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| Furman junior center Cooper Bowser |
CULLOWHEE, N.C.—Western Carolina freshman guard Tahlan Pettway scored 23 points to lead five Catamounts in double figures, and WCU made Senior Day a memorable one by winning its sixth-straight and capturing the No. 5 seed for the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament, with an 86-67 win over Furman before a crowd of 3,486 fans on-hand at the Liston B. Ramsey Center.
With the win, the Catamounts improved to 14-15 overall and 10-8 in Southern Conference play, while the Paladins finish the regular-season with a 19-12 overall record and an identical 10-8 record in SoCon play, as the Paladins will be the No. 6 seed in the Southern Conference Tournament next weekend in Asheville.
Furman's 10-8 conference mark matches their lowest league wins total of 10 over the past 11 seasons. The only other Furman team to finish with only 10 conference wins was the 2023-24 Furman team, which also went 10-8 in league play.
The win by the Catamounts also gave Western Carolina the regular-season sweep of Furman for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign in a season when the two teams faced each other twice in the regular-season. The Catamounts won the first matchup between the two, 80-77, in overtime in Greenville.
Western Carolina will open the tournament late Saturday night, as the Catamounts will face off against No. 4 seed Mercer (19-12, 11-7 SoCon) for the second-straight SoCon Tournament and it will mark the first time as the No. 4-5 matchup since the 2020 tourney.
How It Happened:
Both teams struggled shooting the ball in the tense early moments of the contest, but it would be Furman that went to the first media timeout with the 5-2 lead courtesy of a baseline layup by Ben Vander Wal and a three by Alex Wilkins.
The game settled in nicely by the time the second media timeout, with Cooper Bowser give Furman an early 12-5 lead, but the Catamounts hit back by scoring six of the next eight points, capped by a Tidjianne Dioumassi three-pointer by the second media timeout to make it a 14-11 contest with 11:18 remaining.
After the second media timeout, Samuel Dada tied the game briefly with a rebound and putback, but a second three from the Wilkins that rattled in and a block by Cooper Bowser and a caught alley-oop from Wilkins on the other extended Furman’s lead back to five, at 21-16. That would remain the score as the two teams headed to their respective benches for the third media timeout of the half, with the Paladins ahead by five.
Late in the half, the Paladins took a 26-20 lead following an Eddrin Bronson three but WCU used a 9-2 run to assume a 29-28 lead on a Marcus Kell free throw. Bowser converted a jump hook on the other end and then a pair of Cord Stansdberry free throws and a three Tahlan Pettway put WCU up four, at 34-30. After Cole Bowser missed a dunk going down the lane, Dioumassi connected on a three to give the Catamounts a 37-30 halftime lead.
Furman used a 9-5 run to start the second half, cutting the Catamount lead to three when Bronson converted a three-point play the old-fashioned way with 15:57 left. Western Carolina was able to keep just enough distance on the scoreboard, however, but the Paladins would hang around for awhile before the Catamounts broke the game open late. Another Bronson three-pointer with 14:15 left kept Furman to within five, at 47-42.
Western Carolina will open the tournament late Saturday night, as the Catamounts will face off against No. 4 seed Mercer (19-12, 11-7 SoCon) for the second-straight SoCon Tournament and it will mark the first time as the No. 4-5 matchup since the 2020 tourney.
Furman will head into the tournament as the No. 6 seed and will take on the No. 3 seed Samford (18-13, 11-7 SoCon) in first game of the night session of the Southern Conference, which is slated to tip-off at 6 p.m. EST.
The Paladins, who faced the hottest team in the SoCon this past Saturday, will now take on the second-hottest team in the league next Saturday, as the Bulldogs have won eight of their past nine games coming into the SoCon Tournament.
Pettway finished just one point off his career-high of 24 points, which he established earlier this month in a win over UNCG. Against the Paladins, the freshman guard from Worcester, MA., finished the contest connecting on 8-of-12 shots from the field and was 4-for-7 from three-point range, while also going 3-for-4 from the charity stripe. He also added three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
The rookie guard was joined in double figures by Cord Stansberry, who added 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting, including 1-for-6 from three-point range, while also finishing 3-for-4 from the charity stripe. Stansberry added a team-high four assists, four rebounds and added one steal.
Tijdiane Dioumassi added 13 points and six boards, while Samuel Dada added a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. Marcus Kell rounded out the WCU players to find their way into double figures, adding 10.
Furman placed three players in double figures in the contest, with Cooper Bowser leading the way with 17 points and four blocks. Joining Bowser in double figures in the contest were Eddrin Bronson, who finished with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range. Rounding out the Paladins in double figures was Alex Wilkins, who finished with 14 points and a pair of assists.
Western Carolina finished the contest connecting on 50.8% (32-of-63) from the field, which included a 39.1% (9-of-23) effort from three-point range. WCU shot the ball at a 58.1% (18-of-31) clip in the second half. The Catamounts finished with a 59.1% (13-of-22) effort from the free throw line. All told, the Catamounts took 10 more shots (63-53) and made three more field goals (32-29) than the Paladins.
The Paladins finished the game shooting 54.7% (29-of-53), which included connecting on 35.3% (6-of-17) from three-point range. The Paladins also shot just 25% (3-for-12) from the charity stripe for the game.
WCU held advantages in the following categories: points from turnovers (11-2), second-chance points (24-4), bench points (23-12), total rebounds (40-26), total assists (11-10), free throw attempts (22-12) and free throws made (13-3). Furman finished with advantages in points in the paint (46-40) and fast-break points (6-0).
How It Happened:
Both teams struggled shooting the ball in the tense early moments of the contest, but it would be Furman that went to the first media timeout with the 5-2 lead courtesy of a baseline layup by Ben Vander Wal and a three by Alex Wilkins.
The game settled in nicely by the time the second media timeout, with Cooper Bowser give Furman an early 12-5 lead, but the Catamounts hit back by scoring six of the next eight points, capped by a Tidjianne Dioumassi three-pointer by the second media timeout to make it a 14-11 contest with 11:18 remaining.
After the second media timeout, Samuel Dada tied the game briefly with a rebound and putback, but a second three from the Wilkins that rattled in and a block by Cooper Bowser and a caught alley-oop from Wilkins on the other extended Furman’s lead back to five, at 21-16. That would remain the score as the two teams headed to their respective benches for the third media timeout of the half, with the Paladins ahead by five.
Late in the half, the Paladins took a 26-20 lead following an Eddrin Bronson three but WCU used a 9-2 run to assume a 29-28 lead on a Marcus Kell free throw. Bowser converted a jump hook on the other end and then a pair of Cord Stansdberry free throws and a three Tahlan Pettway put WCU up four, at 34-30. After Cole Bowser missed a dunk going down the lane, Dioumassi connected on a three to give the Catamounts a 37-30 halftime lead.
Furman used a 9-5 run to start the second half, cutting the Catamount lead to three when Bronson converted a three-point play the old-fashioned way with 15:57 left. Western Carolina was able to keep just enough distance on the scoreboard, however, but the Paladins would hang around for awhile before the Catamounts broke the game open late. Another Bronson three-pointer with 14:15 left kept Furman to within five, at 47-42.
Stansberry answered with a three to push the Catamount lead back to eight, and with 12:01 remaining, Justin Johnson's layup for WCU threatened to push the lead to double digits, as the Catamounts went ahead by nine, at 55-46. Furman kept fighting to stay in it, however, Charles Johnston finished with a strong dunk in traffic off a feed from Asa Thomas to make it a 56-50 Paladin deficit with 10:15 remaining.
When Samuel Dada collected on of WCU's 14 offensive rebounds and converted a putback a little over two minutes later, he extended the Catamount lead to double digits for the first time all afternoon, at 62-51, with 8:01 remaining. That's where the margin would stay over the remainder of the game, as Furman couldn't get any closer than 10 the rest of the way, and the Catamounts closed out the win out-scoring the Paladins 21-14 over the final 7:18 to garner their sixth-straight win and garner the No. 5 seed for the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament.
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