Cullowhee, N.C. – With Western Carolina trailing by three with two minutes to play, graduate transfer Tidjiane Dioumassi helped spark a 9-2 spurt that pushed the Catamounts past Mercer on Wednesday night, 78-74, in a pivotal Southern Conference matchup on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
 
Dioumassi scored seven of WCU's final nine points, including a game-tying 3-pointer and the go-ahead step-back jumper, before Samuel Dada tallied his only points of the night from the free throw line to ice the win.
 
In a contest that featured 12 lead changes and 10 ties, neither team managed a double-digit lead over the 40-minute scrap. The Catamounts cobbled together a 13-to-4 run over the final three minutes to propel them past the Bears, earning their fifth straight SoCon victory.
 
With the win, the Catamounts improved to 9-8 in league play and sole possession of sixth-place currently, a half-game ahead of idle UNCG, which plays at Chattanooga on Thursday. WCU is also a half-game behind idle Samford, which hosts VMI. WCU is currently a game behind Furman and Mercer at 10-7, as the Paladins and Bears are tied for third entering the final weekend of SoCon play.
 
Redshirt junior Cord Stansberry led the Catamounts with a team-best 21 points, coming on 7-of-11 shooting, including all six of his free throws. He also pulled down five rebounds and dished out a team-best four assists. Classmate Marcus Kell poured in 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, along with 2-of-3 from range.
 
Dioumassi and freshman Tahlan Pettway rounded out the double-figure scoring with 15 points apiece as both were efficient at the foul line, 6-of-7 for Pettway and a perfect 6-of-6 for Dioumassi, who celebrated his birthday with the victory. Freshman Samuel Dada and sophomore transfer Abdulai Fanta Kabba led the Catamounts with six rebounds apiece, and Pettway had a team-best three steals, with Dada posting a pair of blocks.
 
Baraka Okojie led four Bears in double figures with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while Armani Mighty recorded a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Zaire Williams and Quinton Perkins II both finished with 13 points. Williams led Mercer with three steals, followed by two from Perkins.
 
Both offenses were stymied on Wednesday night as the opening 10 minutes saw a 9-9 gridlock before a Dioumassi layup and a Kell three pushed the Catamounts to a five-point advantage. Mercer responded, cutting the deficit to two, 16-14, before a 12-6 run from the Catamounts saw the lead swell to a half-high eight, 28-20, with 4:22 to play before the break.
 
Mercer (18-12, 10-7 SoCon) responded with a 12-to-3 run over the final four minutes to flip the scoreboard in its favor by one, 32-31, before Kell connected on a layup in the final minutes to give WCU a 33-32 halftime lead.
 
Despite the late bucket by WCU, the Bears carried momentum out of the locker room with nine of the first 13 points to push their lead out to four, 41-37, just four minutes into the second half. Kabba scored back-to-back buckets to quickly even the scoreboard, creating a second-half tug-of-war over the next several minutes. Mercer pulled ahead using a 10-3 run to push its lead to six, 54-48 with 11:42 remaining in regulation.
 
Stansberry and Kell helped cut the deficit to four with 9:16 to play, and after a pair of Mercer free throws, the Catamounts' offense stepped up with an 11-to-4 run as all 11 points came at the free throw line to give the hosts a 65-64 advantage with 4:41 to play in regulation.
 
Following six quick points from Mercer, the Catamounts continued their march to the free throw line with four quick ones, cutting it to a 70-69 score in favor of the Bears.
 
With Mercer back up by three, 72-69, Dioumassi started his late-game magic with a step-back jumper that swished the nylon and cut it back to a one-point game. Following a pair of Bear free throws, Dioumassi connected on the lone 3-pointer of the second half for either squad, which knotted the game at 74.
 
Western Carolina (13-15, 9-8 SoCon) forced a stop on the defensive end and saw Dioumassi continue his late-game offense with another step-back bucket from the charity stripe that bounced straight up off the backside of the rim before swishing and giving WCU a two-point edge. The Catamounts' defense locked up Mercer once again, and after Dada buried two late free throws, the Catamounts were able to pull out the late 78-74 win.
 
WCU finished the contest shooting 45.3% (24-of-53) from the field, including 52.2% (12-of-23) in the second half to propel the hosts to their fifth straight victory. WCU was held to just five made threes at a 27.8% clip, but made a season-high 25-of-27 (92.6%) at the free-throw line. Mercer shot 50.9% (28-of-55) from the field, while making just two threes and going 16-of-22 at the stripe.
 
In a battle of two of the best rebounding teams in the league, the Catamounts won the rebounding battle by three, 31-28, with a 10-8 edge on the offensive glass. Mercer outscored WCU by eight, 42-34, in the paint and 9-4 in fast break offense. Both teams forced 12 turnovers, with the Catamounts scoring 14 compared to 10 from the Bears.
 
The Catamounts climbed to 13-3 when leading at the half and improved to 13-5 when outrebounding their opponents, including a 9-4 mark in SoCon play. Wednesday marked just the second time a team has held WCU under 80, but the Catamounts still earned the victory.
 
Western Carolina closes the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 28, with a battle against chromatic rival Furman. The game will serve as the backend of a Saturday Catamount basketball doubleheader with the women's team hosting UNCG at 3 p.m. Both games will serve as Senior Day for the two Catamount programs.
 
Saturday's action against the Paladins is slated for a 5:30 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.
 
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