CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Vonterius Woolbright scored a team-best 22 points and
Tyzhaun Claude posted his sixth double-double of the season, but Western Carolina was unable to get a basket late in a 65-61 setback at The Citadel on Saturday afternoon inside McAlister Field House.
The Citadel improves to 7-11 overall and 2-4 in league games while WCU drops to 10-9 and 3-3.
Woolbright's 22-point output comes on the heels of a career-best 24 points at Chattanooga on Wednesday. The Albany, Ga. native finished 9-for-18 from the field and made four of five free throw attempts. Additionally, he grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists.
Claude's sixth double-double came after he scored 17 points and grabbed a career-best 17 rebounds, 10 of which came on the defensive glass. Claude's 17 rebounds are the most in a game for a WCU player since Carlos Dotson grabbed 16 rebounds at Wake Forest during the 2018-19 season. According to available records, the last Catamount player to finish with more than 17 rebounds in a game was Andre Gault with 21 against Ferrum on Jan. 7, 1988.
Stephen Clark paced The Citadel with 28 points, eight rebounds, and five blocks. Jackson Price tallied 13 points followed by Austin Ash with 11.
The Catamounts scored the first six points of the game and led 8-5 thanks to a Woolbright bucket with 13:36 left. After a
DJ Campbell jumper put WCU ahead 12-7 at the 9:39 mark, The Citadel used a 10-0 run capped by a Tony Carpio free throw to lead 17-12 with 6:15 remaining. During the run, the Bulldogs made a trio of 3-pointers. WCU battled back over the next two minutes and tied the contest at 19 thanks to a
Tyler Harris 3-pointer with just over four minutes to play. The teams traded the lead three times down the stretch with a Jackson Price 3-pointer sending the Bulldogs into halftime leading 26-25.
WCU opened the half on a 5-0 spurt, grabbing a 30-26 lead with a Claude layup with 17:51 remaining. The Citadel answered with an 8-2 run capped by an Ashe 3-pointer to lead 34-32 and prompting a WCU timeout with just over 16 minutes left. Both teams went cold over the next four minutes before a Clark 3-pointer put the hosts ahead by five, 41-36, at the 12:18 mark.
The Citadel led 46-41 at the midpoint of the frame and twice led by a game-high seven points with the second occurrence coming after a pair of Carpio free throws with 6:58 to play gave the Bulldogs a 52-45 lead. The Bulldog lead stayed between two and five points for the next four-plus minutes before a Woolbright layup brought WCU within one, 62-61, with 2:20 to go. After Clark hit a jumper with 68 seconds left for a 64-61 lead, the Catamounts missed a 3-point attempt, and the Bulldogs grabbed the rebound but Claude swatted blocked a layup and grabbed the rebound. Ash swatted WCU's game-tying 3-point attempt with six seconds left with Clark grabbing the rebound and making one of two free throws to seal the win.
Both teams finished at 39.3 percent from the field. WCU was 4-for-25 (16 percent) behind the arc and 9-for-11 (81.8 percent) at the free throw line. The Citadel went 9-for-21 (42.9 percent) on 3-point attempts and was 12-for-14 (85.7 percent) at the charity stripe. WCU held a 42-33 edge in rebounds.
The Catamounts return to the friendly confines of Ingles Court in the Ramsey Center on Wednesday for a "Blackout Game" where WCU will wear its alternate black uniforms. Fans are encouraged to wear their black WCU gear to the game with the first 400 students receiving a free Blackout game T-shirt. At halftime, the ever-popular Zooperstars will perform.
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).
