CULLOWHEE, N.C. – With the game tied at 78 with 1:10 to play, senior Bernard Pelote connected on a clutch 3-pointer to spur a 7-to-4 run over the final 70 seconds to lead Western Carolina men's basketball past Mercer 85-82 in Southern Conference action on Sunday afternoon from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The victory marks five straight in the series for WCU and also denotes the first SoCon win for head coach Tim Craft.
The Catamounts had four players in double figures led by redshirt sophomore Cord Stansberry, who poured in a team-high 17 points. The Pepperdine transfer connected on three from beyond the arc and added three rebounds and two assists. Junior Ice Emery added 16 points off the bench on the strength of four treys to post his second double-figure game in the last four games.
Brandon Morgan added 13 including critical free throws in the final seconds to finish one-point shy of his season-high, adding five rebounds and three assists. A defensive focal point for the Bears, Pelote managed to record his third double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, along with a team-high two blocks.
The two teams battled out of the halftime locker room with neither team able to gain a sizeable advantage. Mercer pulled in front by five, 62-57, with 11:13 to play, before an 11-to-1 run by the Catamounts gave the hosts their first lead of the afternoon and helped propel them to a victory.
Mercer was led by Alex Holt who finished with a game-high 21 points including seven field goals and 7-of-9 from the foul line. He pulled down 11 rebounds as one of two Bears with a double-double. Transfer point guard Ahmad Robinson added 18 points and 13 rebounds to join Holt with the double dip. However, the New Hampshire transfer finished just 3-of-11 at the free throw line, including missing six in the second half as WCU battled back from a four-point halftime deficit. Tyler Johnson added 14 points, while Jah Nze chipped in 13 points in the defeat.
Mercer (9-8, 2-2 SoCon) fired out of the gates fast on Sunday with an early 13-5 run in the opening four minutes to seize early control of the contest before five unanswered from Emery and junior Vernon Collins squashed the momentum for the Bears. After the guests quickly ran the lead back to seven, 17-10, the Catamounts used a 14-9 spurt of their own to cut the Mercer advantage down to two, 26-24 with 9:50 to play in the half.
Threes from Pelote and freshman Fischer Brown were sandwiched around 10 points from Mercer, which pushed its advantage back to six points. WCU closed with an 8-3 run over the final minutes of the half, but Mercer used a 5-2 burst of its own to take a 44-40 halftime lead.
Western Carolina (5-10, 1-3 SoCon) saw three quick points from Marcus Kell out of the locker room to cut the deficit to one, 44-43, before the Bears answered with five in a row to stretch the lead back once again out to six, 49-43, with 17:55 to play. The Catamounts scored the game's next six points before a 13-8 Bears run with threes from Stansberry and Emery in that stretch saw the game pushed to a 62-57 score with 11:13 to play.
The hosts responded over the next 4:17 with 11 of the game's next 12 points to turn a five-point deficit to a five-point lead at 68-63 with 6:56 remaining. The Bears used a 13-6 run over the next four minutes to inch back in front by two, 76-74, before a 7-2 answer from WCU, including the clutch triple from Pelote, pushed the Catamounts to an 81-78 lead in the final minute. The two teams traded free throws in the final 15 seconds, but Mercer was unable to get any closer than one as WCU pulled out the 85-82 win.
Western Carolina finished with a 46.8% (29-of-62) field goal shooting performance, making 11 threes on 32.4% shooting from deep. The Catamounts posted a strong showing at the foul line, going 16-of-20 (80%) in the contest, including 14-of-17 after halftime. Mercer shot 38% (27-of-71) from the field, making seven threes and going 21-of-34 from the charity stripe.
Mercer controlled the glass by eight, 48-40, including pulling down 19 offensive boards, which turned into 17 second-chance points. The guests scored 13 points off of 11 WCU turnovers, while Mercer's eight turnovers turned into seven Catamount points. The Catamounts improved to 5-3 when making 10 or more 3-pointers. WCU also improved to 5-0 on the season when eclipsing the 70-point plateau.
Behind Emery's 16 points, WCU had a 29-23 edge in bench scoring as the Bears outscored the Catamounts 17-7 in second chance and 9-4 in fast break.
The Catamounts hit the road on Wednesday, Jan. 15, traveling to Lexington, Va., to battle VMI on post at Cameron Hall. Tip-off with the Keydets is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday's game will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live audio coverage through the Catamount Sports Network available online at CatamountSports.com and on 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC "The River" in Sylva. Live stats are also available via a link on CatamountSports.com.
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