Greenville, S.C. – Graduate transfer Julien Soumaoro connected on consecutive free throws with 3:45 left in Saturday's overtime session to give Western Carolina a lead it wouldn't relinquish down the stretch as the Catamounts ground out an 80-77 road victory over Furman in Southern Conference action at the newly renovated Timmons Arena.
After neither team was able to claim victory in 40 minutes of action, the Paladins grabbed a one-point, 68-67, lead in the waning moments before Soumaoro, redshirt junior Marcus Kell, and graduate transfer Tidjiane Dioumassi combined for a 9-0 burst over a three-minute stretch as WCU took a 76-68 lead before withstanding a late charge from the hosts to claim the league triumph.
Saturday marked the first overtime win for the Catamounts since January 25, 2025, when WCU downed The Citadel in Charleston by the score of 80-78.
Furman (10-5, 1-1 SoCon) fought back from an 11-point late first-half deficit, taking its first lead since the 10:20 mark of the first half on an Alex Wilkins jumper with 14:11 to go in regulation. Both teams put together runs over the next 10 minutes as the contest swayed in single digits down the stretch including four ties, before a Soumaoro layup with 1:30 to go was the last scoring action, as both teams had chances in the closing moments.
Furman's chances came in the final 50 seconds with three missed late 3-pointers, including one as time expired, to send the action to overtime tied at 65.
Overall, Saturday's game featured 16 lead changes and eight ties, with multiple double-digit leads over the final four minutes of the opening half as both teams traded makes, marking the only time either squad led by double figures. A three-minute stretch in the first half marked the only time WCU held the only double-digit lead in Saturday's action.
Soumaoro and Kell led with 16 points apiece, two of four Catamounts in double figures in the road win. Kell was key in the second half and overtime, scoring 13 of his 16 points and making 7-of-14 field goals, including a pair of threes. Soumaoro's offense was spread out, as he went 6-of-13 from the field, hit a pair of triples, and led on the glass with eight boards.
Redshirt junior Cord Stansberry added 15 points, hitting three 3-pointers and pulling down five rebounds. Dioumassi rounded out the double-figure scoring with 12 points and filled the stat sheet with six rebounds and a team-best four assists. Sophomore transfer Justin Johnson added eight points and four rebounds to the winning effort. Following Soumaoro's eight boards, Dioumassi, sophomore transfer Abdulai Fanta Kabba, and freshman Samuel Dada each had six boards, with Kabba leading the way with three steals.
Wilkins led a trio of Paladins in double figures with a game-high 24 points, going 11-of-20 from the floor and adding six assists and four rebounds. Charleston Johnston finished with 14 points, including four threes, as he had six rebounds, followed by Ben Vander Wal with 11 points as he added a team-best eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals.
Saturday's action started even as the Paladins used an 11-4 run after an early Soumaoro 3-pointer to gain an 11-7 lead with 13:40 to play in the half. Behind a pair of Stansberry treys, the Catamounts flipped the scoreboard over the next five minutes with a 20-17 lead with 8:21 to play in the half. WCU kept the foot on the pedal with a 12-4 burst to race out to a half-high 11-point lead with 2:32 to play in the half. The two teams traded threes down the stretch with the Paladins burying the final one to make it 38-30 WCU at the intermission.
Furman busted out of the halftime gates with a 14-4 run to reverse the scoreboard to take a 44-42 lead just six minutes into the second half. Johnson, Kell, Dioumassi, and sophomore CJ Hyland put together a 10-1 spurt of their own to push the guests back in front by seven, 52-45 at the midpoint of the second half.
The Paladins used a quick 8-0 run to inch back in front by one, 53-52, before six in a row from the Purple & Gold gave the Catamounts the five-point lead as Saturday's action went down the stretch.
Furman used a quick 7-0 answer to inch back in front before points were hard to come by down the stretch as both defenses ratcheted up the pressure to send the contest to overtime. After the Paladins snuck in front by one, WCU used a 9-0 run and withstood a 9-2 charge from the hosts down the stretch to claim the SoCon road win on Saturday.
Western Carolina (5-8, 1-1 SoCon) shot 44.1% (30-of-68) from the floor. The guests made 10 3-pointers at a 50% clip and converted 10-of-16 free throws. Furman finished at 44.6% (29-of-65), hitting 11 threes at 34.4% and 8-of-17 at the line.
WCU flexed its muscles on the glass by 13, winning the rebounding battle, 48-35. The Catamounts had a 17-11 lead on the offensive boards. The Catamounts took advantage of 10 Furman giveaways, scoring 16 points. Furman had a six-point edge in points in the paint at 34-28 as WCU outscored Furman's bench 17-11. Both teams had seven steals, with Furman distributing 18 assists and WCU 13.
Western Carolina continues a conference season-long three-game road swing with a trip on Wednesday, Jan. 7, battling the Samford Bulldogs in Birmingham, Ala. The meeting with the Bulldogs is slated for a 7 p.m. EST start and will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available online at CatamountSports.com.
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