CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Nicholas Robinson led five Western Carolina players in double figures with 19 points as the Catamounts began the Southern Conference portion of their season with a 94-90 overtime win against The Citadel on Wednesday on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
 
WCU evens its season record at 7-7 and improves to 1-0 in league play while The Citadel drops to 6-6 and 0-1. The win is the third overtime victory for the Catamounts in as many games this season.
 
Robinson tallied a team-best 19 points followed by Marcus Banks with 18 points. Vonterius Woolbright tied his career-high of 17 points for the second straight game. Tyler Harris posted his first career double-double with a season-best 16 points along with 11 rebounds and Cam Bacote added 12 points.
 
Tyler Moffe led six players in double figures for The Citadel with 19 points. David Maynard (17), Rudy Fitzgibbons III (15), Hayden Brown (14), Stephen Clark (12), and Jason Roche (12) each finished in double figures. Maynard grabbed a team-best seven rebounds.
 
With WCU trailing 73-68 with just under four minutes left in regulation, Harris brought WCU within three on a layup at the 3:21 mark and then tied the contest as he drained a 3-pointer with 2:19 to play. Roche answered with a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession for the Bulldogs to put them back in front before Robinson again knotted the contest at 79 with 1:07 to play with a triple if his own. Maynard gave The Citadel an 81-79 advantage on a layup with 41 seconds left before Robinson hit a jumper for WCU nine seconds later.
 
Following the Catamount defense forces a shot clock violation for The Citadel, Robinson heaved a 3-point attempt with less than a second left, but it fell short to send the game to overtime.
 
A Banks 3-pointer put the hosts ahead 87-83 at the 3:02 mark in the extra session before Fitzgibbons brought The Citadel within one, 87-86, on a trey with 1:53 to play. Woolbright made the first of two free throw attempts for a 92-87 WCU lead with 23 seconds left, but the Bulldogs didn't go quietly as Maynard buried a corner three to pull the visitors within a pair with 12 seconds left. 
 
Price secured the win for the Catamounts as he calmly sank a pair of free throws with six seconds left and grabbed a defensive rebound on a Fitzgibbons 3-pointer just before time expired.
 
The win snapped a three- game slide for WCU while relegated the Bulldogs to a third-consecutive seasonal defeat.
 
The Catamounts opened the game on an 11-2 run following a Bacote 3-pointer with 17:08 to go in the first half. The Citadel chipped away at the WCU lead, pulling within one, 21-20 on a Maynard layup just before the midpoint of the half and took a 25-24 edge after a Moffe 3-pointer at the 8:03 mark. WCU responded with an 8-2 spurt as Banks put the hosts ahead 32-27 with 5:32 to go. After Brown sank a pair of free throws to make the score 32-29 with 4:26 to play, the Catamounts closed the half on a 12-6 run and led 44-35 at halftime.
 
The Citadel opened the second half on an 11-3 run, tying the game at 46 as Fitzgibbons drained a 3-pointer just over three minutes into the frame. Brown gave The Citadel their largest lead of the game, 62-54, on a layup at the 9:44 mark. WCU responded with a 12-2 run, tying the contest at 66 with 6:38 to go on a Banks 3-pointer. The Bulldogs tallied seven of the next nine points to set the stage for the exciting finish to regulation.
 
For the game, The Citadel finished 32-of-64 (50 percent) from the field, 17-of-38 (44.7 percent) behind the 3-point line, and 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) at the free throw line. WCU was 28-of-75 (37.3 percent) from the field, 15-of-41 (36.6 percent) behind the arc, and 23-of-30 (76.7 percent) at the charity stripe. WCU outrebounded The Citadel 44-38 including an 18-8 edge on the offensive glass.
 
The Catamounts hit the road for their next two games, traveling to Samford on Saturday for a 3 p.m. Eastern /2 p.m. Central contest followed by a 7 p.m. rescheduled matchup at ETSU on Monday, Jan. 10.

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