Cullowhee, N.C. – Redshirt junior Cord Stansberry scored a team-best 25 points and freshman Tahlan Pettway added a career-best 24 points to lead four Catamounts in double figures as Western Carolina men's basketball pulled away late from visiting UNC Greensboro for the 91-77 victory Wednesday night in Southern Conference play on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.

With the game hanging in the balance at a four-point margin, 80-76, with 2:34 to play, WCU found the game's final run, closing with an 11-to-1 spurt to provide the final tally in the winning effort.

With the win, the Catamounts improved to 11-3 when leading at halftime this season, with seven of those wins coming in league play. WCU has also won all 11 of its seasonal contests when outrebounding opponents. Western Carolina also jumped to 9-2 when scoring 80 or more points and is a perfect 4-0 when eclipsing the 90-point plateau, a mark it has hit twice in SoCon play.

Stansberry led the shorthanded Catamounts, who only played eight players in the win, as he finished with a team-best 25 on 7-of-15 shooting, including four from range. He added seven rebounds and picked up a career-best four steals. Pettway was efficient, finishing 9-of-13 from the floor with a 6-of-9 performance from 3-point range. Pettway filled up the stat sheet, adding three assists and a pair of steals as the Catamounts swiped eight steals and forced 12 UNCG turnovers, three above its average in SoCon play.

For the second time in as many games, graduate transfer Tidjiane Dioumassi matched a seasonal best with 16 points as he made seven field goals. Redshirt junior Marcus Kell rounded out WCU's double-figure quartet with 15 points and pulled down a team-best nine rebounds.

Justin Neely carried the Spartans' offense on Wednesday with a game-best and career-high 35 points on 13-of-18 shooting with eight made free throws. Neely boarded a team-high eight rebounds and added a team-high four assists. Noah Norgaard tallied 13 points along with four rebounds and a pair of steals. Clinton Efinda finished with 11 points, while KJ Younger rounded out the four Spartans with 10 points and three rebounds.

Western Carolina (11-15, 7-8 SoCon) started fast with an early 8-2 burst, which was quickly answered by the Spartans following an early timeout as UNCG scored the game's next 13 points to take a 15-8 lead just over six minutes into action. WCU got back in the scorebook with 12 unanswered, though, to regain a lead it wouldn't relinquish the rest of the night.

Following a quick three-point play from the guests, the Catamounts used a 12-3 spurt over the next three minutes to push out to a double-digit lead at 32-21 with 6:37 to play in the first half. After Kell, Pettway, and Stansberry connected on three straight 3-pointers that allowed the hosts to push the lead to a game-high 15, 43-28, UNCG closed the half on an 8-to-2 run to make it 45-36 WCU at the intermission.

UNCG (12-16, 8-7 SoCon) continued its momentum into the second half with an 11-3 burst out of the halftime locker room to close to within a point, 48-47. The next seven minutes saw Western Carolina continue to push out to a multiple-possession lead, only to have the guests fight back to within one, 57-56, on a Younger breakaway slam with 11:51 to play.

The Catamounts were able to swell their lead to nine on a pair of Abdulai Fanta Kabba free throws with six minutes to play, and again on a Dioumassi free throw at 5:19. However, the Spartans answered with their best push of the half, scoring eight of the next 12 points to again cut the lead to five, 78-73. UNCG answered a Samuel Dada layup with a Norgaard 3-pointer to make it a four-point game, 80-76, with 2:34 to play.

On the ensuing possession, Pettway capped his scoring with his sixth trey of the night that spurred an 11-to-1 run over the final two minutes and propelled the Catamounts to the 91-77 victory over the visiting UNCG.

Western Carolina finished the night shooting 52.2% (31-of-59) from the field, connecting on 12 3-pointers. It was the eighth time in SoCon play that the Catamounts have made double-figure 3-pointers. WCU also went 17-of-22 (77.3%) at the free-throw line. UNCG finished at 51.9% (28-of-54), while making seven threes at a 36.8% rate. The Spartans made 14-of-20 at the stripe.

After trailing the rebounding battle by five, 16-11 at the half, WCU jumped back in front of UNCG to win the glass battle 31-28. The Spartans held a 36-28 lead in paint scoring as WCU took advantage of second-chance points by the count of 17-2. Both teams scored 14 points off turnovers, with WCU committing just 10 giveaways compared to 12 by the guests.

The Catamounts close out their road portion of the 2026 SoCon schedule on Saturday, Feb. 21, with a trek to the Commonwealth of Virginia to battle VMI. The action against the Keydets is slated for 1 p.m. and will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available via a link at CatamountSports.com.

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