Hightower carries W. Carolina past Mercer 85-61

<p>CULLOWHEE, N.C. &mdash; Cory Hightower had 16 points to lead five Western Carolina players in double figures as the Catamounts easily defeated Mercer 85-61 on Saturday. Xavier Cork and Matt Halvorsen added 14 points apiece for the Catamounts. Kameron Gibson chipped in 13 points, and Mason Faulkner had 12. Cork also had 10 rebounds.</p>
<p>Western Carolina (11-15, 4-13 Southern Conference) posted a season-high 23 assists.</p>
<p>Neftali Alvarez had 16 points for the Bears (15-10, 8-9). James Glisson III added 11 points.</p>
<p>Ross Cummings, the Bears’ leading scorer coming into the contest at 15 points per game, scored three points. He made 20% from 3-point range (1 of 5).</p>
<p>The Catamounts leveled the season series against the Bears. Mercer defeated Western Carolina 78-76 on Jan. 16.</p>
<hr />
<p>For more AP college basketball coverage: <a href="https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball">https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/AP_Top25">http://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p>
<hr />
<p>This was generated by Automated Insights, <a href="http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap">http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap</a>, using data from STATS LLC, <a href="https://www.stats.com">https://www.stats.com</a></p>