Cullowhee, N.C. – Junior Marcus Kell posted a game-high 18 points to lead a balanced Catamount scoring attack that saw 10 players score as Western Carolina men's basketball posted its best output against a Southern Conference opponent as the Catamounts rolled to an 88-58 victory over VMI on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center on Saturday afternoon.
Leading by six at the half, the Catamounts used a 22-7 run over the opening eight minutes of the second half to stretch the lead to 23, 63-40, and Western Carolina never looked back en route to its sixth win in eight tries in Cullowhee this season.
Saturday's 88 points scored mark the most for the Purple & Gold against a Division I opponent this season, while the 58 points allowed are the second-fewest this season and the fewest against DI opposition. WCU improved to 7-3 when leading at the half, and 5-0 when holding opponents under 40 percent shooting. The team is 5-2 when scoring at least 80 points and 7-4 when outrebounding opponents.
Kell poured in a game-high 18 points, finishing 7-of-13 from the floor, including three from range, and adding four rebounds. Redshirt junior Cord Stansberry reached double figures for the eighth straight game with 17 points and a team-high five assists. Stansberry connected on seven field goals, including three 3-pointers.
Graduate transfer Julien Soumaoro tallied 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, along with three assists, followed by freshman Samuel Dada with 10 points and seven rebounds, with five of those on the offensive glass. Sophomore transfer Justin Johnson just missed double figures with nine points in 15 minutes off the bench, while classmate Abdulai Fanta Kabba led the Catamounts with 10 rebounds and a team-best four blocks on the defensive end. Freshman Tayeshaun Smith pulled down a career-best seven rebounds, which included five offensive boards.
WCU matched its best assist output as a team in SoCon play with 17 helpers on Saturday, led by Stansberry with five and graduate transfer Tidjiane Dioumassi with four helpers.
AJ Clark paced the short-handed Keydets with 17 points, connecting on six made field goals with a career-best four from beyond the arc. Clark also wrangled a team-best five rebounds. Tan Yildizoglu added 13 points, shooting 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. VMI's leading scorer – and one of the tops in the SoCon entering play – TJ Johnson, was held to just nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep and pulled down four rebounds and dished out a pair of assists for the Keydets.
Both teams lit the scoreboard up in the opening three minutes as the two squads buried three apiece from beyond the arc, resulting in an 11-11 tie. The Catamounts then used a 14-7 run, which included a pair of slams from Stansberry, to stretch the lead to seven, 25-18, with 9:09 to play in the first half.
VMI responded with a 10-5 spurt to cut the deficit to two, bringing the margin to 30-28 with 5:59 left in the half. Western Carolina responded with a 9-3 burst before a late VMI bucket as the hosts took a 39-33 lead to the break.
The Catamounts opened the second half on a scorching hot 11-0 run with Soumaoro burying a pair of threes, followed by Diouamssi hitting a triple to cap the run and stretch the lead to 17, 50-33, just over two minutes into the second half.
VMI continued to push back with buckets, and the guests cut it to 16, 56-40, before a decisive 20-6 run, including 13 unanswered over seven minutes, saw Western Carolina push the advantage to a game-high 30, 76-46. The Keydets' final push came with an 8-3 run to cut the deficit to 25, 79-54, but the Catamounts were able to close on a 9-4 run to claim the commanding 30-point conference win.
Western Carolina (7-12, 3-5 SoCon) shot 51.4 percent (37-of-72) from the floor, its best SoCon performance that included a 21-of-38 (55.3%) shooting effort in the second half. The Catamounts hit 13 3-pointers at 40.6%, a season-best in league play. The Purple & Gold attempted only three free throws, making just one. VMI shot 39.6% (21-of-53) with 11 3-pointers made at a 36.7% rate. The Keydets made 5-of-6 free throws (83.3%).
WCU utilized its size advantage on the injury-plagued Keydets, claiming a 27-rebound advantage on the glass, 47-20, that included a 20-5 edge in offensive rebounds and a 22-7 margin in second-chance points. The Catamounts also leveraged the height disparity to the tune of 44-18 in scoring in the paint, and the numbers edge to 36-10 in bench scoring.
The Catamounts return to the road for a midweek meeting with mountain rival East Tennessee State on Thursday, Jan. 29. The game is set 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 on CatamountSports.com.
Western Carolina looks to complete the third regular-season sweep in the last four years of ETSU after earning the sweep in 2022-23 and 2023-24. The Catamounts earned the 72-68 victory in Cullowhee back on Jan. 14. The Purple & Gold have claimed eight of the past nine meetings in the head-to-head series with the Bucs, who currently sit in first place in the SoCon standings at 7-1.
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