CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Redshirt sophomore Cord Stansberry led four Catamounts in double figures with a career-high 24 points as Western Carolina used a suffocating run spanning both halves to down Bellarmine 86-74 on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center as part of the ASUN-SoCon Challenge. WCU snapped a three-game slide with the win and improved to 3-0 at home this year as part of seven-straight victories in Cullowhee dating back to last season.
Stansberry scored in a variety of ways in the winning effort, connecting on 8-of-15 from the floor including four made 3-pointers and all four tosses from the free throw line. The Bermuda Dunes, Calif. native added six rebounds and a team-high four assists in his busy stat line. Junior Ice Emery added 17 points including three from beyond the arc. Freshman CJ Hyland posted a career-high 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting with two threes while senior Bernard Pelote rounded out the double-figure scoring with 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the squad's seasonal leader.
Pelote (8) and Stansberry (6) were joined by redshirt sophomore Marcus Kell with six rebounds, while junior Vernon Collins and redshirt junior Chase McKey both pulled down five boards apiece to help lead WCU to a +15 (41-26) advantage on the glass. Junior Brandon Morgan led the Catamounts with a pair of steals and a season-high three assists.
Ben Johnson finished with 22 points to pace Bellarmine (2-7), shooting 8-of-15 from the field with five 3-pointers. He also led the Knights with seven rebounds. Dylan Branson added 18 points that included 7-of-8 free throws. Branson also pulled down six rebounds and dished out a team-high four assists. Billy Smith rounded out the double-figure scoring for the guests with 11 points as Bellarmine played without its seasonal leading scorer Jack Karasinski.
Bellarmine (2-7) opened the contest quickly with a 9-4 run in a low-scoring opening five minutes before the WCU offense gained its footing with a 15-to-4 burst over the ensuing three minutes spurred by Emery with seven points as the Catamounts jumped out to a six-point lead with 11:56 to play in the half. The Knights used a quick 8-2 spurt to tie the score at 21 with Collins and Stansberry pushing across four straight to give the hosts a 25-21 lead at the 9:08 mark.
The Knights put together a 17-6 run over the next 6:39 to gain their largest lead of the night at 38-31, with both teams trading triples over a 69-second portion of the stretch of action. Western Carolina closed the half with a 9-2 run over the final 82 seconds to tie the game at 43 heading to the locker rooms.
In the second half, the Catamounts went full throttle to the tune of a 24-to-5 run to take the game's first double-digit lead and ultimately race out to the largest lead of the night at 67-48 with 11:27 to play.
In WCU's strong scoring stretch, seven Catamounts filled the basket led by a pair of 3-pointers from Pelote. The run ultimately capped out at 36-to-10 over an 11 minute span to close the opening 20 minutes and into the early stages of the second half.
Bellarmine didn't go away quietly, though, firing back with an 11-4 run of its own that was thwarted by a Stansberry three before 10 in a row from the Knights cut the deficit to five, 74-69, with 3:15 to play. A quick six points for WCU was met with five in a row from Bellarmine to make it an 80-74 game in the final minute. Western Carolina iced the contest with six free throws from three different players – Pelote, Stansberry, and McKey – for the 12-point win over the Knights.
Western Carolina finished 48.4% (31-of-64) from the field with 13 3-points on a season-high 40.6% shooting from beyond the arc. The Catamounts converted 11-of-18 (61.1%) from the foul line. Bellarmine was held to 46.4% (26-of-56) from the floor and connected on 12 threes, shooting 41.4%. The Knights – which entered the game at over 83 percent from the stripe – struggled from the foul line, finishing 10-of-15 (66.7%).
The Catamounts flexed their muscle on the glass by 15, 41-26, including a 13-4 edge in offensive rebounds. WCU committed a season-low 11 turnovers compared to 12 from the guests as both teams scored 16 points off their opposition's turnovers. The hosts won a tight battle in points in the paint at 32-28 and 16-14 in bench scoring while also outscoring Bellarmine 18-6 in the fast break and 17-3 in second-chance points.
The Catamounts return to Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center on Saturday, Dec. 7, for a nonconference matchup against USC Upstate with tip-off at 3 p.m. WCU looks to carry momentum from last year's meeting in Spartanburg, which saw Western Carolina tally the 70-53 win over the Spartans to even the all-time series at two wins apiece – though WCU is 0-1 in meetings in Cullowhee.
Saturday's game will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live audio coverage through the Catamount Sports Network available on 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC "The River" in Sylva and streaming LIVE through CatamountSports.com. Live stats are also available on CatamountSports.com.
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