Birmingham, Ala. – Freshman Samuel Dada posted career highs with a double-double effort of 19 points and 14 rebounds, while tying his career benchmark with four blocked shots to lead Western Carolina on Wednesday night at Samford. However, the Bulldogs used a 21-7 run late in the second half allowed to rally for an 82-77 victory at the Pete Hanna Center.
Dada finished 6-of-7 from the floor and made all seven of his free throws to accompany his 14 boards – seven on both ends of the court – with three assists. Redshirt junior Cord Stansberry added 12 points on five made field goals, including a 3-pointer. Graduate transfer Julien Soumaoro and sophomore transfer Justin Johnson both poured in 11 points apiece, with Johnson making all six of his free throws, while Soumaoro connected on a pair of threes.
Rounding out the six Catamounts in double figures were graduate transfer Tidjinae Dioumassi and redshirt junior Marcus Kell with 10 points apiece. Dioumassi added seven rebounds and a team-best five assists.
Samford's Jadin Booth led all scorers with 33 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including five 3-pointers, while also distributing a team-best four assists. Kam Marin, Keaton Norris, and Will Shaver contributed 11 points each for the hosts. Cade Norris led the Bulldogs with five rebounds and his brother Keaton Norris had a team-best three steals, and Zion Wilburn led the way for Samford with two rejections.
After the teams traded 5-point runs out of the gates, Western Carolina seized control with 11 straight points, including six from Dada as the Catamounts raced out to a 16-5 lead at the 14:29 mark. Samford pushed back with WCU answering each time before a 9-0 spurt allowed the Catamounts to jump in front by a game-high 18 points, 32-14 with 8:31 to go in the half.
The Bulldogs responded over the next four minutes, though, scoring the game's next 14 points to cut the once 18-point margin to just four before Kell and Dioumassi hit back-to-back buckets to stretch the lead back to eight. Samford closed the half on a 6-2 run as the Catamounts carried a 38-34 advantage into intermission.
Following a four-point play from Stansberry to open the second half, Samford (9-7, 2-1 SoCon) used a 9-4 burst over the next two and a half minutes to cut its deficit to three, 46-43 with 16:17 to play in the game. WCU responded with an 8-4 spurt over the next two minutes to push their advantage back to seven, 54-47.
The hosts responded once again in a back-and-forth second half with an 8-2 run to cut the game to a one-point game, 56-55, with 10:42 to play. But, WCU's Johnson and Dioumassi answered with eight straight points to extend the lead to 64-55.
Down nine, Samford put together its best offensive run of the night with the 21-to-7 burst over a five-minute stretch to gain its first lead of the night and take a five-point lead, 76-71, with 3:10 to play. Soumaoro scored the final six points for WCU, but free throws late from the Bulldogs allowed the hosts to grab the 82-77 home victory.
Western Carolina (5-9, 1-2 SoCon) shot 41% (25-of-61) from the floor with five 3-pointers at a 33.3% clip. The Catamounts buried a season-high 22-of-25 (88%) at the free throw line. Samford finished at 44.8% (26-of-58), hitting 11 threes at 44% and making 19-of-21 at the charity stripe.
WCU continued to control the glass, winning the rebounding battle by eight, 38-to-30, including a 15-8 lead in offensive rebounding. The Purple & Gold held the 22-9 advantage in second-chance points. Both squads took care of the basketball as Samford had seven giveaways, as WCU turned them into 10 points, and Samford forced 10 turnovers that became 12 points for the hosts.
The Catamounts close out a conference season-long three-game road swing with a trip on Saturday, Jan. 10, with a trip to Charleston, S.C., to battle The Citadel. The meeting with the Bulldogs is slated for a 1 p.m. start and will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live audio from the Catamount Sports Network, and live stats available online at CatamountSports.com.
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