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Schedule

Full
Marcus Kell vs HPU
Tabitha Formon, HPU Athletics
73
Western Caro. WCU 3-4,0-0 SoCon
93
Winner High Point HP 7-1,0-0 Big South
Western Caro. WCU
3-4,0-0 SoCon
73
Final
93
High Point HP
7-1,0-0 Big South
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Western Caro. WCU 43 30 73
High Point HP 45 48 93

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Second Half Burst Carries Panthers Past Catamounts

WCU Hosts Virginia University of Lynchburg Tuesday at 11 am for Education Day

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Redshirt junior Marcus Kell had a game-high 27 points, but High Point opened the second half on a 15-0 run and never looked back, taking a 93-73 decision from Western Carolina men's basketball on Saturday afternoon at the Qubein Center.

Kell connected on 11-of-19 field goals, including a pair of threes to pace the Catamounts. Graduate transfer Julien Soumaoro added 12 points on 4-of-9 field goals with three triples as he added a pair of assists and rebounds with two steals. Redshirt junior Cord Stansberry rounded out double-figure scoring with 11 points as he buried three from beyond the arc. Stansberry added three assists in the contest.

Sophomore transfer Abdulai Fanta Kabba finished with a team-best nine rebounds to go along with eight points as he had three dunks in the second half for the Purple & Gold. Graduate transfer Tidjiane Dioumassi dished out a team-best seven assists, marking his best performance in a WCU uniform. Freshman Tahlan Pettway led WCU with four steals.

High Point (7-1), ranked sixth in the latest mid-major top 25 poll, was led by Cam'Ron Fletcher with a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds as Fletcher made 10-of-15 field goals and added four steals. Rob Martin finished with 17 points and a team-best five assists, while Terry Anderson had 16 points and six rebounds, along with three steals. Conrad Martinez tallied 12 points with three triples. Chase Johnston joined Martinez with a 3-of-4 performance from deep as the Panthers buried 12 threes in the win.

Following a fast start from the hosts, WCU answered the Panthers' burst with a 13-2 run of its own to take a 16-10 lead just six minutes into today's action. In what was an offensive first half, the hosts answered with a 9-1 spurt before Soumaoro responded with a three-pointer to put the Catamounts back in front by one, 20-19.

After a back-and-forth battle for the ensuing three minutes, the Catamounts used a 9-4 run to take a 35-29 lead with six minutes to play in the first half. HPU responded with five in a row before five straight from WCU stretched the lead back to six. The Panthers finished the half on an 11-3 spurt to take the 45-43 lead to the intermission.

HPU raced out of the second half gates with the first 15 points to stretch the score to a 17-point advantage, 60-43, just four minutes into the half. WCU fought back over the next 2:39 with an 11-4 burst led by Kell with a pair of threes and made it a 64-54 game.

HPU answered with another 13-3 burst to stretch the scoreboard to 20, 77-57 with 8:12 to play. The final eight minutes saw both teams go back and forth, and the Panthers held on for a 93-73 victory in nonconference play.

Western Carolina posted a 48.2 percent from the floor, posting a 15-of-29 (51.7%) in the opening 20 minutes. The Catamounts connected on eight threes at a 32% clip and also made 11-of-18 (61.1%) at the free throw line. The Panthers finished at 56.9 (33-of-58), connecting on 18-of-31 (58.1%) shots, which created the separation to earn the victory. The hosts buried 12 threes at a 48% rate, while making 15-of-21 at the charity stripe.

For the first time in seven games, the guests matched the hosts on the glass with each squad pulling down 29 rebounds. High Point took advantage of 19 WCU turnovers, scoring 29 points off the Catamounts' giveaways compared to 12 points off 14 Panther turnovers for the guests. WCU held a 30-26 advantage in bench scoring, while HPU had an 18-12 fast break scoring lead and 22-11 in bench scoring.

Western Carolina (3-4) opens December with an Education Day battle against Virginia University of Lynchburg on Tuesday, Dec. 2, on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. Tip-off for the Education Day action is set for 11 a.m. The battle with the Dragons will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats will be available online 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).
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