CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina men's basketball concludes the 2021-22 regular season on Saturday night as the Catamounts welcome VMI to Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
Graduate student
Nicholas Robinson as well as senior managers Robert Cline and Thomas Lefler will be honored in a ceremony prior to the game, Additionally, WCU Hall of Fame member Ronnie Carr will be recognized at Saturday's game in commemoration of the first 3-point basket in NCAA history.
Admission to the game between Catamounts and Keydets is $11 for adults and $6 for youth 12 and under. Kids 2 and under get in free. WCU students gain free admission to the game by showing their Cat Card at the Northwest Entrance and are encouraged to sit in the Cat Cage student section located in sections QR.
WCU will no longer require face coverings indoors effective Saturday, Feb. 26. Those who feel more comfortable or safe while wearing a face covering are encouraged to continue doing so at their discretion. All members of the campus community are reminded to be patient and show respect for the personal decision each person makes with respect to face coverings.
See WCU's Clear Bag policy and game day parking maps located in the right column.
WCU enters Saturday's game with a 10-20 season record and a 4-13 Southern Conference mark following a 73-64 setback at UNCG on Wednesday. Freshman
Marcus Banks paced the Catamounts with 13 points followed by
Joe Petrakis with 11 and
Marlow Gilmore with 10. For Gilmore, Wednesday marked his third straight game in double figures after scoring 10 or more points just once prior, averaging 14.7 points per game during the last three games.
VMI is 16-13 overall and 9-8 in the SoCon after an 83-72 home loss to Wofford on Wednesday night. Trey Bonham and Honor Huff both tallied 20 points to lead the Keydets, who were without leading scorer Jake Stephens after he suffered an injury in a win at Chattanooga last Saturday. The Keydets come to Cullowhee mired in a three-way tie for fourth in the SoCon standings at 9-8, tied with UNCG and Wofford, and are a game up on Mercer (8-9) for the final first-round cutoff position for the conference tournament. VMI leads the SoCon with an average of 79.6 points per game and ranks first nationally in three-point field goals per game with 12.6.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live Catamount Sports Network audio coverage commencing at 6:30 p.m., streaming online at CatamountSports.com and can be heard locally on 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC, The River and online at WRGC.com.
The Catamounts and Keydets have met 65 previous times with WCU holding a 36-29 edge in the all-time series. VMI defeated WCU 76-69 in Lexington, Va., on Feb. despite Robinson recording just the third triple-double in WCU's Division I era with 19 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. In that meeting, the Catamounts built a 13-point second-half lead but saw a furious late rally by the Keydets at home to thwart WCU's bid for the road conference victory.
WCU will be the No. 10 seed in the 2022 Ingles Southern Conference Championship and will play a to-be-determined opponent at approximately 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the tournament on Friday, March 4 at Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville.
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.
