CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Russell Jones Jr. sparked Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon, scoring a career-high 23 points and spearheading a stifling defensive effort that held the visiting Mercer Bears to a season-low 45 points as the Catamounts earned a 73-45 Southern Conference win on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center on Saturday night.
 
Jones eclipsed the 20 point plateau for a second-straight in helping the Catamounts to a third-consecutive SoCon victory, eclipsing his previous career-best of 21 scored in the road win at ETSU in the midweek.
 
WCU improves to 10-7 overall and 3-1 in SoCon play. The 3-1 start matches the best opening four-game stretch in league action for the Catamounts since the 2019-20 season. Mercer drops to 7-10 and 0-4.
 
Jones Jr.'s 23 points are the most scored by a WCU player this season. He finished 9-for-13 from the field, 4-for-6 behind the 3-point line, and 1-for-2 at the free throw line. The Blythewood, S.C., native also dished out two assists and grabbed three steals. Tyzhaun Claude tallied 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Vonterius Woolbright narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds, adding six assists.
 
Shawn Walker, Jr. led Mercer with 13 points. Kamar Robertson tallied eight points and pulled down a team-best four rebounds.
 
Trailing 20-15 following a David Craig jumper with 4:31 to play in the opening stanza, Jones Jr. hit a jumper just outside the paint to bring the Catamounts within three, 20-17 at the 4:10 mark. On the ensuing Mercer possession, Jones Jr. stole the ball from Mercer's Jordan Jones as he was dribbling toward halfcourt and made a layup to trim the Bear lead to a point. The next Mercer possession had the same result with WCU's Jones Jr. picking his counterpart's pocket and converting the steal into a layup that put the Catamounts ahead 21-20 with 3:36 to play. WCU would not trail the rest of the game and carried a 31-23 lead into halftime.
 
The Catamounts opened the second half on a 9-2 run as a Claude free throw put the hosts ahead 40-27 just over three minutes into the half. Jones Jr. pushed the WCU lead to 47-29 thanks to a layup at the 13-minute mark. Claude put the Catamounts ahead by a game-high 28 points, 63-35, as he completed a three-point play with 4:58 remaining.  WCU led by 28 points on two separate occasions down the stretch, the final one being the game's final points as a result of a pair of Elijah Cupples free throws with 37 seconds remaining.
 
Mercer held a 7-4 lead at the under-16 media timeout as all of WCU's points came as a result of free throws. The Bears led 14-8 following a Glisson III 3-pointer with just under 11 minutes to play and continued to be ahead leading up to Craig's basket.
 
For the game, WCU finished 27-for-57 (47.4 percent) from the field, 9-for-21 (42.9 percent) behind the 3-point line, and 10-for-18 (55.6 percent) at the free throw line. Saturday's game was the first victory for the WCU this season with fewer than 10 made 3-pointers. Mercer was 18-for-60 (30 percent) from the field, 2-for-13 (15.4 percent) behind the arc, and 7-for-14 (50 percent) at the free throw line. WCU outrebounded Mercer 46-30 and tallied 34 points in the paint.
 
WCU hits the road for a pair of games next week beginning with a 7 p.m. matchup at Chattanooga on Wednesday.
 
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