CULLOWHEE, N.C. –
Vonterius Woolbright recorded the fourth triple-double in Western Carolina's NCAA Division I men's basketball era with 14 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds as the Catamounts closed out the 2022-23 regular season with an 85-66 victory over VMI on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
WCU concludes the regular season with a 17-14 mark and clinched the No. 4 seed in next weekend's Ingles Southern Conference Tournament with a 10-8 league mark. VMI
drops to 7-24 and 2-16. A season-high 3,586 fans witnessed the contest.
Woolbright joins
Nicholas Robinson (Feb. 4, 2022 at VMI) and Mason Faulkner (Nov. 12, 2019 vs NC A&T and Feb. 26, 2020 vs Samford) as Catamount players with triple-doubles according to available records. Woolbright tied his career-high with 11 assists and of his 10 rebounds, nine were on the defensive glass.
Tre Jackson led the Catamounts with 22 points and was joined in double figures by
Tyzhaun Claude with 18 points and
DJ Campbell with 11.
Cam Bacote,
Marlow Gilmore, and
Tyler Harris were each honored in Senior Day festivities prior to tip-off.
Tyler Houser paced VMI with a game-high 26 points, Asher Woods (16), Taeshaud Jackson (12), and Rickey Bradley (10) also finished in double figures for the Keydets.
VMI grabbed its largest lead of the game at six points, 11-5, following a Woods 3-pointer at the 15:30 mark of the opening half. WCU cut the deficit to one, 11-10, thanks to a Jackson 3-pointer just under a minute later before the Keydets pushed their lead back to six points and led 19-13 at the midpoint of the period. A pair of Campbell free throws tied the contest at 21 with 7:45 to play but Woods put the visitors ahead 32-29 with 2:09 remaining thanks to a pair of free throws. WCU closed out the half on a 10-0 run as
Bernard Pelote beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer to send the Catamounts into halftime with a 39-32 lead.
A Campbell jumper gave WCU an early 41-32 second half lead but the Keydets answered with a 12-2 run as Bradley gave the visitors a 44-43 advantage with 15:55 left. Clinging to a 48-47 lead following a Houser bucket at the 14:28 mark, the Catamounts went on a 21-6 run capped by a Jackson jumper to go ahead 69-53 with just under eight minutes to play. WCU led by as many as 24 points down the stretch.
WCU outrebounded VMI 37-34. The Catamounts finished 27-for-55 (49.1 percent) from the field, 14-for-28 (50 percent) behind the 3-point line, and 17-for-19 (89.5 percent) at the free throw line. VMI finished 24-for-69 (34.8 percent) from the field, 11-for-35 (31.4 percent) behind the arc, and 7-for-8 (87.5 percent) at the free throw line.
The Catamounts will face No. 5 seed ETSU in the Ingles Southern Conference Tournament quarterfinals at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville on March 4 at 2:30 p.m. WCU swept the regular season series against the Bucs for the first time since the 1984-85 season.
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