Charlotte, N.C. – Senior Bernard Pelote picked up the first double-double of his Western Carolina career on Friday night to lead a pair of Catamounts in double figures in both the squad's first road game and against its first NCAA Division I opponent. However, lengthy scoring lulls and empty possessions plagued WCU as the Catamounts suffered a 67-54 setback at Curry Arena in Charlotte.
 
Friday's second all-time series meeting marked the opening matchup of the ASUN-SoCon Challenge set between the two mid-major conferences.
 
Pelote finished with a team-high 15 points and matched his collegiate best with 16 rebounds to help pace the Catamounts. Princeton transfer Vernon Collins had the best outing of his career with 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench, adding a career-best four blocks. Junior Ice Emery added nine points, while opening night star redshirt sophomore Marcus Kell had eight points and a pair of blocks.
 
Asjon Anderson led all players on Friday with 24 points for the Royals coming off of the bench spanning 21 minutes. He connected on 10-of-12 free throws for the hosts. Yoav Berman had nine points while also pulling down nine rebounds. Seven-footer Malcolm Wilson had a team-high 12 rebounds, seven points, and six blocks.
 
The Catamounts looked inside early as Collins and Pelote helped WCU open the game on a 7-3 run over the opening five minutes. Queens (2-0) answered with a 12-4 run over the next 10 minutes as offenses struggled on both ends to make it 15-11 with 5:43 to play in the opening half.
 
Jamar Livingston and Collins connected on back-to-back layups before the Royals used an 11-0 run over the next two minutes to take a double-digit lead at 26-15 with 2:37 to play in the half. Pelote scored WCU's final five points to cut it to an eight-point deficit at 28-20 at the break.
 
The two teams went back and forth out of intermission before an 8-0 run from Queens stretched the hosts' lead to 38-25 with 17:33 to play in the second half. WCU put together its best offensive stretch of the night with a 14-4 run over the next five minutes that helped see the hosts' lead dwindle to three, 42-39, with 12:08 to play.
 
The Royals pushed back with a 10-3 run over the next two minutes, which allowed the hosts' lead to swell back to 10, 52-42, with eight minutes to play. WCU used a 6-3 spurt to cut it to a seven-point deficit, 55-48, with 5:43 to play.
 
WCU would be unable to close the gap any closer, as a 12-6 run from Queens stretched the deficit to its final margin of 13, 67-54, in Friday night's ASNUN-SoCon showdown.
 
Both teams were held in check shooting from the field on Friday as Queens shot 31.4% (22-of-70) while the Catamounts finished at 31.3% (21-of-67). The Royals had success from deep, making eight triples compared to three for WCU. The free-throw line was even on both sides, with WCU making 9-of-16 compared to 15-of-23 for Queens. The hosts won a tight rebounding battle by four, 51-47, including a 17-12 edge on the offensive glass. The Royals doubled the Catamounts in the assist column with 15 compared to seven for Friday's guests. Both teams were strong in the steal category with eight apiece, as WCU had an 8-6 edge in blocks.  
 
Western Carolina (1-1) returns home for the final time this month on Wednesday, Nov. 13th, for a 7 p.m. tip with NAIA foe Truett McConnell out of the Appalachian Athletic Conference. Wednesday's matchup with the Bears will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with streaming audio from the Catamount Sports Network and live stats available on CatamountSports.com.
 
Tickets for Wednesday's action are available through the WCU Athletics Ticket Office, located on the first floor of the Ramsey Center, by phone at (828) 2272-401, or online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets.
 
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