CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Fresh off a thrilling overtime victory in its Southern Conference opener, Western Carolina tips off the road portion of its league schedule on Saturday as the Catamounts head to Samford for a 3 p.m. Eastern / 2 p.m. Central tip-off inside the Pete Hanna Center.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required). Free live stats are available via a link on CatamountSports.com.
WCU is 7-7 overall and 1-0 in SoCon action after Wednesday's 94-90 overtime win over The Citadel.
Nicholas Robinson led five Catamounts in double figures with 19 points, his seventh-consecutive double-digit scoring effort.
Tyler Harris posted his first career double-double with 16 points and tied a career-high with 11 rebounds. The win is the third overtime triumph for the Catamounts this season, each coming on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. Heading into Saturday's game the Catamounts rank second in the SoCon and fourth nationally with an average of 11.8 made 3-pointers per game.
Samford enters the weekend at 10-4 overall and winless in two league games after suffering an 83-80 loss at Mercer on Wednesday. The Bulldogs opened league play with an 81-49 setback at Furman on Dec. 29. Sophomore Ques Glover, a Florida transfer, leads the Bulldogs and is second in the SoCon in scoring with 19.6 points per game. Classmate Jermaine Marshall leads the league in offensive rebounds with 3.4 per game and is second in total rebounds with 8.9 per game. The Bulldogs possess road wins over Power 5 conference members Oregon State and Ole Miss but have lost nine straight SoCon contests.
Saturday's game is the 27th game between the schools with WCU holding a 14-12 series advantage. Samford won the lone meeting last season 82-78 in Birmingham on Jan. 18, 2021, after holding off a late Catamount comeback. The teams were scheduled to play in Cullowhee on Jan. 30, but saw the contest postponed and eventually canceled by COVID protocols.
Following Saturday's match-up, the Catamounts have a short turnaround by traveling to ETSU on Monday (Jan. 10) for a 7 p.m. tip-off in a rescheduled contest. That matchup will be streamed on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required) with Catamount Sports Network coverage commencing at 6:30 p.m.
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