Western Carolina beats VMI 81-68 for SoCon's No. 8 seed (Feb 27, 2017)
CULLOWHEE, N.C. (AP) Marc Gosselin scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Western Carolina beat VMI 81-68 on Monday night for the No. 8 seed in the Southern Conference Tournament.
Haboubacar Mutombo scored 16 points with five assists, Devin Peterson added 15 points, and Yalim Olcay had 14. The Catamounts (9-22, 4-14) shot 53.6 percent from the floor to VMI's 42.1 percent and outrebounded them 39-30, but VMI hit 10 of 27 behind the arc to Western Carolina's 6 of 13.
Mutombo's 3-point play capped a 10-4 run and Western Carolina led 46-39 early in the second half. VMI closed to 50-49 on QJ Peterson's free throw, but the Catamounts pulled ahead on a 15-8 run and led 64-54 on Gosselin's 3-pointer with 8:48 left. The Keydets closed to 72-66 on Julian Eleby's layup with 3:34 left, but got no closer the rest of the way.
Peterson scored 20, Eleby had 19 and Trey Chapman had 10 with 13 rebounds for VMI (6-23, 3-15), which entered tied with Western Carolina and The Citadel with a 3-14 conference record.
