Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina men's basketball continues Southern Conference play on Wednesday night with a trip to the Peach State to do battle with Mercer inside Hawkins Arena, with tip-off slated for 7 p.m. in Macon, Ga.
Wednesday's game will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats online at CatamountSports.com.
The Catamounts enter Saturday's matchup with a 2-4 league record after falling by eight, 90-82, on Saturday to SoCon preseason favorite Chattanooga to close out a two-game Tennessee home swing. Mercer improved to 4-2 in the SoCon after grabbing a 102-92 win over UNCG, its fourth straight win after downing The Citadel, Wofford, and VMI before Saturday's triumph.
Men's Basketball Matchup: Western Carolina (6-11, 2-4) at Mercer (12-7, 4-2)
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 21
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Hawkins Arena (Macon, Ga.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Live Video: ESPN+ (paid subscription required)
Twitter: @CatamountMBB
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About Western Carolina:
Julien Soumaoro led four Catamounts in double figures with 17 points, but Western Carolina was unable to overcome 16 made 3-pointers and a hot-shooting second half by Chattanooga as the visiting Mocs picked up a 90-82 Southern Conference victory on Saturday afternoon on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
Soumaoro reached double figures for the 11th time this season, finishing with six field goals, including a pair of threes. Redshirt junior Cord Stansberry added 14 points, going 5-of-6 at the foul line. Sophomore Justin Johnson and redshirt junior Marcus Kell rounded out the double-figure scoring with 11 points apiece.
Since December 2, the Catamounts have averaged 80.9 points per game, which includes eclipsing that mark in four contests. Kell leads the way with 13.8 points per game, including eight double-figure scoring outputs while shooting an impressive 50.0% (52-of-104) from the floor and burying 13 threes. Stansberry is averaging 12.8 points per contest with seven games in double figures as the Bermuda Dunes, Calif. native has connected on a team-best 20 threes along with 30-of-37 (81.1%) at the free-throw line. Johnson rounds out the double-digit trio with 10.1 per game, making 50% (33-of-66) field goals.
The Catamounts have continued to crash the boards in 2025-26, averaging 39.5 rebounds per game through 17 contests, second in the SoCon. The Purple & Gold lead the league in offensive rebounds per game (13.8). WCU has crashed the glass at a strong level in SoCon play with a league-best 40.3 boards, including leading the way with 15.3 offensive rebounds per SoCon contest.
Freshman Samuel Dada leads the Catamounts in rebounding with 6.9 per game, ranking in a tie for sixth in the SoCon. Sophomore transfer Abdulai Fanta Kabba sits in ninth in the league in rebounding at 6.6 boards per game, followed by Kell at 4.5 per game. Each player has at least 23 offensive rebounds; Dada's 51 offensive boards (3.0 per game) rank in a tie for third, while his 3.0 offensive rebounds per contest rank second in the league. As a group, they have helped WCU win or tie the rebounding battle in 11 games this season, highlighted by a 64-rebound outing against Virginia University - Lynchburg.
In conference play, Stansberry enters Wednesday tied for 10th in scoring at 17.3 points per game, making 2.8 threes per game, fourth in SoCon play for WCU. Dada sits second in the league with 27 offensive rebounds, while also sitting second in offensive boards per game at 4.5 in the opening six contests. He's also fourth in overall rebounds at 9.33 per contest. Tidjiane Dioumassi sits with 4.33 assists per contest, ranking in a tie for fifth in the league. The Paris, France native is also fifth in the SoCon in league play with a 2.36 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Scouting the Opposition:
Mercer (12-7, 4-2 SoCon) begins play on Wednesday, riding a four-game SoCon win streak with wins over The Citadel (101-63), Wofford (109-97), VMI (77-67), and, most recently, UNCG (102-92) after losses to Furman and ETSU to begin league play. The Bears' lone nonconference common opponent was Lipscomb, which the Bears beat 92-77 in the early stages of the 2025-26 campaign.
Memphis transfer, junior Baraka Okojie, leads the Bears at 18.2 points per game, third in the SoCon in scoring as he's reached double figures in all 18 games he's played, with 20 or more points six times. Okokjie leads the way for Mercer with 101 assists as he's tallied a trio of double-doubles along with his conference-high 5.6 assists per contest.
Central Michigan and Boston College transfer redshirt junior Armani Mighty is averaging 13.5 points per game, with a pair of 20-point outputs. Mighty is shooting 68.4% (104-of-152), while also leading the Bears with 10.5 rebounds per game as he's totaled 11 double-doubles, including the second-most rebounds by a Mercer player in school history last week against VMI with 25 in a win over the Keydets. Wagner transfer, graduate student Zaire Williams rounds out the double-figure scoring for Mercer at 12.1 points per game, while totaling a team-best 42 three-pointers.
Mercer sits second in the league as a team with 8.9 steals per game and 3.6 blocks per game as the Bears are paced by sophomore Brady Shoulders (1.9 steals, 2nd) and Mighty (1.9 blocks, 1st).
In conference play, Mighty leads the league with 13.67 rebounds per game and ranks second at 65.4% (34-of-52) from the field. Okojie leads the league with 5.67 assists per game and ranks in a tie for fifth with 19.33 points per game in his first six conference games. Shoulders has a conference-best 12 steals in SoCon play, while Mighty is tied for the league lead with 12 blocks.
The Bears are led by Ryan Ridder in his second season at the helm in Macon after spending three seasons apiece at both UT Martin and Bethune-Cookman, where he totaled 96 wins between his two prior stops.
Mercer finished with a 14-19 record last season, while going 6-12 in the league, before falling to Chattanooga in the second round of the 2025 Southern Conference tournament. The Bears were tabbed eighth in the league's 10-team preseason poll.
Series History:
Wednesday's trek to Macon marks the 33rd all-time meeting between the two schools, with WCU holding a tight 17-15 lead in the head-to-head battles. Mercer has controlled the series in Macon over the past few years, winning six of the last eight meetings, including an 81-69 decision a season ago in the Peach State. The Bears hold a 7-6 lead in matchups from Hawkins Arena, while WCU maintains a 10-3 lead in games contested in Cullowhee.
Cord Stansberry represents the top offensive threat returning from last year's three meetings, including the SoCon tournament matchup, averaging 11.3 points per game, including 17 points in a tight home win in Cullowhee. Marcus Kell averaged 10.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest. CJ Hyland and Vernon Collins led the way with eight assists apiece.
Up Next:
Following Wednesday's action, the Catamounts are scheduled to return to the friendly confines of Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center for a battle against VMI in the backend of a WCU SoCon hoops doubleheader. Men's tip-off is slated for 3:30 p.m., following the women's team hosting preseason favorite Chattanooga at 1 p.m. Saturday's game will be the annual Pack the RAC and the second-annual Adoption Day, sponsored by Conley Rogers Real Estate Group.
Fans are encouraged to check with CatamountSports.com for any weather-related schedule changes for this weekend's scheduled hoops double-header.
Both games on Saturday are slated to be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live audio coverage through the Catamount Sports Network available online at CatamountSports.com and on 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC "The River" in Sylva for the men's game. 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).
