Originally published in The Western Carolina Journalist.
The WCU Catamounts Men’s basketball team defeated the Warren Wilson College Owls by a 55-point difference, with a score of 102-47 on Dec. 1.
Photo by Sam Dietrich
Over 1500 people came to cheer for the Catamounts in the Ramsey Regional Center. This matchup against Warren Wilson at home was WCU’s first home game in 22 days. They lost the last away game against Gardner-Webb on Saturday, Nov. 27.
This is the Catamounts’ fourth win of the season and second win at home.
This was WCU’s fourth matchup against Warren Wilson in their history. WCU has averaged 93.25 points per game against Warren Wilson and has won their last three contests, including a 96-45 victory at home back on Dec. 3, 2015. That game was the largest points difference in their history until now.
“The game was big for us,” said Sophomore Guard Josh Massey after the game. “Getting into the paint was huge and made a big difference.”
Getting into the paint meant getting close to the basket for easier shots. The Catamounts were able to do that all game long.
But Massey added that they are only getting started. “We have more work to do,” Massey said.
WCU’s offensive attack was on full display again. According to ESPN, the Catamounts outscored Warren Wilson 53 points to 26 in the first half and then outscored them again 49 to 21 in the second half.
Six different players scored more than 10 points. Junior Marvin Price led the team in scoring with 17 points; Madison Monroe added 13 points while sophomore Josh Massey, who is battling with tendinitis in his left knee, scored 11 points.
There were many more keys that led to WCU’s big win. One key was the rebound game. WCU had 63 rebounds, 43 more than Warren Wilson.
Junior Marlow Gilmore led the team with 11 rebounds, including nine that came from the offensive end. WCU had 26 offensive rebounds while Warren Wilson had just five the entire game.
Another key to WCU’s offense was their passing. As a team, they had a total of 24 assists, while Warren Wilson was able to scrape together three assists. Junior Vonterius Woolbright led the team with eight assists, while Junior Travion McCray contributed six assists.
But the Catamounts had a defensive key, too, which was forcing numerous turnovers. The Catamounts made Warren Wilson commit 14 turnovers, eight of them were from steals.
The last big key was how good they shot on the floor. WCU had a 46.8% field goal percentage that night, while Warren Wilson only had a 23.1% field goal percentage.
And that made the biggest difference on how much the Catamounts beat the Owls. The Catamounts will have their next game on the road against the Upstate Spartans on Saturday, Dec. 4, at 6:00 p.m. The game can be viewed on ESPN+.
