2020–21 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team represented Western Carolina University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Catamounts, led by third-year head coach Mark Prosser, played their home games at the Ramsey Center in Cullowhee, North Carolina, as members of the Southern Conference. They finished 11–16, 4–13 in Southern Conference play, to finish in ninth place. They were defeated by The Citadel in the first round of the Southern Conference tournament.

2020–21 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record11–16 (4–13 SoCon)
Head coach
Associate head coachTony Rack
Assistant coaches
  • Ben Betts
  • Brett Ferguson
Home arenaRamsey Center
Seasons
2020–21 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
UNC Greensboro 13 5   .722 21 9   .700
Wofford 12 5   .706 15 9   .625
Furman 10 5   .667 16 9   .640
Chattanooga 9 7   .563 18 8   .692
East Tennessee State 8 7   .533 13 12   .520
VMI 7 7   .500 13 12   .520
Mercer 8 9   .471 18 11   .621
The Citadel 5 11   .313 13 12   .520
Western Carolina 4 13   .235 11 16   .407
Samford 2 9   .182 6 13   .316
2021 SoCon tournament winner

Previous season

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The Catamounts finished the 2019–20 season 19–12, 10–8 in Southern Conference play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They defeated Mercer in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference tournament before losing in the semifinals to East Tennessee State.

Offseason

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Player departures

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Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Carlos Dotson F 6'7" 270 Senior Riverdale, MD Graduated
Onno Steger F 6'5" 205 Senior Upper Arlington, OH Graduated
Jason McMillan G 5'11" 160 Senior Cherokee, NC Graduated
D.J. Myers F 6'6" 200 Sophomore Raleigh, NC Left team

Incoming transfers

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Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous
school
Years
remaining
Cory Hightower F 6'7" 222 Junior Flint, MI Presbyterian 2

Recruiting class of 2020

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Sin'Cere McMahon
G
Indianapolis, IN Crispus Attuck High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 167 lb (76 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Kennedy Miles
G
Burlington, NC Williams High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Josh Massey
G
Monroe, NC United Faith Christian Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Daniel Ransom
F
Charlotte, NC Vance High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 214 lb (97 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Brad Halvorsen
G
Kingsport, TN Christ School (N.C.) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Tyler McGhie
G
Denton, TX Guyer High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 188 lb (85 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

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2020–21 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 0 Sin'Cere McMahon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 167 lb (76 kg) Fr Indianapolis, IN
G 1 Travion McCray 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 187 lb (85 kg) So Timmonsville, SC
G 2 Matt Halvorsen 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Sr Kingsport, TN
G 3 Kennedy Miles 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Burlington, NC
G/F 4 Tyler Harris 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Charlotte, NC
G 5 Josh Massey 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Monroe, NC
G/F 10 Douglas Elks 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Raleigh, NC
G 11 Mason Faulkner 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr Glasgow, KY
F 12 Cory Hightower 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) RS Jr Flint, MI
F 13 Xavier Cork 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Sulphur Springs, TX
G 14 Kameron Gibson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Jr Cincinnati, OH
F 20 Daniel Ransom 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 214 lb (97 kg) Fr Charlotte, NC
G 21 Marcus Thomas 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Mint Hill, NC
G 22 Brad Halvorsen 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Kingsport, TN
G 24 Tyler McGhie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Fr Denton, TX
F 25 Ahmir Langlais 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 218 lb (99 kg) RS Fr Atlanta, GA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference Regular season
November 25, 2020*
4:00 pm, ESPN+
vs. UNC Wilmington
Mako Medical Asheville Classic
W 98–76  1–0
Kimmel Arena (0)
Asheville, NC
November 27, 2020*
1:00 pm, ESPN+
vs. Troy
Mako Medical Asheville Classic
L 64–66  1–1
Kimmel Arena (0)
Asheville, NC
November 28, 2020*
4:00 pm, ESPN+
at UNC Asheville
Mako Medical Asheville Classic
W 83–81 OT 2–1
Kimmel Arena (0)
Asheville, NC
November 30, 2020*
11:00 am, ESPN+
Piedmont W 96–58  3–1
Ramsey Center (0)
Cullowhee, NC
December 3, 2020*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Newberry W 91–84  4–1
Ramsey Center (0)
Cullowhee, NC
December 6, 2020*
12:00 pm, ESPN+
Tennessee Tech W 76–75 OT 5–1
Ramsey Center (0)
Cullowhee, NC
December 12, 2020*
4:00 pm
at North Carolina A&T W 104–98 OT 6–1
Corbett Sports Center (0)
Greensboro, NC
December 15, 2020*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at VCU L 68–93  6–2
Siegel Center (250)
Richmond, VA
December 18, 2020*
6:30 pm
at College of Charleston W 76–70 OT 7–2
TD Arena (1,471)
Charleston, SC
SoCon Regular season
December 30, 2020
7:00 pm
at East Tennessee State L 78–86  7–3
(0–1)
Freedom Hall Civic Center (618)
Johnson City, TN
January 2, 2021
The Citadel Postponed due to COVID-19 issues Ramsey Center 
Cullowhee, NC
January 6, 2021
Furman Postponed due to COVID-19 issues Ramsey Center 
Cullowhee, NC
January 9, 2021
at Samford Postponed due to COVID-19 issues Pete Hanna Center 
Homewood, AL
January 13, 2021
4:00 pm
UNC Greensboro Postponed due to COVID-19 issues Ramsey Center 
Cullowhee, NC
January 16, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Mercer L 76–78  7–4
(0–2)
Hawkins Arena (1,027)
Macon, GA
January 18, 2021
3:00 pm, ESPN+
at Samford
Rescheduled from January 9
L 78–82  7–5
(0–3)
Pete Hanna Center (351)
Homewood, AL
January 20, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN+
East Tennessee State L 48–59  7–6
(0–4)
Ramsey Center 
Cullowhee, NC
January 23, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Wofford L 78–91  7–7
(0–5)
Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium 
Spartanburg, SC
January 27, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at VMI L 61–87  7–8
(0–6)
Cameron Hall (225)
Lexington, VA
January 30, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN+
Samford Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues Ramsey Center 
Cullowhee, NC
January 30, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN+
Furman
Moved from February 15
L 69–75  7–9
(0–7)
Ramsey Center 
Cullowhee, NC
February 1, 2021
12:00 pm, ESPN+
The Citadel
Rescheduled from January 2
W 76–75  8–9
(1–7)
Ramsey Center 
Cullowhee, NC
February 3, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Chattanooga L 67–74  8–10
(1–8)
Ramsey Center 
Cullowhee, NC
February 6, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN+
at The Citadel L 63–74  8–11
(1–9)
McAlister Field House 
Charleston, SC
February 10, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
VMI W 74–72  9–11
(2–9)
Ramsey Center 
Cullowhee, NC
February 13, 2021
12:00 pm, ESPN+
at Furman L 70–78  9–12
(2–10)
Bon Secours Wellness Arena 
Greenville, SC
February 17, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Chattanooga L 81–89  9–13
(2–11)
McKenzie Arena 
Chattanooga, TN
February 20, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN+
Wofford L 56–80  9–14
(2–12)
Ramsey Center 
Cullowhee, NC
February 22, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
UNC Greensboro
Rescheduled from January 13
L 56–77  9–15
(2–13)
Ramsey Center 
Cullowhee, NC
February 24, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at UNC Greensboro W 81–80  10–15
(3–13)
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, NC
February 27, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN+
Mercer W 85–61  11–15
(4–13)
Ramsey Center 
Cullowhee, NC
SoCon tournament
March 5, 2021
5:30 pm, ESPN+
(9) vs. (8) The Citadel
First round
L 86–100  11–16
Harrah's Cherokee Center 
Asheville, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Source[1]

References

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  1. ^ "Men's Basketball - Schedule/Results". Western Carolina University. Retrieved January 7, 2021.