Men's Basketball 11/15/2025 11:00:00 AM Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Catamounts Battle Stetson in ASUN-SoCon Challenge

Cullowhee, N.C. – Riding the momentum of a home opening win on Thursday night, Western Carolina men's basketball continues a season-long three-game homestand on Sunday afternoon with an ASUN-SoCon Challenge against Stetson on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The men's game opens a full day of hoops beginning at 1 p.m., with the women's team set to welcome sixth-ranked Oklahoma at 3:30 p.m. in the backend of the twinbill.

Both games on Sunday will be shown regionally through the Nexstar stations WYCW, TheCW across western North Carolina and the Upstate of South Carolina, as well as TheCW affiliate WFLI in Chattanooga, Tenn. and simulcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). Streaming audio from the Catamount Sports Network and live stats will be available online on CatamountSports.com.

Western Carolina split its two games as part of last year's ASUN-SoCon scheduling alliance, falling at Queens in early November, 67-54, before winning over Bellarmine at home in early December, 86-74. Year two of the leagues' agreement features 19 combined games from Nov. 9 through Nov. 29.

Matchup: Stetson (1-2) vs Western Carolina (1-2)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 16
Time: 1 p.m.
Site: Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center (Cullowhee, N.C.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Live Video: ESPN+ (paid subscription required)/Nexstar (check local listings)
Live Audio: Catamount Sports Network
Twitter: @CatamountMBB
TICKETS

About Western Carolina:
The Catamounts began their home schedule in style on Thursday night with a convincing 95-44 victory over HBCUAC counterpart, Voorhees University, in the first series meeting with the non-NCAA Division I foe since 1973.

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. Sophomore CJ Hyland added 14 points, going 5-of-6 from the floor and dishing out three assists, while freshman post Samuel Dada had a career-high 13 points, connecting on all six of his field goal attempts, and added nine rebounds to also set a seasonal-best.

The Catamounts have crashed the boards early on in the 2025-26 season, averaging 41.0 boards through three games, ranking second in the SoCon. Sophomore Abdulai Fanta Kabba and Dada lead the glass battle with 22 apiece, followed by redshirt junior Marcus Kell with 20 rebounds. WCU has won the rebounding battle in two of three games during the early season.

Through the opening set of games across the Southern Conference, redshirt junior Cord Stansberry, who missed Thursday's home opener, sits in a tie for sixth in the league in scoring (15.0 ppg). Soumaoro is sixth with 10 3-pointers, shooting at a 43.5% clip for WCU. Dada is tied for fourth in offensive rebounds with 10, followed in a tie for eighth by Kell with nine. Graduate transfer Tidjiane Dioumassi ranks in a tie for third with eight steals following a team-best four thefts on Thursday night.

Scouting the Opposition:
Stetson (1-2) comes up to Cullowhee on Sunday following a 102-61 defeat to instate foe Miami (Fla.) on Monday night. The Hatters dropped their season-opener on the road at Rhode Island (93-62), and scored a win over Fort Lauderdale (106-77) in between the two defeats.
The Hatters finished 8-24 last season, including a 6-12 record in league play. Stetson fell in the opening round of last year's ASUN tournament to Central Arkansas. Stetson is led by 16-year veteran Donnie Jones, who's spent time on the sidelines at UCF and Marshall before patrolling the sidelines in DeLand, Fla., for the past seven seasons.

Sophomore Jamie Phillips Jr. leads the Hatters on the offensive end of the court, averaging 16.3 points per game, having reached 20 points in two of his first three games. Junior Ethan Copeland is averaging 11.3 points per game while burying a team-best nine threes thus far. Redshirt freshman Janusz Ratowski leads the Stetson rebounding battle with 14 boards, as junior Calvin Sirmans III has a team-high 18 assists.

The Hatters were tabbed ninth in the league's coaches poll and eighth of 12 teams in the media poll as Phillips was tabbed on the league's preseason all-conference team.

Series History:
Western Carolina and Stetson have met six times in the two schools' histories, with the Catamounts trailing, 2-4. The most recent meeting back in November 2019, when the Catamounts earned a 70-64 decision in Cullowhee, where the Catamounts are 2-1 against Stetson. The Hatters are 3-1 in the Sunshine State, including a 104-102 double-overtime win over the Catamounts in the 2001-02 season. Two nights later, the Catamounts earned a 10-poin, 79-69 victory at Florida State on a two-game Florida swing.

Up Next:
Following Sunday's action in Cullowhee, the Catamounts close out their season-long three-game homestand on Wednesday, Nov. 19, with a visit from mountain-rival UNC Asheville in the backend of a true WCU hoops doubleheader as both teams face off against the Bulldogs (5 p.m.) Tip-off of the nightcap is slated for 7:30 p.m. from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center

Both games will be shown 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).

2025 ASUN-SoCon Challenge Schedule & Results:
ROUND 1 – SoCon 1 Wins | ASUN 1 Wins
Nov. 9 – Lipscomb at Mercer – Mercer, 92-77
Nov. 14 – Citadel at West Georgia – West Georgia, 100-92
Nov. 15 – ETSU at North Alabama
Nov. 15 – Austin Peay at UNCG
Nov. 15 – Samford at Central Arkansas
Nov. 15 – Chattanooga at Florida Gulf Coast
Nov. 15 – Jacksonville at VMI
Nov. 15 – Wofford at Bellarmine
Nov. 16 – Stetson at Western Carolina

ROUND 2 –SoCon / ASUN
Nov. 19 – Florida Gulf Coast at Samford
Nov. 19 – North Florida at Wofford
Nov. 20 – UNCG at Queens
Nov. 22 – Mercer at Eastern Kentucky
Nov. 22 – North Alabama at Chattanooga
Nov. 22 – VMI at Stetson
Nov. 22 – Western Carolina at Lipscomb
Nov. 23 – Queens at Furman
Nov. 24 – Bellarmine at The Citadel
Nov. 29 – Central Arkansas at ETSU

Print Friendly Version