Cullowhee, N.C. – Looking to get back into the win column, Western Carolina men's basketball closes out a Catamount basketball Saturday doubleheader with a visit from VMI on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The updated tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., in anticipation of this weekend's winter storm, which is expected to hit the area later in the day on Saturday.

The men's game closes a full day of SoCon hoops beginning at 11 a.m., with the women's team set to welcome SoCon preseason favorite Chattanooga in the front end of the twinbill. 

Both games this weekend 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. 

The Catamounts enter the weekend with a 2-5 league record after falling to Mercer 88-76 on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, VMI dropped to 1-6 in SoCon play after a home loss to UNCG. The Keydets have now lost five straight, with their only league victory coming against Chattanooga (79-71) on January 3. 

Men's Basketball Matchup: VMI (6-14, 1-6) vs Western Carolina (6-12, 2-5)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 24
Time: 1:30 p.m.
Site: Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center (Cullowhee, N.C.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Live Video: ESPN+ (paid subscription required)  
Live Audio: Catamount Sports Network
Radio: 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC
Twitter: @CatamountMBB
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About Western Carolina:
Mercer used a 13-0 run out of the gates before withstanding a late charge from Western Carolina to earn an 88-76 Southern Conference victory on Wednesday night at Hawkins Arena. The Catamounts connected on nine second-half 3-pointers and shot 55.3 percent in scoring 52 points before the Bears claimed the 12-point victory.

Sophomore transfer Justin Johnson scored a team-best 14 points, scoring 11 in the second half. Redshirt junior Cord Stansberry, graduate transfer Julien Soumaoro, and freshman Tahlan Pettway each finished with 11 apiece. Stansberry buried a pair of threes and had a perfect 5-of-5 night at the foul line, while Soumaoro connected on three 3-pointers, including one to push him past the 1,000-career point threshold. Pettway buried 3-of-4 threes to round out the trio. 

Since Dec. 2, the Catamounts have averaged 80.5 points per contest, increasing their seasonal average. Marcus Kell leads with 12.9 points per game, followed by Stansberry at 12.6 and Johnson at 10.5 to round out the double-figure scoring trio. Julien Soumaoro and Stansberry have both made 22 threes in that span. Tidjiane Dioumassi leads with 36 assists, while Samuel Dada averages a team-best 8.1 rebounds per game in these games.

The Catamounts have continued to crash the boards in 2025-26, averaging 39.5 rebounds per game through 18 contests, second in the SoCon. The Purple & Gold lead the league in offensive rebounds per game (13.9).

Dada leads the Catamounts in rebounding with 6.9 per game, ranking in a tie for sixth in the SoCon, followed by sophomore transfer Abdulai Fanta Kabba, who sits in ninth in the league in rebounding at 6.6 boards per game, followed by Kell at 4.6 per game. Each player has at least 24 offensive rebounds; Dada's 54 offensive boards (3.0 per game), tying for second in per-game average and third in total offensive boards. 

In conference play, Stansberry enters Saturday making 2.7 threes per game, tied for fourth in the SoCon through seven games. He's also sixth in the league at a 35.2% 3-point rate. Dada sits second in the league with 30 offensive rebounds, while also sitting second in offensive boards per game at 4.29 thus far in SoCon play. He's also fourth in overall rebounds at 8.86 per contest. Graduate transfer Tidjiane Dioumassi sits with 3.71 assists per contest, ranking eighth in the league. The Paris, France native is also sixth in the SoCon in league play with a 1.86 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Scouting the Opposition:
VMI (6-14, 1-6 SoCon) enters play on a five-game SoCon skid after upending preseason favorite Chattanooga in its lone conference win back on Jan. 3. The Keydets most recently fell to UNCG 85-78 in the midweek.

Junior TJ Johnson paces the Keydets at 18.8 points per game, ranking in a tie for second in the SoCon. Johnson has reached double figures in 16 games with five games of 20 or more points and a trio of 30-point outputs. Johnson sits fourth in the league amongst qualified shooters at 34.7% from the 3-point line, leads VMI with 7.2 rebounds per game, and has tallied five double-doubles. Johnson also has 66 threes. Sophomore Linus Holmström is averaging 10.5 points per game as he's reached double figures eight times, followed by freshman Mario Tatum Jr. at 10.1 PPG with 10 games reaching double figures. 

Junior Tan Yildizoglu leads VMI with 77 helpers as he recorded a double-double (10 pts, 11 assists in a season-opening win against Johnson & Wales. Yildizoglu has had 5 or more assists eight times on the season. Junior AJ Clark has a team-best 18 blocks, followed by sophomore Kaden Stuckey with 15 rejections. Johnson leads the squad with 29 steals, followed by Yildizoglu with 28 thefts. 

The Keydets are led by Andrew Wilson in his fourth season on-post in Lexington after spending a pair of seasons as an assistant at James Madison. Wilson spearheaded one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in program history, leading the 2024-25 team to 15 wins, the 12th time in school history. The Keydets were one of just 14 programs nationwide to improve their previous season's win total by double digits.

VMI finished with a 15-19 record last season, while going 7-11 in the league before falling in the semifinals to eventual champion Wofford. The Keydets earned wins over The Citadel and UNCG before falling to the Terriers. VMI was tabbed in sixth place in the league's 10-team preseason poll, while Rickey Bradley Jr. was named the league's preseason player of the year – though he has yet to see game action this season.

Series History:
Saturday's matchup marks the 73rd all-time meeting between the two schools, with WCU holding a 41-31 lead in the head-to-head battles. VMI swept the season series a season ago, snapping a five-game winning streak for WCU, dating back to February 2022. The Catamounts have controlled home games in Cullowhee, holding a 23-12 all-time edge. 

Marcus Kell is the top offensive threat returning from last year's two meetings, averaging 11.0 points per game and shooting 50.0% (9-of-18). Graduate Bernard Pelote led WCU with 20.5 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game, making seven threes against VMI. 

Up Next:
Following Saturday's action, the Catamounts return to the road for a midweek mountain rivalry against ETSU on Thursday, Jan. 29. The action with the Bucs is slated for a 7 p.m. start and will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). Streaming audio from the Catamount Sports Network 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).