Charleston, S.C. – Western Carolina rallied from a four-point deficit in Saturday afternoon's overtime session against The Citadel as senior Bernard Pelote and Marcus Kell combined for the game's final six points as the Catamounts earned the tough 80-78 road victory in Southern Conference men's basketball action over the Bulldogs from the snow-covered South Carolina Lowcountry.
After neither team was able to claim victory in 40 minutes of action, the Bulldogs skirted to a pair of four-point leads at 76-72 and 78-74 on a pair of jumpers and two free throws midway through the extra session. Pelote sank his fourth 3-pointer of the day as part of scoring five of his game-high 24 points and Kell converted one of two free throws inside the final 10 seconds as the Catamounts outlasted the Cadets for the win.
Saturday is the first overtime win for the Catamounts since Nov. 20, 2022, when WCU defeated Lindenwood 90-88 in Lake Charles, La., as part of the McNeese State multi-team event (MTE).
The Citadel (5-14, 0-8 SoCon) fought back from a 12-point second-half deficit, taking its first lead since the 13-minute mark of the first half on a Christian More 3-pointer with four and a half minutes remaining in regulation. Neither side saw more than a one-possession lead through the scheduled distance with both sides parading to the free throw line over the final two minutes. Cord Stansberry and Ice Emery combined for five made charity tosses with Stansberry pushing the visitors ahead, 72-71, with 14 seconds showing.
A foul on The Citadel's Brody Fox gave Bulldogs a pair of free throws and a chance to win the game in regulation from the line inside the final 10 seconds, but Fox only connected on the second of the two tosses to knot the game at 72 to ultimately force overtime as Pelote was unable to connect on a late jumper.
Overall, Saturday's game featured 14 lead changes and six ties. A three-minute stretch in the second half marked the only time either team held a double-digit lead.
Pelote continued his strong work in league play on what proved to be a historic career day for the Savannah, Ga., product. He collected his fifth 20-point performance of the season with four coming in SoCon action, connecting on 10 field goals including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc for game-high 24 points. He added nine rebounds and a season-high three blocked shots.
Pelote, who is averaging a team-high 17.8 points per game through eight SoCon games, has eclipsed double figures in nine of his last 10 games dating back to mid-December. He also crested the 1,000-career point milestone in the winning effort combined with his work at Catawba and the last three seasons in Cullowhee.
Kell finished with 16 points and a season-high nine rebounds, hitting three 3-pointers. Redshirt sophomore Cord Stansberry rounded out WCU's double-figure scoring with 15 points as he finished a perfect 9-for-9 at the free throw line to run his seasonal average to 94.7% (54-of-57). Stansberry also tallied six rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals. Freshman Fischer Brown hit a pair of 3-pointers in posting eight points in the winning effort.
Brody Fox led a balanced attack as five Bulldogs scored in double figures with a busy stat line of 19 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Christian Moore posted 18 points and eight rebounds while making three from beyond the arc. Cam Glover tallied 16 points including 9-of-11 from the free throw line, while Paxton Davison added 12 points, six rebounds, and four assists, and Sola Adelbisi scoring 10 points with eight rebounds.
Offense was hard to come by in the early going before a 7-2 spurt by the Bulldogs allowed the hosts to take a 10-7 lead with 13:20 to play in the opening 20 minutes. Riding the hot hands of Pelote and Kell, the Catamounts used a 13-4 run over the next five minutes to take a 20-14 lead. It was during the burst that Pelote reached the 1,000-career-point plateau, needing just nine points entering the weekend.
The Bulldogs pushed back with eight unanswered points to regain the lead just two minutes later before seven-straight from freshman Fischer Brown, Kell, and Pelote allowed WCU to take a 27-22 lead with 3:29 to play in the half. The Citadel connected on a three to cut into the margin before a 9-2 run over the final 2:05 allowed the Catamounts to lead 36-27 at the break.
The Citadel fired out of the gates in the second half with a 12-4 run over the opening 2:31 out of the locker room to turn a once nine-point deficit into a one-point deficit at 40-39. The Catamounts then scored eight unanswered that allowed WCU to quickly stretch the lead back to nine, 48-39. Th Bulldogs continued to battle over the ensuing 4:14 with another run of 13-to-5 including 11 straight, to cut the deficit back to one, 53-52, with 10:18 to play.
Stansberry and Ice Emery answered with consecutive buckets as the two assisted on the other's basket to push the lead to six, 58-52. However, the Bulldogs continued to claw back with four quick points to make it 58-56 with 8:24 to play.
The Citadel managed to tilt the scoreboard to a 70-67 advantage with 2:33 to play before the march to the free throw line and extra session push to the finish and WCU's victory that halted a three-game slide while relegating the Bulldogs to an 11th consecutive defeat to remain winless in SoCon play.
Western Carolina (6-13, 2-6 SoCon) shot 38.8% (26-of-67) including 10 3-pointers coming at a 35.7% clip. The Catamounts converted 18-of-22 (81.8%) at the free throw line. The Citadel finished at 39.1% (25-of-64) with nine threes at a 30% rate and were 19-of-25 (76%) at the charity stripe. WCU won a tight rebounding battle, 43-41, turning 11 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points. Both teams limited the turnovers on Saturday, as WCU had six and The Citadel turned it over just seven times.
WCU improved to 6-0 when scoring 70-or-more points this season and is now 5-0 when cresting the 80-point plateau. The Catamounts also climbed to 5-2 when outrebounding an opponent.
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.
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