CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Marlow Gilmore led three Western Carolina players in double figures with a career-best 19 points as Western Carolina erased an eight-point second half deficit to earn a 69-65 win over Mercer on Saturday afternoon on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
 
WCU improves to 10-19 overall and 4-12 in the Southern Conference, halting a five-game slide while Mercer drops to 15-14 and 8-8.
 
Gilmore improved upon his previous career-best of 15 points against Furman on Wednesday with a game-high 19 as he went 9-for-11 from the field and snagged seven rebounds. Marvin Price finished in double figures with 16 points followed by Vonterius Woolbright with 11. Woolbright pulled down seven rebounds and dished out a game-high seven assists.
 
Felipe Haase and Jalen Johnson led Mercer with 16 points apiece. Shannon Grant led Mercer on the boards with six rebounds.
 
Mercer opened the game on a 10-2 run and took a game-high 14-point lead, 26-12, following a Haase jumper at the 9:17 mark. The Catamounts answered with a 17-5 run, cutting the Bears lead to 31-29 after a free throw by Gilmore at the 2:54 mark before intermission. James Glisson III hit two free throws with 68 seconds remaining in the opening stanza to send Mercer into halftime with a 33-29 edge.
 
Gilmore opened the second half scoring with a layup 28 seconds into the period to bring the hosts back within two. Mercer then extended its lead to six 41-35 after Johnson was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws at the 16:22 mark. Haase's jumper with 10:34 remaining put the Bears ahead eight, 52-44.
 
Price converted a three-point play to spark a 12-4 Catamount spurt with a pair of Tyler Harris free throws evening the contest at 56 with 6:38 to go.
 
A pair of thunderous Gilmore dunks put WCU ahead 60-56 before an 8-0 spurt handed Mercer a 64-60 lead before Vonterius Woolbright tied the game at 64 with 1:22 left. Haase was fouled on the next Mercer possession and made the second of two free throw attempts for a 65-64 lead with just over a minute to play. Woolbright then provided the go-ahead bucket after grabbing an offensive rebound and finishing with a layup with 49 seconds remaining. WCU's defense locked down the Mercer offense for the remainder of the game while clutch free throws sealed the win for the Catamounts.
 
WCU finished 27-for-55 (49.1 percent) from the field, 4-for-19 (21.1 percent) behind the 3-point line, and 11-for-19 at the free throw line (57.9 percent) Mercer went 20-for-54 (37 percent) from the field, 6-for-26 (23. 1 percent) on 3-point attempts, and 19-for-23 (82.6 percent) at the charity stripe. The Bears scored 32 points in the second half, with 12 of them coming at the free throw line. The Catamounts held a 34-31 edge in rebounds and won their third game of the year when trailing at halftime.
 
The Catamounts make their final road trip of the 2021-22 regular-season on Wednesday, venturing to in-state foe UNCG for a 7 p.m. tip-off inside the Greensboro Coliseum.
 
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