Cullowhee, N.C. – Fifth-seeded Western Carolina men's basketball opens the 2026 Ingles Southern Conference Basketball Championship on Saturday night with a quarterfinal tilt against No. 4 seed Mercer at the Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville. Saturday's late regular-season rematch with the Bears is slated for an 8:30 p.m. tip-off.
FOR TICKETS, CONTACT the WCU Athletics TICKET OFFICE at (828) 227-2401 or see WCU Staff at the Catamount Central at The Bier Garden Pregame
Saturday's game will be shown regionally on South Carolina Education TV (SCETV) throughout the Palmetto State and parts of western North Carolina, and simulcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
Each game WCU plays in Asheville will also be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network, with live audio available online at CatamountSports.com beginning 30 minutes before the announced tip-off time. Fans can also listen to the game locally in Sylva on 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC "The River."
Live stats through StatBroadcast will be available through a link at CatamountSports.com.
No. 5 Western Carolina (14-15, 10-8 SoCon) vs. No. 4 Mercer (19-12, 11-7 SoCon)
Date: Saturday, March 7
Time: Approx. 8:30 p.m.
Site: Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Live Video: ESPN+ (paid subscription required) & SCETV (Saturday Only)
Live Audio: Catamount Sports Network
Radio: 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC "The River" (wrgc.com)
Twitter: @CatamountMBB
Catamount Central Pregame RSVP
TICKETS
About Western Carolina:
Freshman Tahlan Pettway scored a game-high 23 points to pace five Catamounts in double figures as Western Carolina closed the regular season on a SoCon-long six-game winning streak, capping it with a commanding 86-67 victory over chromatic rival Furman on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
WCU's current run is the longest win streak in Southern Conference play for the Catamounts since the 2010-11 season, when the Purple & Gold won seven in a row down the home stretch.
Pettway hit four 3-pointers as he just missed his career-high. Redshirt junior third-team All-SoCon selection Cord Stansberry added 16 points, along with four rebounds and a team-best four assists.
WCU improved to 14-3 when leading at half and 14-5 when outrebounding opponents, with a 10-4 SoCon mark. The team is 11-2 when scoring over 80 points, hitting that mark nine times in league play.
The Catamounts finished SoCon play fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 79.8 points per game, just above their seasonal average of 78.9 points per contest. WCU surpassed 78 points 11 times in conference play, posting a 9-2 mark in those 11 matchups.
Individually in league play, Stansberry led the squad with 15.7 points per game, followed by redshirt junior Marcus Kell at 13.5 per game. Graduate transfer Julien Soumaoro sits at 12.4 points per contest after missing the last four games due to injury. Graduate transfer Tidjiane Dioumassi rounds out the quartet with 10.7 points per game, including six straight double-figure scoring outputs.
WCU had 10 individual 20-point games in SoCon play: Stansberry (5), Kell and Pettway (2 each), Soumaoro (1).
Throughout the 2025-26 season, the Catamounts remained at or near the top of the conference in rebounding, averaging 38.45 boards per game through 29 contests, second in the SoCon by 0.08 rebounds behind Furman. WCU maintained the lead in the league in offensive rebounds per game (13.45). Freshman Samuel Dada leads the Catamounts in rebounding with 7.41 per game, ranking fifth in the SoCon. Dada's 86 offensive boards (2.97 per game) rank second in total offensive boards and his per-game average. In conference play, Dada is second in the league with 62 offensive rebounds, averaging 3.44 per game. He's also fifth in overall rebounds at 8.5 per contest.
WCU finished first in offensive rebounding (13.45), first in rebounding margin (5.86), first in offensive rebounding percentage (35.8%), second in defensive rebounding percentage (74.7%), second in rebounding (38.45), second in rebound defense (32.59), third in the league in scoring (78.9), and fourth in steals (6.17).
Scouting the Opposition – Mercer Bears:
Mercer (19-11, 11-7 SoCon) begins play on Saturday as the fourth seed after earning a six-point win (82-76) over top-seeded ETSU to close the regular season. The Bears enter the tournament having split their final eight games in February, with wins over Furman, The Citadel, Samford, and ETSU.
The Bears have struggled away from Hawkins Arena this season, holding a 5-11 mark on the road, compared to a 14-1 mark at home. The 14 home wins are the highest win total for any SoCon team this season, as six teams eclipsed the 10-win plateau at home.
Memphis transfer junior and first-team All-SoCon selection Baraka Okojie leads the Bears at 19.5 points per game, second in the SoCon in scoring. He's scored 20 or more points 14 times. Okokjie also leads the way for Mercer with a conference-best 161 assists with a trio of double-doubles along with his conference-high 5.37 assists per contest.
Central Michigan and Boston College transfer redshirt junior Armani Mighty is averaging 13.5 points per game, with three 20-point outputs. Mighty, a second-team All-SoCon pick and an All-Defensive team pick, is shooting a conference-best 65.1% (164-of-252) and leading the Bears with 10.7 rebounds per game, totaling 16 double-doubles.
Zaire Williams, a transfer from Wagner, rounds out the double-figure scoring for Mercer at 12.9 points per game, while totaling a team-best 68 three-pointers.
Mercer led the league in scoring (83.0), first in blocks (3.48), second in steals (7.87), second in scoring margin (7.55), third in free throw percentage (72.7%), third in field goal percentage (46.4%), and third in rebounding (37.9). The Bears are paced by sophomore Brady Shoulders (1.64 steals, 2nd) and Mighty (1.74 blocks, 1st).
The Bears are led by Ryan Ridder in his second season at the helm in Macon after spending three seasons apiece at both UT Martin and Bethune-Cookman, where he totaled 96 wins between his two prior stops.
Season Series vs Mercer:
The two teams split the regular-season showdowns, with both squads winning on their respective home court. WCU won 78-74 in Cullowhee, and Mercer claimed an 88-76 decision in Macon back in mid-January.
Stansberry led the Catamounts over the two matchups with a team-best 16.0 points per game average, connecting on 47.4% (9-of-19) field goals and making three threes. He also buried all 11 free throws he attempted over the two games. Pettway averaged 13.0 points per game on 53.3% (8-of-15) shooting with four threes. Dioumassi (11.5), Soumaoro (11.0), and Kell (11.0) all averaged double figures over the two matchups as the Purple & Gold averaged 77 points per game. WCU averaged eight threes per game in the season series with Mercer.
On the Mercer side, the Bears were led by Okojie, who had 20.5 points per game, including 22 in the matchup in Cullowhee. He shot 54.5% (12-of-22) from the field. Williams totaled 18 points per game on 63.6% (14-of-22). Mighty averaged a double-double with 18 points per game and 14.5 rebounds per night.
Series History:
Saturday marks the 35th all-time series meeting, with WCU holding a tight 18-16 lead in the head-to-head battles. This season's quarterfinal marks the fourth all-time meeting between the two teams in the SoCon tournament and the second time in as many years as WCU looks to avenge a 67-66 defeat to Mercer a season ago.
Up Next for Western Carolina:
Saturday night's winner advances into the 4 p.m. semifinal on Sunday against the quarterfinal winner between regular-season ETSU and the winner of Chattanooga/The Citadel first-round game, which is slated for Friday night in Asheville to open the tournament. The tournament championship will be broadcast on either ESPN or ESPN2 at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 9.
The Catamount Club's Catamount Central for the duration of the tournament is the Bier Garden (46 Haywood St., Asheville, NC 28801). Pregame socials are scheduled two hours ahead of every game the Catamounts play in Asheville, with the first gathering at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday night. The Catamount Club requests an RSVP for those planning on attending—CLICK HERE TO RSVP.
For tickets to the 2026 Ingles SoCon Basketball Championship, contact the Catamount Athletics ticket office at (828) 227-2401 or purchase them online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets.
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).
