ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Trailing by 20 points early in the second half, fourth-seeded Western Carolina mounted a furious charge to force overtime before falling 83-80 to No. 1 seed Furman in the semifinal round of the 2023 Ingles Southern Conference Tournament at the Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville.
 
WCU drops to 18-15 on the season. Furman improves to 26-7 and advances to Monday's final against the winner of the second semifinal between No. 6 Wofford and No. 7 Chattanooga.
 
An 8-0 Paladins run early in the second half gave Furman a game-high 20-point, 53-33, lead with 17:19 remaining in regulation. However, the Catamounts battled back, trimming the deficit to 13, 58-45 after Tre Jackson sank a jumper with just under 12 minutes to play.
 
Furman led 62-47 at the midpoint of the half before a 9-0 Catamount spurt capped by a Tyzhaun Claude dunk brought WCU within six, 62-56 with 7:14 remaining in regulation. Furman pushed its lead back to double digits, 66-56, the Catamounts again mounted a run, outscoring Furman 9-1 capped by a Woolbright layup to close to within two 67-65 at the 3:28 mark. Furman pushed its lead back to five, 70-65 after Bothwell made one of two free throws with 2:14 left. The Catamounts then used a 7-0 spurt, taking a 72-70 lead on a Woolbright layup with just 38 seconds left. Furman evened the game with two Bothwell free throws and a late jumper by Russell Jones Jr. at the buzzer was off the mark to force overtime.
 
The Catamounts struck first in the extra period as Jackson hit a 3-pointer on the opening possession. Claude put WCU ahead 79-77 with 1:30 left before Bothwell was fouled on a 3-point attempt on the next Furman possession, sinking the first two free throws to even the game at 79. After being fouled with 49 seconds left, Woolbright made the second of two free throw attempts before Pegues was fouled and sank two free throws for an 81-80 Furman lead with 28 seconds remaining. On WCU's next possession, Jackson missed a jumper and Furman grabbed a defensive rebound. Two additional Bothwell free throws proved to be the game's final points.
 
Jackson attempted one final shot with two seconds left, but it fell short and although WCU grabbed the offensive rebound, time expired before another shot attempt.
 
Vonterius Woolbright tied his career-high with a game-best 30 points and posted his seventh double-double of the year with 11 rebounds. The Albany, Ga. native finished 11-for-19 from the field and made 8 of 10 free throw attempts. Woolbright finished in double figures for the 23^rd time this season and surpassed the 20-point plateau for the sixth game this season and seventh in his WCU career.
 
Tre Jackson tallied 22 points as he made seven field goals along with four 3-pointers. Tyzhaun Claude logged his 11^th double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Mike Bothwell led Furman with 26 points and was joined in double figures by JP Pegues with 24, Jalen Slawson with 15, and Garrett Hien with 12.
 
Tied at two just over a minute into the game, Furman used a 7-0 spurt for a 9-2 advantage at the under-16 media timeout of the first half. WCU outscored the Paladins 9-3 over the next four minutes, grabbing a 13-12 advantage thanks to a DJ Campbell jumper with 11:17 remaining. After a pair of Woolbright free throws evened the game at 17, Furman tallied four straight points for a 21-17 lead and held a 32-22 edge thanks to a Bothwell 3-pointer with 5:47 to play. A pair of Woolbright free throws brought WCU within eight but Furman extended its advantage to a half-best 16 points and took a 45-30 lead into halftime, setting up the second half.
 
WCU outrebounded Furman 46-36. For the game, the Catamounts were 30-for-68 (44.1 percent) from the field, 5-for-21 (23.8 percent) behind the 3-point line, and 15-for-19 (78.9 percent) at the free throw line. Furman was 23-for-59 (39 percent) from the field, 7-for-31 (22.6 percent) behind the arc, and 30-for-46 (65.2 percent) at the charity stripe.
 
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