Cullowhee, N.C. – Behind a season-high 52.2% shooting performance and five players in double figures, Western Carolina men's basketball used a balanced scoring attack and stifling defense that limited Voorhees to 15 points in the first half as the Catamounts picked up the 95-44 victory over the HBCUAC-member Tigers on Thursday night on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
Graduate transfer Julien Soumaoro led five Catamounts in double figures with a game-high 15 points as he connected on four field goals, including three from deep. He added four rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Sophomore CJ Hyland added 14 points, going 5-of-6 from the floor and dishing out three assists. Freshman post Samuel Dada posted a career-high 13 points, connecting on all six of his field goal attempts and added nine rebounds to also set a seasonal-best.
Redshirt junior Marcus Kell added 12 points along with four rebounds and two steals, while sophomore Justin Johnson, who made his first start of the season, poured in 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting to round out the double-figure scoring for WCU.
Western Carolina (1-2) was led on the glass by sophomore Abdulai Fanta Kabba with a game-high 11 rebounds and tallied three blocked shots to pace the Purple & Gold. Graduate transfer Tidjiane Dioumassi filled the stat sheet with six points to go along with a team-best five assists and four steals.
Counting Thursday's game as an exhibition, Voorhees (1-4) was led by Daethan Harris and Omari Bryson with 11 points apiece. Bryson made three 3-pointers and Harris was 7-of-9 at the charity stripe.
WCU featured a new starting five on Thursday for the first time this season, with Johnson stepping into the lineup for his first start in a Catamount uniform. All told, 14 players played with 12 scoring. The Catamounts have now opened their home schedule each of the past seven years with victories. Thursday's game was delayed for over an hour due to travel issues for Voorhees in getting to Cullowhee.
The opening four minutes saw the visiting Tigers take an early two-point lead at 6-4 before the Catamounts used a resounding 24-to-2 run over the ensuing 9:02 to flip the scoreboard and take a 28-8 lead with 7:40 to play in the first half. Eight different players contributed to the decisive run.
Voorhees chipped away at the scoreboard as it was a 32-13 lead for WCU with 4:05 to play before the Purple & Gold scored 11 of the final 13 points to close the half and take a 43-15 lead to the intermission.
The Tigers took advantage early with a back-and-forth start over the opening minutes of the second half as a quick 6-2 burst from WCU allowed the hosts to stretch the lead to 30, 54-24 early on in the second half as Kabba finished off a clean dunk to start the spurt. Voorhees put together a quick 6-2 burst to chip away, but wouldn't be able to keep it closer the rest of the evening as a 27-3 avalanche from the Catamounts pushed the score to 83-33 before finishing off the 95-44 home-opening win against the Tigers.
Western Carolina put together a season-best shooting performance from the field, posting a 52.2 percent (35-of-67), going over 50% in both halves of the victory. The Catamounts went 9-of-27 (33.3%) from deep, including a 7-of-17 (41.2%) 3-point showing in the second half. They also added 16 free throws at an 84.2% clip.
On the other end of the court, the Catamounts limited Voorhees to 29.3 percent while out-rebounding the Tigers 44-to-22. The hosts had a 50-16 advantage in paint scoring and outscored the Tigers 35-10 off the bench, led by 13 from Dada.
The Catamounts continue their season-long three-game homestand on Sunday, Nov. 16, with a visit from ASUN foe Stetson in the front end of a WCU hoops doubleheader. Sunday's visit from the Hatters marks the first of two matchups for WCU in the ASUN-SoCon Challenge.
Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center and opens a full day of hoops, with the women's team set to welcome nationally ranked Oklahoma at 3:30 p.m. Both games on Sunday will be shown regionally through the Nexstar family of stations (check local listings) and simulcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). Streaming audio from the Catamount Sports Network and live stats will be available online on CatamountSports.com.
Season tickets for the home portion of the 2025-26 Catamount men's and women's basketball seasons are on sale now through the first-floor Ramsey Center Ticket Office, by phone at (828) 227-2401, and online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets. Options include tickets for men's or women's and an "all-hoops" package for every home game in the Ramsey Center for both squads. Single-game tickets for both squads are also on sale.
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).
