Cullowhee, N.C. – For the first time in over a month, the Western Carolina men's basketball team prepares for back-to-back road games beginning on Wednesday night as the Catamounts travel to Johnson City, Tenn., to battle East Tennessee State at Freedom Hall. The Catamounts matchup with mountain rival ETSU is set for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
Wednesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). Free live streaming audio from the Catamount Sports Network and live stats are available online at CatamountSports.com. Fans can also listen to the CSN broadcast locally on 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC, "The River" in Sylva (www.wrgc.com) beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Matchup: Western Carolina (5-12, 1-5 SoCon) at ETSU (11-8, 4-2 SoCon)
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 22
Site: Freedom Hall (Johnson City, Tenn.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Live Video: ESPN+ (paid subscription required)
Live Audio: Catamount Sports Network
Radio: 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC "The River" (wrgc.com)
Twitter: @CatamountMBB
About Western Carolina:
The Catamounts were unable to claim consecutive weekend home victories on Saturday, struggling to overcome 15 made 3-pointers by UNCG coupled with a sluggish second half shooting performance as the Spartans claimed an 83-55 victory in SoCon action on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. Cord Stansberry led WCU with 18 points and five rebounds, the lone Catamount to reach double-figures in the home defeat.
Brandon Morgan just missed double figures with nine points, including a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line. Senior Bernard and junior Vernon Collins led the Catamounts with seven rebounds apiece, Pelote adding seven points to miss double figures for the first time in eight games. Collins boarded a team-best three on the offensive glass.
Pelote maintains his top spot on the squad in scoring over the opening six league games. The Savannah, Ga. native heads to Johnson City ranked eighth in the league, averaging 16.2 points per game through six SoCon contests that includes a pair of 20-plus point performances. He's third in the league with an average of 6.3 made field goals per game, and is fifth in rebounding with 7.7 boards per SoCon game. Pelote ranks in a tie for 10th in league play, connecting on 14 threes, and is second in defensive rebounds with 39.
Despite being outgunned against UNCG, 35-to-9, the Catamount bench has filled the scoreboard throughout the 2024-25 season. WCU is averaging 24.35 points per game – the fourth-best mark in the conference. Marcus Kell leads the Catamounts in bench production as his seasonal totals as a reserve sits at 85 points. Junior Ice Emery has totaled 72 points off the bench, including his 16 points against Mercer for his third double-figure scoring bench performance of the campaign.
Freshman Fischer Brown and redshirt junior Chase McKey have tallied 45 points as non-starters. The Catamounts have seen a bench player reach double-figures 11 times, high-pointed by Emery's 24 against Truett McConnell. Emery and Kell lead the squad with three double-digit point games off the bench apiece.
WCU begins Wednesday's action third in the league in rebounds with 38.6 per game over 17 games, as the Catamounts have pulled down 27.8 defensive rebounds per contest. Pelote leads the Catamounts on the glass with 7.6 per game – tied for the second-best individual average in the SoCon. He also ranks second in the league with 6.1 defensive rebounds per game and second in the conference with 103 total defensive boards.
Collins is tied for seventh in the league, averaging 2.0 offensive rebounds per game, as Collins has 34, including 16 in league games. Stansberry paces both the team and the SoCon at the free throw line, at 93.0% but doesn't qualify nationally due to statistical minimums held by the NCAA rankings.
Collins leads WCU with 16 blocked shots, sitting in a tie for sixth with just under a block per game. Fellow 6-10 post, McKey – who missed the UNCG game – is sixth in the league with 59.5 percent (22-of-37) from the field, while Collins is 10th at 57.6 percent (38-of-66).
Scouting the Opposition:
ETSU begins Wednesday with an 11-8 record as the Bucs improved to 4-2 in league play after handing league-leader Samford its first SoCon loss on Saturday, 65-60 in Birmingham. ETSU has also defeated VMI, Mercer, and The Citadel to begin league play with tight three-point losses to both Furman and Wofford. ETSU holds an 8-2 record at home compared to just 3-6 away from Johnson City.
In nonconference play, WCU and ETSU had two common opponents in USC Upstate and Queens. The Bucs won both contests, 87-76 over the Spartans and 82-67 over Queens.
Senior guard Quimari Peterson – a transfer from Indiana State two years ago – leads the SoCon in scoring with 18.4 points per game. He has scored in double figures in all but one game and has six 20+ point performances. He has shot an effective 50.2% (132-of-263) from the floor and made 40.2% (39-of-97) from beyond the arc. Peterson also has dished the third-most assists in the SoCon with 81 helpers.
Senior forward Jaden Seymour, who started his collegiate career at Wichita State but has been with the Bucs since the 2021-22 season, sits tied for third in the league, averaging 16.6 points per contest. The senior has four double-doubles, including a triple-double earlier this year against VMI. Seymour leads the way on the glass with 7.0 boards per game.
Peterson and Seymour have garnered SoCon Player of the Week honors this season.
Senior guard John Buggs III – a transfer from North Texas a season ago who also spent time at UMass and UTSA before landing at ETSU – rounds out the Bucs double-figure scoring with 12 points per game. Buggs III has done it from deep this season, connecting on 57 threes, which is tied for second-most in the league.
ETSU holds the second-most offensive rebounds per game in the SoCon at 13.4, led by 46 from junior forward Karon Boyd. The Bucs also sit in a tie for third with 8.2 steals per contest and are second in the league with 3.7 blocks per game.
ETSU was tabbed third in the 10-team SoCon preseason poll, one of three schools to receive a first-place vote with two. Brooks Savage is in his second year at the helm for the Bucs, and he had both Peterson and Seymour land on the preseason all-conference team. ETSU finished the 2023-24 season at 19-16, including an 8-10 mark in league play, before falling to Samford in the SoCon finals.
Series History:
Western Carolina and ETSU meet for the 89th time in series history with the Bucs holding a 58-30 lead in the all-time series. WCU has taken control of the series in recent years, winning the past six matchups. ETSU is looking for its first win in the series since Jan. 10, 2022, when the Bucs earned an 87-69 victory in Johnson City. The six-game win streak by the Catamounts snapped a 14-game win streak for the Bucs.
WCU is looking to right the ship in games played in Johnson City, as the Bucs have a 31-9 lead in the series in road contests.
Up Next for Western Carolina:
The Catamounts stay on the road to close out a brief two-game road swing on Saturday, Jan. 25, with a trip to Charleston to battle The Citadel at the McAlister Field House. Tip-off with the Bulldogs is slated for 1 p.m. Saturday'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.
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).
