Cullowhee, N.C. – The Western Carolina men's basketball team opens the second half of its Southern Conference schedule in the backend  of a Catamount basketball doubleheader on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. WCU women's basketball opens the day with a 1 p.m. tip against Mercer in league play before the men's squad hosts VMI in game two of the twin bill at 3:30 p.m.
 
Both games will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live audio coverage through the Catamount Sports Network available online at CatamountSports.com. Fans can also listen to the CSN broadcast of the men's game locally on 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC, "The River" in Sylva (www.wrgc.com), beginning at 3 p.m. Live stats are also available on Saturday via CatamountSports.com. 
 
Tickets for Saturday's games will be available online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets or at the box office on game day. The Catamount Club's Purple Zone event for qualifying members begins on the main concourse at 2:30 p.m. between Saturday's games.
 
Matchup: VMI (10-12, 4-5 SoCon) vs. Western Carolina (6-14, 2-7 SoCon)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 1
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Site: Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center (Cullowhee, N.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 
TICKETS
 
About Western Carolina:
Last time out, the  Catamounts were unable to find their offensive footing against a Chattanooga squad that was picked among the favorites in the 2024-25 SoCon race. The Mocs capitalized on the cold shooting with a pair of 19-to-4 scoring spurts in either half in handing WCU an 84-60 setback.
 
The Mocs broke open a four-point, 17-13, game in the first half with a 19-to-4 run to grab a half-high 19-point lead heading into the final four minutes of the opening frame. Then, in the second half, with the Catamounts back to within 15 points following a CJ Hyland triple, UTC matched its 15-point swing with another 19-to-4 run for the 67-37 advantage midway through the second half on the way to the road league victory.
 
Marcus Kell led the Catamounts with 15 points with a pair of rebounds and two blocked shots while classmate Cord Stansberry finished with 11 points. The team's leading scorer on the season senior Bernard Pelote just missed double figures with eight points to accompany four rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
Pelote maintains the top spot on the squad in scoring over the first half of SoCon action. He enters Saturday ranked sixth in the league, averaging 16.7 points per game through nine conference contests. He's third in SoCon games with 6.4 made field goals per game and is seventh in rebounding with 6.9 boards per league game. Pelote is second in defensive rebounds with 54.

Kell's 15 points on Wednesday continued the Catamount trend of the bench lighting the scoreboard this season. WCU is averaging 24.85 points per game from its reserves – the fourth-best mark in the conference. Kell leads the Catamounts in bench production as his seasonal totals as a reserve sits at 116 points. Junior Ice Emery has totaled 81 points off the bench, followed by Fischer Brown, who scored 55 bench points.
 
The Catamounts have seen a bench player reach double-figures 14 times, high-pointed by Emery's 24 against Truett McConnell. Kell leads the squad with five double-digit point performances, including three of the past four games he's come off the bench.
 
Western Carolina enters play on Saturday third in the league in rebounds with 37.95 per game over 20 games as the Catamounts have boarded a league-high 27.5 defensive rebounds per contest. Pelote leads the Catamounts on the glass with 7.2 per game –the third-best individual average in the SoCon. He also ranks second in the league with 5.9 defensive rebounds per game and second in the conference with 118 total defensive boards.
 
Stansberry paces the team and the SoCon at the free-throw line at 93.4%, ranking inside the top five nationally. Junior Vernon Collins is ninth in the league, averaging 2.0 offensive rebounds per game. He has 41 total offensive boards, including 23 in league games. He is also seventh in league play with 23 rebounds in SoCon play. Collins leads WCU with 18 blocked shots, sitting in a tie for sixth with just under a block per game.
 
Scouting the Opposition:
VMI enters Saturday's action with a 10-12 overall record and a 4-5 mark in SoCon play. The Keydets are on a hot streak of late, having won four of their last five after dropping their first four games in league play.
 
The Keydets tallied a seven-point triumph over Wofford on Wednesday night in Spartanburg. This win was paired with wins over The Citadel, Furman, and WCU in the first half of SoCon play. The lone loss came in a three-point defeat to UNCG during this recent stretch.
 
VMI and third-year head coach Andrew Wilson have leaned heavily on the Keydets' first transfers and international flavor, which have netted multiple immediate impact players who have helped lead the VMI squad.
 
Sophomore forward Augustinas Kiudulas – transfer from Indiana State a season ago – leads the Keydets on the offensive end of the court, averaging 15.6 points per game as he's eclipsed 20 points seven times and recorded three double-doubles for VMI. Kiudulas has also been a strong contributor in conference play with 16.2 points/game, ranking seventh in the league, connecting on 14-of-26 (53.8%) threes. The Lithuania-born forward is eighth in the league in scoring as he's connecting on 43.6% (24-of-55) from deep and 80.2% (85-of-106) at the free throw line.
 
Junior guard Rickey Bradley Jr., who spent his freshman season at VMI before transferring to Georgia State and returning to Lexington this season, is averaging 15.2 points per game. He has 15 double-figure scoring performances over his last 16 games including 30 points against Mercer and 29 against The Citadel. Bradley has been a mainstay in the points column for VMI in league play, scoring 18.3 points per game and ranking in a tie for second.
 
Sophomore forward TJ Johnson, who transferred from Lipscomb, rounds out the double-figure scoring for VMI at 12.9 points per game with 17 double-figure scoring games, including 11 straight to begin the season. Johnson also leads the way from deep, making 59 threes and checking in at a tie for seventh in the SoCon.
 
Kiudulas leads the Keydets with 6.4 rebounds per game. Sophomore Tan Yildizoglu, who transferred from Pacific, has a team-high 72 assists, and sophomore guard AJ Clark records 36 steals.
 
Last Time Out vs VMI:
Pelote led the Catamounts with 14 points, but a cold-shooting second half and 10 threes from VMI allowed the host Keydets to claim a 66-50 on Jan. 15 from Cameron Hall in Lexington, Va.
 
Pelote posted his seventh straight double-figure scoring performance in that contest, connecting on five field goals, including a pair of 3-pointers, and tying for the team-high with six rebounds. Kell added 11 points off the bench, making 4-of-5 field goals, including a trey in the defeat. Collins was a force on the glass, boarding six rebounds and three on the offensive end. Hyland led WCU with three steals on the defensive end.
 
Series History:
Western Carolina has a 41-30 record in the all-time series with the Keydets. VMI snapped WCU's five-game series win streak back on Jan. 15 with a 66-50 win earlier this season in Lexington. WCU is looking for five straight in the series with VMI in games contested in Cullowhee, as the Catamounts have a 23-11 lead in Cullowhee.

Fashion Statement with a Cause:
Coaches on both sides of Saturday's men's game will participate in the American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer "Suits and Sneakers" week in collaboration with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). This week - Jan. 27 through Feb. 2 - the nationwide initiative sees basketball coaches across the country unite for a common cause - ending cancer as we know it. To raise awareness and bring attention to the cause during this week, coaches are asked to "suit up" during their games and of course, wear their most eye-catching sneakers. This year celebrates more than 30 years of this program with over 5,000 coaches engaged to help raise over $167 million since 1993. For more information on the American Cancer Society, visit Cancer.org.
 
Up Next for Western Carolina:
The Catamounts hit the road on Wednesday, Feb. 5, for a trip to Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C., the temporary home of the Furman Paladins, to battle the chromatic rivals. Wednesday's game with the Paladins is slated for a 7 p.m. tip-off.  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).