Cullowhee, N.C. – Coming off a total team effort that included the squad's best defensive performance of the season in limiting The Citadel to just 49 points in Wednesday's 38-point victory, Western Carolina takes to the road on Saturday for an afternoon Southern Conference showdown against Chattanooga at The McKenzie Arena.
Tip-off from "The Roundhouse" is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in the back end of a UTC hoops doubleheader, which will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available online at CatamountSports.com.
The Catamounts improved to 5-8 in league play after the commanding 87-49 victory on Wednesday over The Citadel. Chattanooga (4-9 SoCon), just behind the Catamounts in the standings, comes off a 12-point defeat (73-61) at the hands of in-state foe East Tennessee State. The Mocs have dropped six of their last seven since a 90-82 win over WCU on January 17 in Cullowhee.
Matchup: Western Carolina (9-15, 5-8 SoCon) at Chattanooga (10-16, 4-9 SoCon)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 14
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Site: McKenzie Arena (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Live Video: ESPN+ (paid subscription required)
Twitter: @CatamountMBB
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About Western Carolina:
Western Carolina men's basketball cruised to the 87-49 victory over The Citadel on Wednesday night using a balanced, total team effort that started with a decisive 25-to-4 run to start the game. 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. The 38-point victory was the largest in the 92-game series with the Cadets.
Julien Soumaoro led five Catamounts in double figures with 15 points, adding five rebounds and three assists. Freshman Tahlan Pettway and graduate transfer Tidjiane Dioumassi both scored 12, as Pettway hit double figures for the fifth straight game.
In SoCon play, the Catamounts have climbed to fifth in the league in scoring, averaging 78.5 points per game, while ranking fourth overall at 78 points per game this season. WCU has surpassed 78 points six times in SoCon play with a 4-2 mark in those contests.
Individually in league play, redshirt junior Cord Stansberry leads the squad at 14.8 points per game, followed by Kell at 13.8 per game. Graduate transfer Julien Soumaoro rounds out the double-figure trio at 11.4 points per contest. As a group, WCU has five 20-point individual outputs in league action, as Stansberry has three, with Kell having the other two.
The Catamounts have continued to crash the boards in 2025-26, averaging 38.8 rebounds per game through 24 contests, second in the SoCon. The Purple & Gold maintain the lead in the league in offensive rebounds per game (13.8).
Freshman Samuel Dada leads the Catamounts in rebounding with 7.2 per game, ranking in a tie for fifth in the SoCon. He is followed by sophomore transfer Abdulai Fanta Kabba, who is eighth in the league in rebounding at 6.4 boards per game. Both players sit among the league leaders in offensive rebounding: Dada's 76 offensive boards (3.2 per game) rank second in total offensive boards and his per-game average. Kabba checks in sixth in total offensive rebounds with 56 and is fourth in per-game average with 2.5.
In conference play, Dada is second in the league with 52 offensive rebounds, averaging 4.0 per game. He's also fifth in overall rebounds at 8.54 per contest. Tidjiane Dioumassi, who returned to the lineup on Wednesday, averages 3.25 assists per contest, ranking seventh in the league. Kell ranks ninth in league play at 47.5% shooting from the field. Dada is tied for fifth in the league at 1.23 blocks per game in conference play, with 16 rejections, tied for fifth in the SoCon.
Scouting the Opposition:
Chattanooga (10-16, 4-9 SoCon) enters Saturday having lost six of its last seven games since escaping Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center with an eight-point win in mid-January. UTC's lone win over the last seven came at home against Mercer, as the SoCon's preseason favorites have struggled on their home court with just a 6-6 mark.
Junior Jordan Frison, a transfer from Pittsburg State, paces the Mocs at 14.9 points per game. He has scored 20 or more points in six games and has double figures in all but four games this season. Frison has been effective throughout 2025-26, shooting 52.4% (140-of-267), making 37 threes and 70-of-84 (83.3%) at the charity stripe.
In SoCon play, Frison (14.9 ppg) has been joined in double figures by North Dakota State transfer in senior Brennan Watkins at 11.4 points per game, while freshman Tate Darner has averaged 10.6 points per contest in his 13 league games.
UTC has done it from deep to date, connecting on a 35.1% of its 3-pointers with 271 long-range buckets, ranking second in the SoCon through 26 games. Watkins leads the team with 57 from deep, followed by 46 from Bellarmine senior transfer Billy Smith and 43 from Darner.
Darner leads the Mocs' regulars on the glass with 4.3 rebounds per game. Frison sits sixth in the league with 3.8 assists per game and is sixth with 99 helpers. SEMO transfer Teddy Washington Jr. has a team-best 27 steals, and freshman Josh Bowman has 18 blocks to lead Chattanooga.
The Mocs are led by Dan Earl in his fourth season at the helm in Chattanooga after spending seven seasons at VMI. Earl has tallied 78 wins in his time at the Scenic City.
Last Time vs Chattanooga:
Julien Soumaoro led four Catamounts in double figures with 17 points, but Western Carolina was unable to overcome 16 made 3-pointers and a hot-shooting second half from Chattanooga as the visiting Mocs earned the 90-82 on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
Behind Soumaoro, redshirt junior Cord Stansberry added 14 points, going 5-of-6 at the foul line. Sophomore Justin Johnson and redshirt junior Marcus Kell rounded out the double-figure scoring with 11 points apiece.
Series History:
Saturday's matchup marks the 107th all-time meeting between the two schools, with Chattanooga holding a 74-32 lead in the head-to-head battles. The Mocs have won each of the past three contests, as UTC has won six of the past eight matchups. Chattanooga has held serve at home throughout recent history, with the Mocs holding a 40-7 record against the Catamounts in the Scenic City.
Up Next:
Following Saturday's action, the Catamounts return home to Cullowhee looking to "White Out Ramsey" with a SoCon showdown against in-state foe UNC Greensboro on Wednesday, Feb. 18. The action against the Spartans is slated for a 7 p.m. tip and will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) as live audio will be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network with live stats will be provided via a link at 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).
