Soumaoro’s 16 help Western Carolina down Furman 80-77 in OT

By Canadian Press on January 3, 2026.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Julien Soumaoro and Marcus Kell scored 16 points apiece and Western Carolina beat Furman 80-77 in overtime on Saturday.

Soumaoro also had eight rebounds for the Catamounts (5-8, 1-1 Southern Conference). Marcus Kell went 7 of 14 from the field (2 for 3 from 3-point range) to add 16 points. Cord Stansberry had 15 points.

Alex Wilkins led the way for the Paladins (10-5, 1-1) with 24 points and six assists. Charles Johnston totaled 14 points and six rebounds. Ben Vanderwal pitched in with 11 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. The loss ended a six-game winning streak for the Paladins.

Soumaoro made two free throws and Kell followed with a 3-pointer to give the Catamounts a 72-68 lead and they stayed in front over the final 3:08 of OT. Stansberry made two foul shots with 15 seconds left to put Western Carolina up three. Wilkins missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Soumaoro had a layup with 1:30 left in regulation to tie it 65-all and both teams went scoreless from there to force OT.

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

The Associated Press