CULLOWHEE, N.C. (Jan. 14, 2026) – Add another verse to the Cullowhee Blues.
The ETSU men’s basketball team fell 70-68 at Western Carolina on Wednesday at the Ramsey Center, ending their unbeaten run to start SoCon play and extending their losing streak at WCU to five straight games.
The Buccaneers (12-6, 4-1) led for the first 10 minutes of the game thanks in part to six points early from Cam Morris III. The Catamounts (6-10, 2-3) tied the game at 17 on Cord Stansberry’s first three of the night and led by as many as seven points in the first half, but a 6-0 ETSU run to end the session had the Bucs down 36-35 at the break.
Brian Taylor II gave ETSU the lead right out of halftime, the first of four lead changes in two minutes to start the half before Morris got the Bucs ahead at the line with 17:49 remaining. Marcus Kell held the Bucs close and gave the Catamounts the lead at 49-48 with 15:18 left. Morris and Blake Barkley hit back-to-back shots to get ETSU up by five, but the Bucs couldn’t shake the Catamounts.
Stansberry tied the game at 63 with 8:45 to go and gave Western the lead at 68-65 with 3:49 left with a three. A Barkley and-one tied the game with 1:19 left, and the Catamounts milked the clock and got an offensive rebound to give them a look at a game-winner. With one second on the shot clock, Marcus Kell caught the inbound pass on a baseline play and laid it in from the left block to put WCU up with 12 seconds remaining. Taylor missed a potential game-tying layup, then missed the first of two free throws and failed to hit the rim on the second attempt, giving WCU the ball and enabling them to seal the win.
Taylor tied a career high with 23 points to lead the Bucs. Barkley recorded his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Morris added 19 points. Morris also led the team with four assists, two blocked shots, and three steals. As a team, ETSU shot a season-low 38.6% from the field (22-for-57) and lost rebounding 37-30. They limited turnovers, committing just five, a season best.
The Bucs are on the road Saturday at Samford on CBS Sports Network. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. Eastern at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham.
