Cullowhee, N.C. – On the strength of a decisive 25-to-4 run to open Wednesday's Southern Conference meeting with The Citadel, Western Carolina men's basketball cruised to a commanding 87-49 victory over the Bulldogs with a balanced, total team effort on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
The Catamounts scored 52 first-half points on a blistering 70% (21-of-30) shooting performance to run out to a 52-25 halftime lead and never looked back, earning the 38-point victory – the largest in the 92-game series with the Cadets.
Julien Soumaoro led five Catamounts in double figures with 15 points, connecting on 6-of-8 field goals, including 3-of-4 from deep. The graduate transfer added five rebounds and three assists. Freshman Tahlan Pettway and graduate transfer Tidjiane Dioumassi both scored 12, as Pettway was 4-of-7 from beyond the arc to hit double figures for the fifth straight game. Dioumassi made 5-of-8 from the field with a pair of threes. Redshirt juniors Marcus Kell and Cord Stansberry scored 10 apiece, with Stansberry netting three triples. Sophomore transfer Justin Johnson scored nine to just miss double figures, posting two on an emphatic second-half slam dunk.
Freshman Samuel Dada led the Catamounts on the glass with 10 rebounds, four on the offensive end, to accompany six points. Dada and Stansberry had a pair of steals in the win.
Sola Adebisi led the Bulldogs with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc as the guests were held to just 28.8% shooting from the field. Carter Kingsbury, who saw his four-game double-figure scoring streak snapped, led The Citadel on the glass with five boards, followed by four from Braxton Williams.
Western Carolina's red-hot start that included making 10 of its first 12 shots, including 4-of-5 from range, spanned the opening eight minutes as the Catamounts took a 25-4 lead. Reeling from the quick start by the home squad, the Bulldogs managed consecutive buckets to trim the deficit to 19 – but it was as close as the 'Dogs could get as the Catamounts again ramped up the offensive pressure, making 8-of-11 field goals, including three more from deep to push the lead to a half-high 34, 44-10, late in the opening half.
The Bulldogs' offense closed with its best push of the half on a 12-to-6 run over the final 4:35 as the Catamounts took a 27-point, 52-25 lead to the halftime locker room.
Both offenses were limited in the earlier stages of the second half, with the margin hovering between 28 and 31 points in favor of the purple-clad Catamounts. Pettway sank a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 33, 66-33, at the 12:45 mark.
Up by 31, 68-37, with nine minutes to play, the Catamounts left little doubt in the final outcome with a 12-to-2 spurt over the next four minutes to take a game-high 42-point advantage, 80-38, at the five-minute mark. Johnson, Stansberry, and sophomore transfer Abdulai Fanta Kabba, all added a pair of buckets, the latter on an offensive rebound slam.
The two teams then went back-and-forth over the final five and a half minutes as the Catamounts held on for the commanding 87-49 victory.
Western Carolina (9-15, 5-8 SoCon) finished the night shooting 55.7% (34-of-61) from the field. WCU buried 13 3-pointers on 48.1% shooting and went 6-of-11 at the free throw line. The Citadel finished at 28.8% (15-of-52), connecting on six threes at a 22.2% rate. The guests were 13-of-14 (92.9%) at the free throw line.
After being outrebounded 44-36, including a 14-12 mark on the offensive end, in the overtime loss earlier this year in Charleston, the Catamounts held a 16-rebound edge on the glass, 42-26, with a 12-8 edge in offensive boards. WCU controlled the paint on Wednesday by 26, 42-16. The Bulldogs committed 12 turnovers, which led to 20 points for WCU, while the Bulldogs forced eight giveaways, which became six points for The Citadel.
The Catamounts hit the road this weekend with a trip to Chattanooga (10-16, 4-9 SoCon) – a 12-point loser at ETSU on Wednesday evening – for a SoCon matchup scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 14. The action with the Mocs is slated for a 4:30 p.m. tip in the backend of a UTC doubleheader, and will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). Live stats will be provided via a link at CatamountSports.com.
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