Cullowhee, N.C. – Redshirt sophomore Marcus Kell led three Catamounts in double figures with 19 points and eight rebounds on Wednesday night, but Wofford used a 23-to-9 run to close the first half to propel the Terriers past Western Carolina 90-67 in the penultimate Southern Conference men's basketball action on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
Kell posted his 10th straight game in double figures as he connected on 7-of-9 field goals, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. In his final game in Cullowhee, senior Bernard Pelote added 18 points with three 3-pointers and tallied a team-high nine rebounds. Junior Vernon Collins rounded out the double-figure scoring with 11 points, shooting 9-of-12 from the free throws line in the defeat. Classmate Chase McKey had an efficient night off the bench with nine points on 3-of-5 field goals and a perfect 3-of-3 at the free throw line.
Justin Bailey led five Terriers in double-digit scoring with 18 points, adding five rebounds. Corey Tripp added 15 points and six boards, followed by reserve Jeremy Lorenz with 14 points and seven rebounds. Kyler Filewich finished with his 10th double-double of the season, tallying 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds while also distributing five assists. Dillon Bailey rounded out the double-figure scoring for Wofford with 12 points.
Western Carolina started fast with Pelote connecting on a pair of threes, followed by one from Kell as the Catamounts raced out to an 11-4 lead just five minutes into the action. Wofford (16-14, 10-7 SoCon) answered quickly, though, scoring the game's next nine points before a quick four from Ice Emery and Collins that pushed the Catamounts back in front by two, 15-13.
The two teams traded quick bursts over the next several minutes that kept the score within four before a 13-to-4 run from Wofford stretched a one-point game at 23-22 with 8:07 to play out to 10, 36-26 with 3:30 remaining in the half. The teams traded a three-point run each way before a 7-2 run to close the half from the Terriers allowed the guests to stretch the lead to 15, 46-31 at the intermission.
The Catamounts got the opening two points in the second half by Emery. Still, the hosts would be unable to inch closer the remainder of the half as the Terriers used a 10-to-1 run over the next two minutes to push the lead to 22, 56-34 just four minutes into the second half. WCU kept battling with a 10-4 spurt over the ensuing four minutes, but Wofford continued to have answers as an 11-4 burst allowed the Terrier's lead to swell to 23, 71-48 halfway through the second half.
The deficit remained in the low 20s over the next five minutes of action before seven unanswered points cut the deficit to 15, 82-67, with 3:57 to play. Wofford scored the game's final eight points to help claim the win and close out the Catamounts' home slate.
Western Carolina finished with a 40% (22-of-55) shooting performance, connecting on eight 3-pointers and making 15-of-19 (78.9%) from the charity stripe. Wofford shot 47.1% (33-of-70) from the field while making eight threes and burying 16-of-20 (80%) at the free-throw line.
The Terriers controlled the glass on Wednesday by 12, 45-33, including pulling down 17 offensive rebounds which helped the guests tally 18 second-chance points compared to seven for WCU. Wofford also controlled the paint battle by 28, 50-22, and had a 15-1 edge in fast break scoring. The Terriers also outscored the WCU bench by the margin of 25-to-9.
Western Carolina (8-20, 4-13 SoCon) closes out the 2024-25 regular season on Saturday, March 1, with a trip to Macon, Ga., to battle Mercer. The regular-season finale from the on-campus Hawkins Arena is slated for a 4:30 p.m. tip against the Bears in what will be a preview of the opening-round matchup of the SoCon Tournament.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats are also available via a link on CatamountSports.com.
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