Western Carolina hosts Mercer following Jones' 21-point showing

Mercer Bears (7-9, 0-3 SoCon) at Western Carolina Catamounts (9-7, 2-1 SoCon)

Cullowhee, North Carolina; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Western Carolina hosts the Mercer Bears after Russell Jones scored 21 points in Western Carolina's 71-60 win over the East Tennessee State Buccaneers.

The Catamounts are 4-3 on their home court. Western Carolina ranks second in the SoCon with 26.1 defensive rebounds per game led by Vonterius Woolbright averaging 5.4.

The Bears have gone 0-3 against SoCon opponents. Mercer ranks sixth in the SoCon with 8.6 offensive rebounds per game led by Jalyn McCreary averaging 2.1.

The Catamounts and Bears square off Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Tyzhaun Claude is shooting 49.1% and averaging 14.4 points for the Catamounts. Tre Jackson is averaging 3.6 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Western Carolina.

Kamar Robertson averages 2.1 made 3-pointers per game for the Bears, scoring 12.9 points while shooting 50.9% from beyond the arc. McCreary is shooting 60.1% and averaging 15.9 points over the last 10 games for Mercer.

LAST 10 GAMES: Catamounts: 5-5, averaging 73.2 points, 34.6 rebounds, 12.0 assists, 6.4 steals and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 42.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.4 points per game.

Bears: 4-6, averaging 67.8 points, 30.6 rebounds, 13.8 assists, 4.7 steals and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.5 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.