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Full
Huddle Photo at Wake Forest - FRONT
62
Western Caro. WCU 2-4,0-0 SoCon
94
Winner Marquette Marq 8-0,0-0 Big East
Western Caro. WCU
2-4,0-0 SoCon
62
Final
94
Marquette Marq
8-0,0-0 Big East
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Western Caro. WCU 30 32 62
Marquette Marq 49 45 94

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Catamounts Fall at #10/11 Marquette in Road Swing Finale

Milwaukee, Wis. –  Senior forward Bernard Pelote led the way with 13 points and eight rebounds, but Western Carolina could not overcome a late first-half burst from #10/11 Marquette as the Golden Eagles claimed a 94-62 victory on Saturday afternoon at Fiserv Forum. With the conclusion of Saturday's action, WCU finishes off a gauntlet run of three games, battling a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) foes and nationally-ranked Marquette.

Pelote connected on 5-of-11 from the field including a pair of 3-pointers to lead the Catamounts, adding a team-high eight rebounds. Sophomore Jamar Livingston joined Pelote in double figures with 10 off the bench in 13 minutes. In a homecoming game of sorts for junior Ice Emery, the Appleton, Wis. native added nine points including a pair of triples with three rebounds and two assists. Freshman CJ Hyland led the Catamounts with a career-high six assists and pulled down a career-high five rebounds and scored five points. 

Kam Jones led Marquette, which remained unbeaten on the year, with a game-high 20 points. He recorded a double-double with 10 assists and a team-high six rebounds. Ben Gold had 12 points, followed by Stevie Mitchell with 10 points to round out the double-figure scoring. Mitchell also added five rebounds and three steals. 

The two teams went back-and-forth in the early going as Pelote scored three of WCU's five early points to help even the score before a 14-5 Marquette run over a five minute stretch allowed the Golden Eagles to take a 19-10 lead with 12 minutes to go before the break. After Pelote finished to cut into the lead, Marquette rattled off an 8-2 run to stretch the lead to 13, 27-14 with 9:26 to play in the half.

WCU put together a quick 7-3 burst over the ensuing 73 seconds to cut the lead to nine, 30-21, before the Golden Eagles scored the next seven points to stretch the lead to 16, 37-21, with 5:24 to play in the opening half. The Catamounts again pushed back with seven straight points before the hosts used a 12-2 run over the final three minutes to take a 49-30 lead to the intermission.  

Western Carolina opened the second half with 3-pointers from Pelote and Hyland as the guests looked to climb back into the action. However, a decisive 28-to-10 run over the next nine minutes from Marquette allowed the Golden Eagles to take an 81-46 lead. The hosts were able to keep the distance down the stretch as Marquette pushed it to a 39-point lead with three minutes to play, but the Catamounts wouldn't go quietly with an 11-4 run down the stretch, leading to the final margin of 94-62. 

The Catamounts shot 38.3% (23-of-60) from the field with eight 3-pointers on 29.6 percent shooting. WCU converted 8-of-12 (66.7%) at the charity stripe. Marquette posted a solid 51.4% (37-of-72) shooting performance as the Golden Eagles made 14 threes and were 6-of-10 at the foul line. 

Marquette edged out Western Carolina by three, 38-35, on the glass. WCU turned the Golden Eagles 13 turnovers into 14 points, while the hosts converted 21 Catamount turnovers with 26 points. Marquette outscored WCU in the paint 46-26 and won bench scoring by 12, 37-25. 

Western Carolina (2-4) returns to Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center on Wednesday, Dec. 4, with a matchup against Bellarmine in the second contest of the inaugural ASUN-SoCon Challenge. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. The matchup with the Knights, who are in their first full year as an NCAA Division I member institution, will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available on CatamountSports.com. and live streaming audio from the Catamount Sports Network.

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).
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