Cullowhee, N.C. – The Western Carolina men's basketball team closes out the first of three two-game road swings over the regular season's final month on Saturday afternoon as the Catamounts head to the Holy City for a matchup against The Citadel. The matinee is slated for a 1 p.m. tip-off from McAlister Field House in Charleston, S.C.
Saturday'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 12:30 p.m.
Matchup: Western Carolina (5-13, 1-6 SoCon) at The Citadel (5-13, 0-7 SoCon)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 25
Site: McAlister Field House (Charleston, S.C.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
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 began their current two-game road swing on Wednesday in Johnson City with a tough 85-58 loss at ETSU. The Buccaneers closed the opening half on a 15-to-4 run to take a nine-point lead before a 20-to-9 burst out of the break created the separation in the victory at Freedom Hall.
Coming off the bench, senior forward Bernard Pelote led the Catamounts with 21 points at ETSU, while redshirt sophomore Cord Stansberry added 14 points, sinking all five free throw attempts. At the same time, junior guard Ice Emery – who returned to the starting lineup for the first time since mid-December – rounded out WCU's double-figure scorers with 11 points.
Junior Vernon Collins pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, to lead the Catamounts, though WCU was outrebounded 46-to-31 in the loss. The Bucs held a 20-to-13 edge in offensive boards, leading to a 25-to-5 edge in second-chance points.
After his third 20+ point performance of league play, Pelote continues a stranglehold on the top spot on the squad in scoring over the opening seven league games. The Savannah, Ga. native heads to Charleston ranked fifth in the league, averaging 16.9 points per game through seven SoCon contests. He's tied for second in the league with an average of 6.3 made field goals per game and is tied for fifth in rebounding with 7.0 boards per SoCon game. Pelote's 17 3-pointers ranks in a tie for eighth in league play, and he is third in defensive rebounds with 41.
Pelote is also closing in on another milestone as he is just nine points away from 1,000 career points. After beginning his career at Catawba College, where he totaled 368 points, Pelote has seen action in 81 games over the past three seasons in Cullowhee, accruing 623 points. Pelote has posted a 42.1% (230-of-546) field goal percentage while also converting 33.5% (109-of-325) 3-pointers.
Led by Pelote's team-high 21 points last time out, the Catamount bench has filled the scoreboard throughout the 2024-25 season. WCU is averaging 24.44 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. 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, though both Emery and Kell appeared on Wednesday's starting five at ETSU.
Redshirt junior Chase McKey has tallied 48 points as a nonstarter. The Catamounts have seen a bench player reach double-figures 12 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 Saturday's action third in the league in rebounds with 38.22 per game over 18 games including 27.22 defensive rebounds per contest. Pelote leads the Catamounts on the glass with 7.3 per game – tied for the second-best individual average in the SoCon. He also ranks second in the league with 5.8 defensive rebounds per game and second in the conference with 105 total defensive boards.
Collins is tied for eighth in the league, averaging 2.2 offensive rebounds per game. He has 39, including 21 in league games. He is also tied for eighth in league play with 44 rebounds in SoCon play. Collins leads WCU with 18 blocked shots, sitting in sixth with just at a block per game.
Stansberry paces both the team and the SoCon at the free-throw line at 93.8%, ranking inside the top 10 nationally for the Pepperdine transfer.
Scouting the Opposition:
The Citadel enters the weekend at 5-13 and 0-7 in league play following Wednesday's loss to Wofford. Although winless, the Bulldogs have played tight matchups including a five-point decision with military rival VMI and a four-point overtime loss to Furman. The Citadel played a pair of Power Four opponents in Boston College and Vanderbilt in nonconference play.
The Bulldogs have been looking for their first win against a DI opponent since Nov. 11, when they downed Stetson in Charleston. The squad's other four wins came against Erskine, North Greenville, St. Andrews, and Toccoa Falls.
Senior combo guard Brody Fox – a transfer from DIII University of Wisconsin Stout – leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game. Fox has scored double figures in his last seven games and 15 overall contests with six 20+ point performances. He enters Saturday tied for fifth in the league in scoring as he does most of his damage inside the arc, shooting an effective 52.4% (108-of-206) from the floor.
Senior guard Cam Glover, who started his collegiate career at the University of Montevallo in Alabama before joining The Citadel this season, checks in with a 9.2 points per game average, totaling double-figure scoring eight times with a season-high 20 against Furman. The senior has connected on a team-high 33 threes. He is tied with sophomore guard Keynan Davis with a 9.2 points per game average but has not seen action since Jan. 4 against Chattanooga. In his 13 games, he's totaled six games in double figures, with a season-high of 18 against Stetson.
On the glass, junior forward Sola Adebisi – a Florida State transfer – leads the Bulldogs with 6.1 per game as Adebisi has had a pair of double-digit rebound performances, including a double-double of 16 pts, 12 boards against North Greenville. Senior forward John Adams – a DIII Worcester Polytechnic Institute transfer – sits fourth in the SoCon with 48 offensive rebounds.
The Citadel was picked ninth in the 10-team SoCon preseason poll under the direction of Ed Conroy, a 1989 alum of The Citadel who is in his second stint as the head coach in Charleston. The Bulldogs finished the 2023-24 season at 11-21, including a 3-15 mark in league play, before falling to Mercer in the opening round of the SoCon Championship.
Series History:
Western Carolina and The Citadel meet for the 89th time in series history with the Catamounts holding a 47-41 lead in the all-time series. WCU comes into Charleston following a season sweep last year against the Bulldogs with an 80-71 triumph in Charleston before a 71-64 win in Cullowhee. The Citadel had taken each of the past three meetings from the Catamounts on its home floor before last year's streak was snapped.
WCU looks to cut into the Bulldogs advantage in games played in Charleston, as The Citadel holds a 23-17 lead in the series in road contests.
Up Next for Western Carolina:
The Catamounts return home to close out January on Wednesday, Jan. 29, with a visit from Chattanooga to Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. Tip-off with the Mocs is slated for 7 p.m. and will conclude the first half of the SoCon slate for WCU. 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.
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).
