CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Tyzhaun Claude scored a career-best 24 points to lead Western Carolina in an 85-77 setback against Samford on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center on Wednesday evening.

Samford improves to 15-9 overall and 9-2 in the Southern Conference while WCU evens its record at 12-12 and is 5-6 in league games.

Claude surpassed his previous career-best of 21 points accomplished on two occasions, going 8-for-15 from the field and 8-for-11 at the free throw line. He also snagged five rebounds.

Vonterius Woolbright finished in double figures with 16 points, followed by Russell Jones Jr with 14 and Tre Jackson with 10. Woolbright also collected five rebounds and had a team-best five assists.

Logan Dye led three Samford players in double figures with 24 points. AJ Staton-McCray recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Ques Glover tallied 17 points.

The Catamounts opened the game on an 8-2 run and led 18-11 after a Claude free throw with 12:15 remaining in the first half. Samford tallied five consecutive points to pull within two, 18-16, before a Colin Granger layup pushed the WCU lead back to 23-16 with just over nine minutes to go. With WCU holding a 27-22 advantage at the 6:01 mark, Samford went on an 11-2 run as the Bulldogs led 33-29 thanks to a Jermaine Marshall layup with 2:40 remaining. The Bulldogs led 42-33 at halftime as Glover hit a 3-pointer in the final three seconds.

Samford's second half lead stayed between four and nine points in the first five minutes with a Jaden Campbell bucket putting the visitors ahead 54-46 with 13:54 remaining. The Catamounts battled back, evening the contest at 62 as Woolbright made the first of two free throw attempts. Samford regained the lead on its next possession but the Catamounts drew even at 64 on a Claude jumper.

Following the under-eight media timeout, an AJ Staton-McCray layup put Samford back on top and after a missed Catamount shot, Glover was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three ensuing free throws. Samford led by seven, 75-68, at the 3:49 mark but the Catamounts crept to within four points, 75-71, with just under two minutes to play. A Glover 3-pointer on the next Bulldog possession extended the Samford lead to seven and WCU would get no closer than six points in the waning moments.

The Bulldogs outrebounded WCU 38-26. Samford finished 29-for-55 (52.7 percent) from the field, 6-for-17 (35.3 percent) on 3-point attempts, and 21-for-24 (87.5 percent) at the free throw line. WCU was 26-for-57 (45.6 percent) from the field, 6-for-21 (28.6 percent) behind the arc, and 19-for-28 (67.9 percent) at the free throw line.

The Catamounts remain at home on Saturday, hosting Chattanooga at 2 p.m. in the front end of a hoops doubleheader with the women's basketball team. Saturday's men's game will be televised over-the-air on the Nexstar family of stations (check local listings) and will be available through ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with audio on the Catamount Sports Network.
 
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