SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Western Carolina men's basketball returned to the hardwood for the first time in a week, limiting USC Upstate to a season-low 53 points as the Catamounts picked up the 70-53 nonconference road win over the Spartans at the G.B. Hodge Center. Tre Jackson led the Catamounts as one of three players in double figures en route to the victory.
Jackson poured in 17 points, connecting on a team-high five threes and he pulled down five rebounds in the contest. Vonterius Woolbright posted his seventh double-double of the season with 15 points and a team-high 16 rebounds, adding eight assists in the win. Woolbright matched his season-high with 16 boards, a mark set earlier this season against Tennessee Tech.
Russell Jones Jr. added 13 points while connecting on three 3-pointers for WCU. D.J. Campbell just missed double-figures, adding nine points along with a pair of boards, and along with Kamar Robertson, the pair had two steals apiece to lead the Catamounts.
The 53 points the WCU defense allowed is the fewest in a victory since holding Mercer to 45 in a 73-45 win on January 7, 2023, in Cullowhee.
Trae Broadnax led the Spartans with 18 points as he connected on 7-of-12 field goals for the hosts while making his lone 3-pointer. Broadnax also led the way for Upstate with four assists. Ahmir Langlais tallied 13 points along with a team-high eight rebounds. Broadnax, Justin Bailey, and Floyd Rideau Jr. had a pair of steals for USC Upstate.
USC Upstate got the early basket in Saturday's action before an 8-0 burst by WCU, which was spurred by a pair of threes from Jackson, allowed the Catamounts to gain an 8-2 edge with 15:55 to play in the opening half.
Coming out of the media break, WCU put a quick four points on the board before a 7-4 spurt from the Spartans allowed the hosts to make it 16-9 with 11:39 to play in the half. The two teams went back and forth over the next two minutes before a 7-2 run from WCU extended the Catamounts lead to 13, 30-17 with 4:24 to play before the half.
Upstate pushed back in a big way with the games next nine points to cut the advantage for Western Carolina down to four, 30-26, with 1:40 to play. Woolbright closed the half, scoring five unanswered points as WCU scored five of the final seven points to take a 35-28 lead to the break.
The teams traded small bursts out of the gates in the second half with most of the scoring coming from the free throw line before 14 straight points from WCU allowed the Catamounts to claim a 52-32 edge with 13:38 to play in the second half. USC Upstate battled back with a 10-2 spurt to cut it to a 54-42 lead for the guests with 10:12 to play.
WCU answered with a pair of Jones Jr. threes and a Colin Granger hook shot that allowed the Catamounts to push the lead to 20, 62-42 with 5:55 to play in regulation.
The Spartans used an 8-4 run to cut the margin to 16, 66-50 with 1:26 to go but could not get it any closer as the Catamounts closed out the 70-53 victory.
Western Carolina posted a 47.5% (28-of-59) shooting performance from the floor while limiting USC Upstate to 35.2% (19-of-54). The two teams had a big separation shooting in the second half as WCU went 14-of-27 (51.9%) compared to 8-of-27 (29.6%) for the Spartans. The Catamounts doubled up the Upstste from beyond the arc, making eight threes compared to four from the Spartans.
USC Upstate connected on 11-of-15 free throws, while Western Carolina made only 6-of-16 at the charity stripe. Led by 16 boards from Woolbright, the Catamounts won the rebounding battle by seven, 40-33. The Catamounts doubled up the Spartans in assists by the count of 12-6. WCU controlled the scoring in the paint by 10, 34-24, while outscoring the Spartans by eight, 19-11 in points off turnovers.
The Catamounts return to action on Tuesday night with a trip to Nashville to battle SEC foe Vanderbilt, as the tip is set for 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT. Tuesday's game will be broadcast on the SEC Network Plus (paid subscription required), with live stats available online through CatamountSports.com. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT.
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