2023–24 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team represented Western Carolina University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Catamounts, led by third-year head coach Justin Gray, played their home games at the Ramsey Center located in Cullowhee, North Carolina, as members of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 22–10, 11–7 in SoCon play to finish in fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament to Furman.

2023–24 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	22–10 (11–7 SoCon)
Head coach	Justin Gray (3rd season)
Associate head coach	Jayson Gee
Assistant coaches	Ryne Lightfoot Zack Freesman
Home arena	Ramsey Center

2023–24 Southern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Samford †	15	–	3		.833			29	–	6		.829
UNC Greensboro	12	–	6		.667			21	–	11		.656
Chattanooga	12	–	6		.667			21	–	12		.636
Western Carolina	11	–	7		.611			22	–	10		.688
Furman	10	–	8		.556			17	–	16		.515
Wofford	10	–	8		.556			17	–	15		.531
East Tennessee State	8	–	10		.444			19	–	16		.543
Mercer	8	–	10		.444			16	–	17		.485
The Citadel	3	–	15		.167			11	–	21		.344
VMI	1	–	17		.056			4	–	28		.125
† 2024 SoCon tournament winner

On March 11, 2024, Justin Gray was named the head coach for Coastal Carolina. Two days later, the school named Gardner–Webb coach Tim Craft the team's new head coach.

Previous season

The Catamounts finished the 2022–23 season 17–14, 10–8 in SoCon play to finish in fourth place. In the SoCon tournament, they defeated East Tennessee in the quarterfinals before narrowly losing in overtime to Furman in the semifinal round. The Catamounts were invited to the CBI tournament, where they were defeated by eventual champions Charlotte in the first round.

Roster

2023–24 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Kamar Robertson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) GS Alpharetta, Georgia G 1 Russell Jones Jr. 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Blythewood, South Carolina G 2 Vonterius Woolbright 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Albany, Georgia G 3 Tre Jackson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Columbia, South Carolina F 4 Bernard Pelote 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 224 lb (102 kg) RS Jr Savannah, Georgia G 5 DJ Campbell 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Hampton, Virginia G 10 Keshawn Brown Jr. 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 162 lb (73 kg) Fr Durham, North Carolina G/F 12 Cinque Lemon 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Fr Spring Lake, North Carolina G 13 Brandon Scott 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 188 lb (85 kg) RS So Hammond, Indiana F 22 Corneilous Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Fr Meridian, Mississippi F 23 Marcus Kell 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 213 lb (97 kg) So Rock Hill, South Carolina G 24 Kamari Jones 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 177 lb (80 kg) Fr Indianapolis, Indiana F 32 Colin Granger 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS Jr Suwanee, Georgia F 42 Charles Lampten 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) GS Roanoke, Texas C 45 Kaleb Siler 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 257 lb (117 kg) Fr Fayetteville, North Carolina	Head coach Justin Gray (Wake Forest) Assistant coach(es) Jayson Gee (College of Charleston) Ryne Lightfoot (Bethel) Zack Freesman (North Florida) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 22, 2023

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Dalton State	W 106–65	1–0	Ramsey Center (1,677) Cullowhee, NC
November 11, 2023* 2:00 pm, ACCNX/ESPN+		at Notre Dame	W 71–61	2–0	Joyce Center (5,742) South Bend, IN
November 13, 2023* 7:30 pm, ESPN+		at Middle Tennessee	W 66–64	3–0	Murphy Center (2,806) Murfreesboro, TN
November 18, 2023* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		McNeese	W 76–74	4–0	Ramsey Center (1,916) Cullowhee, NC
November 26, 2023* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		North Alabama	W 81–63	5–0	Ramsey Center (1,765) Cullowhee, NC
November 28, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Tennessee Tech	W 69–65	6–0	Eblen Center (679) Cookeville, TN
December 2, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Gardner–Webb	L 77–82	6–1	Paul Porter Arena (850) Boiling Springs, NC
December 5, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at High Point	L 71–97	6–2	Qubein Center (2,476) High Point, NC
December 9, 2023* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		UNC Asheville	W 78–63	7–2	Ramsey Center (2,904) Cullowhee, NC
December 16, 2023* 4:30 pm, ESPN+		at USC Upstate	W 70–53	8–2	G. B. Hodge Center (414) Spartanburg, SC
December 19, 2023* 7:00 pm, SECN		at Vanderbilt	W 63–62	9–2	Memorial Gymnasium (5,146) Nashville, TN
December 21, 2023* 11:30 am, ESPN+		Brescia	W 85–47	10–2	Ramsey Center (7,826) Cullowhee, NC
December 30, 2023* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		King	W 90–62	11–2	Ramsey Center (1,792) Cullowhee, NC
SoCon regular season
January 3, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at The Citadel	W 80–71	12–2 (1–0)	McAlister Field House (1,233) Charleston, SC
January 6, 2024 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Wofford	W 70–66	13–2 (2–0)	Ramsey Center (2,008) Cullowhee, NC
January 10, 2024 7:00 pm, Nexstar/ESPN+		at East Tennessee State	W 80–66	14–2 (3–0)	Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,423) Johnson City, TN
January 13, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Mercer	W 64–52	15–2 (4–0)	Hawkins Arena (3,227) Macon, GA
January 16, 2024 6:00 pm, CBSSN		Samford	L 71–75	15–3 (4–1)	Ramsey Center (5,018) Cullowhee, NC
January 20, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Furman	L 62–65	15–4 (4–2)	Timmons Arena (2,517) Greenville, SC
January 24, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		UNC Greensboro	L 82–85 OT	15–5 (4–3)	Ramsey Center (2,945) Cullowhee, NC
January 27, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+		VMI	W 102–77	16–5 (5–3)	Ramsey Center (3,860) Cullowhee, NC
January 31, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Chattanooga	L 85–91	16–6 (5–4)	Ramsey Center (1,895) Cullowhee, NC
February 3, 2024 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at Wofford	L 86–88 OT	16–7 (5–5)	Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (2,051) Spartanburg, SC
February 7, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		The Citadel	W 71–64	17–7 (6–5)	Ramsey Center (1,849) Cullowhee, NC
February 10, 2024 4:00 pm, Nexstar/ESPN+		Mercer	W 79–46	18–7 (7–5)	Ramsey Center (2,588) Cullowhee, NC
February 14, 2024 9:00 pm, ESPN2/ESPNU		at Samford	L 62–88	18–8 (7–6)	Pete Hanna Center (1,321) Homewood, AL
February 17, 2024 4:00 pm, ESPN+		East Tennessee State	W 70–65	19–8 (8–6)	Ramsey Center (3,231) Cullowhee, NC
February 21, 2024 6:00 pm, CBSSN		at UNC Greensboro	L 65–71	19–9 (8–7)	Greensboro Coliseum (1,730) Greensboro, NC
February 24, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at VMI	W 84–51	20–9 (9–7)	Cameron Hall (3,287) Lexington, VA
February 28, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPNU		Furman	W 85–77	21–9 (10–7)	Ramsey Center (3,159) Cullowhee, NC
March 2, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Chattanooga	W 82–63	22–9 (11–7)	McKenzie Arena (3,874) Chattanooga, TN
SoCon tournament
March 9, 2024 8:30 pm, ESPN+/Nexstar	(4)	vs. (5) Furman Quarterfinals	L 76–79 OT	22–10	Harrah's Cherokee Center  Asheville, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources