Macon, Ga. –
Russell Jones Jr. and
Vonterius Woolbright led a trio of Catamounts in double figures with 14 points apiece as Western Carolina used a balanced offensive attack and solid defense to score its ninth-straight victory, claiming Saturday afternoon's low-scoring affair over Mercer, 64-52, in Southern Conference action at Hawkins Arena.
Jones Jr. connected on six of his 10 field goal attempts including a pair of 3-pointers while Woolbright tallied his NCAA lead-tying 14th double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds to guide the Catamounts to their eighth road win of the season. Woolbright added a team-high four assists.
Tre Jackson finished with 10 points, reaching double figures with a pair of late free throws that helped solidify the win.
Bernard Pelote and
DJ Campbell were key in the winning effort, both scoring eight points with Pelote adding eight rebounds. Post
Charles Lampten pulled down a career-best 11 rebounds including eight on the defensive end for the Catamounts who improved to 15-2 overall and 4-0 in SoCon play.
David Thomas scored 12 points and Jalyn McCreary added 11 to lead the Bears, who shot just 31.7% against WCU despite connecting on half – 7-of-14 – of their 3-point attempts. Mercer scored 31 of its 52 points off the bench on Saturday.
Neither team crested the 30-point mark in the opening 20 minutes as WCU carried a slim four-point, 29-25, edge into the halftime locker room. The two squads traded buckets back and forth in the first half until a pair of Woolbright free throws gave WCU the largest lead for either side at the halftime margin of four points inside the final two minutes.
Out of the locker room, a modest 6-to-1 spurt by the Catamounts pushed WCU's lead to nine just 90 seconds into the second half. Jones Jr. converted a steal into a layup at the 15:39 mark to hand the visitors the first double-digit lead of the game at 40-29 and ultimately cap the 11-to-4 run by WCU.
Mercer (8-9, 1-3 SoCon) clawed its way back to within six points, 40-34, around the 14:22 mark. The Catamounts then used a decisive 14-to-2 run to transform the two-possession lead into an 18-point advantage near the midpoint of the second half. Four players contributed points during WCU's run as Jones Jr. scored five points,
Corneilous Williams tallied four including a slam dunk, with Woolbright and
Colin Granger chipping in three and two, respectively.
Jackson hit a 3-pointer to hand the Catamounts a 15-point, 59-44, with five minutes to play in regulation before WCU was then held without a field goal for the remainder of the game. Mercer scored eight straight points to close to within eight, 60-52 with just over a minute left. However, the Catamounts connected on 5-of-7 from the free throw line including two from both Woolbright and Jackson and one by Campbell to hold on for the road victory.
WCU commanded the glass on Saturday, outrebounding Mercer 51-to-37 including a 15-to-9 edge on the offensive boards. The Catamounts also outshot the Bears, finishing the game at 37% thanks to a 41% second half while limiting the hosts to 31.7% for the game.
Western Carolina returns home on Tuesday, Jan. 16, with a special 6 p.m. start time to host the current league co-leading Samford Bulldogs in a nationally televised match-up on the CBS Sports Network (
check local listings; DIRECTV Ch. 221; Dish Ch. 158). Samford (14-2, 3-0 SoCon) hosts VMI (3-13, 0-3 SoCon) on Saturday evening in Birmingham ahead of the much-anticipated match-up in Cullowhee.
WCU will celebrate former Catamount great Ronnie Carr who made the first 3-pointer in college basketball history back in November 1980 during next Tuesday's home date. Carr will be recognized during a special on-court halftime ceremony. Tickets for Saturday's game are available online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount men's basketball and WCU Athletics through our social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@catamountmbb @wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@CatamountMBB @catamounts).
