Cullowhee, N.C. – Tied at 73 with 15 seconds to play, redshirt junior Cord Stansberry connected on a clutch 3-pointer to spur a 9-to-3 run over the final 32 seconds to lead Western Carolina men's basketball past mountain rival UNC Asheville 80-73 on Wednesday night on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
The teams battled for 40 minutes on Wednesday, with no lead exceeding seven points, as the contest featured 10 lead changes and 14 ties. The Bulldogs took a 67-65 lead with 3:39 to play before the hosts closed collectively on a 15-to-6 run down the stretch to give WCU the seven-point victory, capping a perfect 3-0 homestand for the Catamounts to open the season.
Stansberry scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Catamounts, finishing with eight field goals with four 3-pointers, while shooting 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Freshman Tahlan Pettway added a career-high 12 points off the bench, connecting on 4-of-7 from the floor. Graduate student Tijidane Dioumassi added nine points, while redshirt junior Marcus Kell and graduate student Julien Soumaoro had eight points apiece.
Sophomore Abdulai Fanta Kabba pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, including six offensive boards, to pace the Catamounts, who had 19 offensive boards as a squad. Kell added six rebounds as Stansberry and Soumaoro both finished with five boards. Pettway led the Catamounts with two steals, and freshman Tayeshaun Smith had a pair of blocks.
Toyaz Solomon led UNC Asheville (2-3) with a team-best 22 points, including eight field goals and three 3-pointers. Kameron Taylor added 17 points and pulled down a team-high eight boards, followed by Justin Wright with 12 points and six assists. Solomon added two steals and three blocked shots.
WCU (3-2) got out to the early edge in the action, taking a two-point lead in the opening five minutes before the Bulldogs used a 10-4 run over the ensuing three minutes to lead 15-11 at the 12:17 mark of the half. The Purple & Gold answered over the next three minutes with a 10-4 burst to sneak back in front again by two, 21-19 with 9:28 to play in the half.
The Catamounts kept their foot on the pedal down the stretch with a 12-to-5 burst over a 4:13 stretch to take a game-high seven-point lead, 33-26. UNC Asheville fought back with a 10-3 spurt to even the contest at 36 before the hosts scored five of the final seven points to take a 41-38 lead at halftime.
The Bulldogs opened the second half with an 11-to-5 spurt to quickly take a 49-46 lead just four minutes in. The hosts were then able to flip the script, quickly scoring eight unanswered points and taking a five-point lead, 54-49, just six minutes into the second half. Asheville promptly bounced back in the seesaw battle with an 11-to-4 burst to take a two-point lead, 60-58, with 8:14 to go.
Following a quick 6-0 WCU burst, the Bulldogs had a 7-to-1 run of their own to inch back in front by two, 67-65 with 3:39 to play. Pettway scored four unanswered to answer the UNC Asheville burst before free throws became the name of the game with the Catamounts taking a 73-70 lead with 30 seconds to play.
Solomon knotted the game by connecting on his third 3-pointer from the top of the key to even the game and force a WCU timeout with about 15 seconds to play. Stansberry, with a hand in his face and less than a second on the clock, connected on a deep triple to put the Catamounts back in front, combined with technical free throws in the closing seconds as part of a 7-0 run in the 80-73 victory.
Western Carolina shot 41.9 percent from the floor, posting a 15-of-28 (53.6%) in the opening half. The Catamounts buried five threes and also connected on 23-of-29 free throws at a 79.3% rate.
UNC Asheville finished at 50% (25-of-50) shooting, connecting on 50% of its attempts in both halves. The Bulldogs made 11 3-pointers, but struggled from the free throw line at 12-of-23 (52.2%). The Catamounts enjoyed a 41-28 advantage on the glass with a 19-8 lead in offensive rebounds. WCU also controlled the paint on Wednesday, outscoring UNC Asheville by 14, 36-22, and had a 20-17 lead in bench scoring with Pettway's 12 points off the bench.
The Catamounts play consecutive road games beginning with a visit to the Music City to battle Lipscomb in the second of two ASUN-SoCon Challenge on Saturday, Nov. 22. Tip-off from Allen Arena in Nashville, Tenn., is slated for 5 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. CT. Saturday's action with the Bisons will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats will be available online on CatamountSports.com.
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