Winston-Salem, N.C. – Junior Ice Emery and redshirt sophomore Cord Stansberry both finished with 20 points apiece on Tuesday night, but Western Carolina was unable to overcome a first-half burst by Wake Forest as the Catamounts opened a stiff three-game road swing against the ACC foe with an 82-69 road loss at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Emery posted his second straight 20-point performance, making 7-of-18 field goals including three from deep, to fill up the stat sheet. The Appleton, Wis., native also had three rebounds and a pair of assists. Stansberry had his best offensive performance of his collegiate career as he made 7-of-11 from the floor, including four 3-pointers also adding five boards and a pair of steals.
Redshirt sophomore Marcus Kell added nine points with a pair of triples, while senior Bernard Pelote finished with seven points and a team-high eight rebounds and three assists. Junior Vernon Collins was a force inside once again on Tuesday with seven rebounds and a blocked shot.
Wake Forest was led by preseason first-team All-ACC selection Hunter Sallis, who joined Emery and Stansberry with a game-high 20 points, adding five assists and three rebounds. Cameron Hildreth finished with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, along with a game-high six assists and a pair of steals. Parker Friedrichsen rounded out the double-figure scoring for the Deacs with 14 points, making four 3-pointers. Tre'Von Spillers led the Demon Deacons with five rebounds and nine points.
Wake Forest (5-1) opened fast with an 8-2 run out of the gates with the Catamounts quickly answering with nine unanswered, including six from Emery to give the guests the early 11-8 lead at the 16:51 mark. After the two squads traded a pair of threes, the Demon Deacons used a 22-3 run over the next nine minutes to take a half-high lead at 36-20.
The Catamounts battled back down the stretch behind Emery and Stansberry as the duo combined for 10 of the next 12 points as part of a 12-3 run to whittle the deficit to seven, 39-32 with two minutes to play before the break. Wake Forest scored five of the final seven points in the half to take a 44-34 lead to the intermission.
In the second 20 minutes, WCU used the deep ball early as Emery and Kell both had an early triple to help cut the margin to six, 48-42, before a 13-5 run by the Demon Deacons over the next five minutes saw the lead swell to 14, 61-47 at the 12:19 mark. After a Vernon Collins jumper stopped the Wake Forest burst, Wake Forest responded with a 13-1 run to push the lead out to a game-high 24 at 74-50 with 5:21 to play.
The Catamounts didn't go away quietly down the stretch. Numerous players helped chip away at the deficit in the next two minutes, with seven straight before a 5-2 run stretched it back to 20, 79-59. WCU finished off the game on a 10-3 run over the final two minutes, but the Demon Deacons held on for the 82-69 midweek victory.
Western Carolina finished with a 42.9% (24-of-56) shooting performance from the field including 11 3-pointers on 34.4-percent shooting. The Catamounts were efficient at the charity stripe, going 10-of-11 (90.9%). On the other side of the hardwood, the Catamounts held Wake Forest to an identical 42.9% (27-of-63) shooting performance. The hosts made 12 threes and were 16-of-19 from the foul line.
WCU continued its strong work on the glass to begin the 2024-25 season, outrebounding the Demon Deacons by nine, 37-28. The Catamounts held a 26-24 advantage in paint scoring as Wake outscored the WCU bench by 12, 25-13. The Demon Deacons forced 21 Catamount turnovers and turned them into 22 points, while Wake only gave the ball away eight times with 11 points off those giveaways.
Western Carolina (2-2) stays in the ACC for its next tilt, a trip to Tallahassee for a matchup against Florida State on Tuesday, Nov. 26, at 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra. The matchup with the Seminoles was initially scheduled for Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville but was moved due to regional damage and relief efforts associated with Hurricane Helene. Next Tuesday's matchup with the Seminoles will be shown on ACC Network (paid subscription required), with live stats available on CatamountSports.com.
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