Cullowhee, N.C. – Marcus Kell led five Catamounts in double figures on Saturday afternoon as Western Carolina used an early second-half surge to extend its advantage before withstanding a late charge by The Citadel as WCU earned a 76-73 victory in Southern Conference play on Senior Day on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
But before the Catamounts could celebrate their first consecutive wins of the year, a would-be game-tying, buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the left corner sent the trio of officials to the monitor for review. Initially called a good basket on the floor, video review deemed the shot was not released ahead of the final horn and accompanying red signal lights to erase the score and handed WCU the seasonal sweep over the Bulldogs.
The win capped a perfect Saturday doubleheader sweep for WCU in which six student-athletes on the women's squad and the lone senior Catamount men's senior Bernard Pelote were honored as a part of Senior Day activities for all his efforts and contributions to the over the past three seasons. WCU's women put together one of their most complete performances of the season to down chromatic rival Furman.
Saturday marked the second straight game the Catamounts put five players in double figures with Kell pouring in 18 points on 6-of-10 from the field and all five of his free throws. Classmate Cord Stansberry finished with 15 points including 11 in the second half with a trio of 3-pointers.
In the spotlight from the pregame ceremony on, Pelote added 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three blocked shots in a stat-filled senior day, hitting double figures despite being hampered with second-half foul trouble.
Using another strong second half performance, Emery chipped in 11 points, and Chase McKey put together his best offensive showing in league play with 10 points and five boards. Freshman CJ Hyland and Pelote both dished out three helpers and Hyland also tallied a pair of steals along with six points.
The versatile Brody Fox led all scorers on Saturday with a game-high 23 points, connecting on 9-of-17 field goals with eight rebounds. Christian Moore gave The Citadel a pair of 20-point scorers wit an even 20 coming on seven field goals with a 3-pointer. Sola Adebisi rounded out the double-figure scoring for the Bulldogs with 10 points to go along with seven rebounds. Adebisi and Fox both added a team-high three assists, and Paxton Davidson had a team-high three steals.
Gallery: (2-15-2025) Catamount MBB vs. The Citadel
The Citadel opened the game fast on Saturday with an 11-4 burst out of the gates to gain the early edge over a sluggish Catamount start. Kell and Pelote tried to inch the Catamounts closer with back-to-back layups, but another 13-to-4 spurt from the Bulldogs allowed the guests to take the largest lead of the day, 12, 24-12 with 8:18 to play in the first half.
Western Carolina (8-17, 4-10 SoCon) used threes from Kell and Pelote and layups from McKey and Kell to spur 10-consecutive points that cut the deficit to two, 24-22, just 2:30 later. The Bulldogs scored five of the next seven before another burst from the hosts. The Citadel scored the final four of the opening 20 minutes to carry a 35-30 lead to the intermission.
The Bulldogs came out of the locker room fast with the first four points before Stansberry caught fire from deep. The California native buried three straight from range that tied the game at 39 just three minutes into the second half. After the Bulldogs regained a slim lead, the Catamounts put together a 10-to-2 run of their own to pull in front 49-43 with 13:13 to play.
The guests wouldn't go away, quietly answering each WCU run with a burst of its own as the Bulldogs cut the deficit to three on a pair of occasions. Emery helped spearhead the momentum toward the Catamounts as his three straight points in 39 seconds gave the Catamounts a 58-52 lead with nine minutes remaining.
Western Carolina's advantage swelled to double figures at 10, 66-56. Undeterred, the Cadets did not go away quietly, trimming the deficit to just two, 68-66 with 3:33 showing on the game clock.
Kell and Emery put together a pair of 2-of-2 free throw opportunities, but the Bulldogs answered with buckets each try and then buried a free throw close to within one, 72-71 with 1:02 to play. McKey pushed the lead back to three with a key putback with 38 seconds but was quickly answered by the guests.
After Pelote sank a pair of free throws to push WCU back up by three, the Bulldogs had a layup chance get blocked, followed by a pair of unanswered threes as they corralled the boards both time. Adebisi corralled the loose ball and heaved a desperation, last-second corner three towards the basket that swished as the clock struck zero. After the official review, the triple was wiped from the board as the Catamounts escaped with the win.
WCU shot 45.9% (28-of-61) from the floor including six 3-pointers and 14-of-18 (77.8%) from the free throw line. Saturday's field goal shooting performance is the highest in league play since a 46.8% shooting performance against Mercer in an 85-82 win.
The Citadel finished with a 41.3% (26-of-63) shooting performance from the field, along with four threes, and went 17-of-22 (77.3%) at the charity stripe. The Bulldogs won the rebounding battle by five, 41-36, including a 14-9 edge on the offensive glass. The guests had a tight edge in the paint, scoring by four, 44-40, while WCU won the second chance, scoring by six, 12-6, and the bench scored 24-15 as a pair of Catamounts put double digit points up on Saturday.
The Catamounts hit the road on Wednesday, Feb. 19, for a trip to Chattanooga for a SoCon showdown against the Mocs, who are currently tied for the top spot in the league standings. Tip-off from the Scenic City is slated for 7 p.m.
Wednesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). Live audio coverage through the Catamount Sports Network is 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).
