Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina men's basketball closes the 2024-25 regular season on Saturday with a road trip to Macon, Ga., to battle Mercer at Hawkins Arena. The Southern Conference finale is slated for a 4:30 p.m. tip-off.
Saturday's matchup with the Bears will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). Live stats are also available via a link on CatamountSports.com.
With seeding for next week's 2025 Ingles Southern Conference Basketball Championships starting to take form, Saturday's meeting in Macon is a precursor to next Friday's opening round match-up at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville. A WCU win would lock the Catamounts in to the No. 8 seed as the designated home team in that meeting, while a loss would put Mercer at No. 8 and wearing the light-colored jersey in the tourney's first round.
Matchup: Western Carolina (8-20, 4-13 SoCon) at Mercer (12-18, 5-12 SoCon)
Date: Saturday, Mar. 1
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Site: Hawkins Arena (Macon, Ga.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Live Video: ESPN+ (paid subscription required)
Twitter: @CatamountMBB
About Western Carolina:
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 has eclipsed double figures in his last 10 games to become a third Catamount with a double-digit seasonal scoring average. Kell has averaged 19.2 points per game in the 10-game stretch to rank among the league leaders in the SoCon. He's also fifth in rebounding in that timeframe at 8.1 boards per game, one of seven players in the league to have multiple double-doubles in his last nine games. A product of Rock Hill, S.C., Kell has netted two of the past three SoCon Player of the Week awards.
On the year, Kell ranks second on the WCU squad in league play with a 14.6 point per game average and has reached double figures 12 times. He is also second on the team with 5.8 rebounds per contest, shooting at a 47.6 % (78-of-164) clip in league play, including 41.6% (32-of-77) from 3-point range in SoCon action.
Senior Bernard Pelote sits among the top in the league in scoring during SoCon play as he enters the final game of the regular season seventh at 16.3 points per game. The Savannah, Ga., product is also tied for second in the league in conference games with 6.1 field goals per game. His 7.5 rebounds per game is third in conference play, and he's also ninth in league play with 42 made threes and tops in defensive rebounds with 103 while checking in third overall with 128 boards.
Western Carolina ranks third in the league in rebounds with 38.5 per game over 28 games as the Catamounts have boarded a league-high 27.9 defensive rebounds per contest, which ranks among the national leaders. WCU sits just 0.6 rebounds behind Mercer, Saturday's opponent, for the top spot in the league. WCU also ranks third in the league in free-throw percentage at 75.4%, led by Cord Stansberry, who's connected a league-high 93.2%, ranking among the top free-throw shooters in the nation if qualified but hasn't reached the minimums.
Pelote leads the Catamounts on the glass with 7.5 rebounds per game—the second-best individual average in the SoCon. He also ranks first in the league with 6.0 defensive rebounds per game and second in the conference with 167 total defensive boards. Pelote and Kell are both tied for fourth in the league in conference play with 18 blocks. Junior post Vernon Collins ranks seventh in conference play with 44 offensive rebounds.
Scouting the Opposition – Mercer Bears:
Mercer enters the finale with a 12-18 record after falling by one point (59-58) at ETSU on Wednesday night, missing a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer in the losing effort. The Bears enter Saturday's action reeling as they've dropped seven of their last eight games overall with the lone win coming in Charleston by 10 over The Citadel.
Senior guard Ahmad Robinson – a New Hampshire transfer – leads the Bears with 16.5 points per game as he's eclipsed double figures in all but five games in the 2024-25 season including each of his past three. Robinson has done it all over the court making 42.9% (165-of-385) from the field along with 45 threes and making his free throws at a 71.9% clip.
Tyler Johnson, USC Aiken transfer, checks into Saturday's matchup averaging 16.3 points per game as both he and Robinson are among the league leaders with 20+ point games as Robinson has nine and Johnson has seven. Johnson has been effective from distance connecting on a team-high 88 3-pointers at a 38.9% rate to pace Mercer.
Senior center Alex Holt – a transfer from High Point a season ago – rounds out the trio in double figures with 10.8 points per game to go along with a team-high 6.8 rebounds per contest. Holt has recorded three double-doubles, including in the first matchup with WCU with 21 points and 11 rebounds. He also has been effective inside, sitting in sixth in the league at 58.3 percent (134-of-230) in field goal percentage.
Robinson ranks second in the league with 150 assists. The senior guard has recorded three double-doubles for the Bears and a team-best 59 steals.
As a scoring offense, Mercer is tied for third in points per game at 76.7 and is tops in rebounds per game at 39.1 per contest. Mercer is also second in the league in defensive rebounds at 27.3 per game, just behind WCU who sits at 27.9. The Bears rank second in the SoCon with 8.7 steals.
Mercer was tabbed seventh in the 10-team preseason poll as the Bears are under the direction of first-year head coach Ryan Ridder, who went to Macon after spending the past three seasons at UT Martin and the three years prior at Bethune-Cookman. Mercer finished the 2023-24 season with a 16-17 record, including an 8-10 league record, before falling in the tournament's quarterfinals to eventual league champion Samford.
Last Meeting vs Mercer:
With the game tied at 78 with 1:10 to play, senior Bernard Pelote connected on a clutch 3-pointer as the Catamounts scored seven of the game's final 11 points over the final 70 seconds to earn the 85-82 win in Southern Conference action on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
The Catamounts had four players in double figures led by redshirt sophomore Cord Stansberry, who poured in a team-high 17 points. The Pepperdine transfer connected on three from beyond the arc and added three rebounds and two assists. Junior Ice Emery added 16 points off the bench on the strength of four treys to post his second double-figure game in the last four games.
Series History:
Western Carolina holds the upper hand in the series against Mercer with a 17-13 record including wins in five straight games as the Catamounts look for their third regular season sweep in a row against the Bears on Saturday. The two teams have deadlocked in the head-to-head matchups in Macon at six apiece with WCU grabbing the last two meetings held in Hawkins Arena.
Up Next for Western Carolina:
Following Saturday's regular season finale, the Catamounts turn their attention to the 2025 Ingles SoCon Men's Basketball Championship set to begin on Friday, March 7 from the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville. The matchups will be officially announced following the conclusion of play on Saturday across the league.
All games of the tournament will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and have live stats available via a link on CatamountSports.com. Live audio coverage throughout the tournament will be provided by the Catamount Sports Network and is available online at CatamountSports.com and on 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC "The River" in Sylva. SoCon Tournament Central
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