Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina men's basketball begins a two-game road swing on Wednesday night with a visit to Greensboro to battle the UNC Greensboro Spartans, marking the final first-time opponent during the Southern Conference slate for WCU. Wednesday's game has been bumped to a 6 p.m. start and moved to the on-campus Bodford Arena, formerly known as Fleming Gymnasium.
Wednesday's SoCon action from the Gate City is slated to be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live audio coverage from the Catamount Sports Network and live stats available online at CatamountSports.com.
The Catamounts entered the week with a 4-6 league record after Sunday's 88-74 defeat to Samford, while UNCG has a matching 4-6 league mark and looks to rebound from a five-point (71-66) overtime loss on Saturday on the road to The Citadel in Charleston, S.C.
Men's Basketball Matchup: Western Carolina (8-13, 4-6) at UNCG (8-15, 4-6)
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 4
Time: 6 p.m. (UPDATED start time)
Site: Bodford Arena (Greensboro, N.C.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Live Video: ESPN+ (paid subscription required)
Live Audio: Catamount Sports Network
Radio: 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC
Twitter: @CatamountMBB
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About Western Carolina:
Redshirt junior Cord Stansberry led a trio of Catamounts in double figures with 13 points on Sunday afternoon against Samford. However, the visiting Bulldogs opened the second half with a decisive 20-to-9 run to build an advantage and pulled away for the 88-74 victory on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The Bulldog victory completed the season sweep of WCU.
Julien Soumaoro finished with 12 points, four rebounds and a team-best three assists, while freshman Tahlan Pettway scored in double figures for the second straight game with 10 points.
Since Dec. 2, the Catamounts have averaged 81.2 points per contest, increasing their seasonal average from 71.9 to 78.1 during the stretch. Stansberry leads with 13.4 points per game, followed by Kell at 13.1 per game. Soumaoro rounds out the double-figure scoring trio in the stretch at 10.7 points per game. Tidjiane Dioumassi leads the squad with 43 assists, while freshman post Samuel Dada, who grabbed his fourth double-double of the season last Thursday at ETSU, averaged 8.1 rebounds per game over the 14-game stretch.
The Catamounts have continued to crash the boards in 2025-26, averaging 39.1 rebounds per game through 21 contests, second in the SoCon. The Purple & Gold lead the league in offensive rebounds per game (13.9).
Dada leads the Catamounts in rebounding with 7.0 per game, ranking in a three-way tie for fifth in the SoCon. He is followed by sophomore transfer Abdulai Fanta Kabba, who is ninth in the league in rebounding at 6.7 boards per game, though he's missed the last two games for WCU. Both players sit among the league leaders in offensive rebounding, Dada's 64 offensive boards (3.04 per game), second in per-game average, and second in total offensive boards. Kabba checks in tied for third in the league at 2.7 offensive boards per game and fifth in total offensive rebounds with 51.
In conference play, Dada is second in the league with 40 offensive rebounds, while he also ranks second in offensive boards per game at 4.0 thus far in SoCon play. He's also fifth in overall rebounds at 8.6 per contest. Dioumassi averages 3.3 assists per contest, ranking ninth in the league. He's also seventh in assist/turnover ratio at 2.06.
Scouting the Opposition:
UNCG (8-15, 4-6 SoCon) has dropped three straight contests, including a five-point overtime defeat last time out against The Citadel. The Spartans, who were ranked fifth in the preseason polling, have wins over Chattanooga, Samford, a home tilt against The Citadel, and VMI. UNCG holds just a 5-5 record in Greensboro.
Graduate transfer Justin Neely leads the UNCG offense with 16.6 points per game, eighth in the SoCon with double-figure scoring 20 times, including eight games of 20 or more points. Neely, a UAlbany transfer, has a 50.6% (120-of-237) field goal percentage to help pace the Spartan offense. Neely is one of two players in the SoCon averaging a double-double with 11.8 boards per game, as he's totaled 17 double-doubles, including a 22-point, 22-rebound double-double against VMI. He's one of three players in league action to average a double-double (18.6 ppg, 12.5 rpg).
Freshman KJ Younger averages 14.8 points over 23 games, ranking 10th in the conference. He's coming off a season-high 30 points last week against Mercer. The freshman has 17 games of double-digit points. Graduate transfer Donald Whitehead Jr. rounds out the double-figure scoring for UNCG at 11.4 points per game, connecting on a team-best 41 threes at a 32.5% clip.
Neely, who tops the team with 11.8 rebounds per game, also leads the squad with 62 assists, sitting 10th in the league with Whitehead just behind with 61 helpers. Senior Valention Pinedo sits in a tie for seventh in the league with 20 blocks, tied with WCU's Abdulai Fanta Kabba.
Veteran head coach Mike Jones leads the Spartans in his fifth season at the helm in Greensboro after spending a decade as the head man for Radford. Jones guided the Highlanders to five 20-win seasons and has three in his time in Greensboro.
Series History:
Wednesday's matchup marks the 67th all-time meeting between the two UNC system schools, with UNCG holding a tight 34-32 lead in the all-time series. The Spartans have controlled the series in recent years, with season sweeps in each of the past four years. UNCG also holds an 18-11 record over WCU in games played in Greensboro. WCU looks for its first road win against UNCG since Feb. 24, 2021, when the Purple & Gold downed the Spartans 81-80.
Up Next:
Following Wednesday's action, the Catamounts continue their two-game road swing in Spartanburg on Saturday, Feb. 7, with a showdown against Wofford at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. The action with the Terriers is slated for a 4 p.m. start and will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). Streaming audio from the Catamount Sports Network with live stats available online on 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).
