Photo Courtesy of WCU Athletics
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Western Carolina Catamounts hosted the VMI Keydets Saturday in Cullowhee with a 1:30pm tipoff. This matchup for the Cats was much needed. A win over the Keydets brought the Cats to a 7-12 record overall, 3-5 in SoCon play.
While high scoring as a team, there are standout scorers for the Cats. Marcus Kell leading the team with 18 points. In addition is Cord Stansberry with 17 who also leads the team in assists (5) and steals (2). Another game-time leader was Abdulai Fanta Kabba with 10 rebounds, 4 blocks and a steal.
The Cats have struggled in recent games to maintain control of the ball, but that was not reflected in yesterday’s game. The Cats produced 47 rebounds, with 6 steals and forcing the Keydets 8 turnovers. This is all while only allowing 4 turnovers to the Keydets, and 20 rebounds overall.
The Keydets still managed to cling to a 6 point deficit at the half, despite have 4 considerable injuries on the bench. Only momentarily though once the 2nd half started, the Cats went on a 11 point run within 3 minutes back. Once the Cats kept their momentum up, the FG Percentage drove up in the second half to over 55%. Meanwhile the Keydets shot 20% lower in the second half for FG’s at just over 35% in the second half.
What is interesting enough is the amount of fouls called and FT’s attempted. There were a combined 9 free throws attempted between the teams, and only 13 overall fouls. This is one of the lower fouls statistics in NCAA play, since the average is generally 30-40 fouls called per game.
However, the lack of fouls or FT’s attempted had no bearing on the strong will of the Cats to overtake the Keydets at home. This ensured an upswing in momentum as they head over the mountain to Johnson City next week. Up Next, the Cats try and overtake ETSU on their home turf, on Thursday, January 29th at 7pm at Freedom Hall.
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