques Glover with 13 along with Jaden Campbell and Wesley Cardet with 11 each.
The Bulldogs won the opening tip and quickly got on the scoreboard as Rillie sank a 3-pointer eight seconds into the game as the Bulldogs sprinted out to an early 5-1 lead. WCU answered with an 8-0 run as a Harris dunk at the 15:40 mark put the hosts ahead 9-5. With the game tied at 13, Samford went on a 14-3 run as a Campbell 3-pointer gave them a 27-17 advantage with just over eight minutes left in the half. WCU cut the deficit to two, 28-26, after
Marlow Gilmore made a layup with 6:24 to play before the Bulldogs reeled off five straight points and took a 38-31 lead into halftime.
WCU opened the second half with a pair of 3-pointers in the first two minutes to pull within a point and prompting a Samford timeout. The Catamounts continued their momentum, tying the game at 44 with 14:10 left as
Vonterius Woolbright completed a three-point play. Samford broke a 46-all tie with four straight points and after a Harris 3-pointer brought the hosts within one, 50-49, the Bulldogs went on a 9-2 spurt for a 59-51 advantage with just shy of nine minutes left. Gilmore's layup with 5:13 to go brought the Catamounts within five, 66-61, but WCU would only hit one more shot for the remainder of the game with free throws sealing the win for Samford in the final two minutes.
For the game, Samford finished 23-for-56 (41.1 percent) from the field and 6-for-16 (37.5 percent) behind the 3-point line but made 22 of 25 (88 percent) of their free throw attempts. The Catamounts went 21-for-61 (34.4 percent) from the field, 9-for-37 (24.3 percent) in 3-point attempts, and 13-for-19 (68.4 percent) at the free throw line. Samford held a 39-33 advantage in rebounds.
The Catamounts remain at home on Wednesday, hosting ETSU at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network with a 6:30 p.m. broadcast time with video coverage through ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
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