(WLOS) Tre Jackson led five Western Carolina players in double figures with 18 points as WCU earned an 83-68 victory over Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center in front of a season-high 3,157 fans.

WCU improves to 13-12 overall and 6-6 in the Southern Conference while Chattanooga drops to 12-13 and 4-8.

In leading the Catamounts offensively, Jackson finished 6-for-11 from the field and 4-for-8 behind the 3-point line. Russell Jones Jr. tallied 15 points and Vonterius Woolbright contributed his fifth double-double of the year with 12 points and 10 rebounds, all of which occurred on the defensive glass. Woolbright also recorded a team-best five assists. DJ Campbell tallied 11 points. Tyzhaun Claude posted his team-best eighth double-double with 10 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. Of Claude’s 12 rebounds, 11 were defensive boards.

Saturday’s game marked the first time since a victory over Toccoa Falls in the nonconference finale on Dec. 20 that WCU had five or more players finish in double figures.

KC Hankton led Chattanooga with 17 points, followed by Jamaal Walker with 16 and Dalvin White with 10. Hankton corralled a team-high seven rebounds.

Campbell opened the scoring with a layup 18 seconds into the game before a White 3-pointer gave the Mocs their only lead of the afternoon, 3-2, with 17:45 showing on the first half clock. WCU tallied the next six points and led 25-11 following a Bernard Pelote 3-pointer just past the midpoint of the opening half. Perlite contributed eight points off the bench in the winning effort.

The Mocs battled back, though, using a 15-2 run capped by a Hankton 3-pointer to pull within a point, 27-26, with 3:53 to play in the opening half. Pelote responded with a 3-pointer on the next WCU possession and the Catamounts enjoyed a 37-30 lead after Jackson drained his third 3-pointer of the half with 56 seconds left. WCU took a 37-33 lead into halftime.

A Hankton 3-pointer at the 18:52 mark of the second half trimmed the WCU lead to one, 39-38. The Catamounts used a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to push their advantage to double digits, 48-38.WCU led 58-46 midway through the half and enjoyed a game-high 20-point lead, 71-51, following a Jones Jr. 3-pointer with 4:00 to play. The Mocs pulled to within 11, 77-66, with 1:04 left in the game before the Catamounts secured the win with free throws down the stretch.

WCU outrebounded the Mocs 43-33. The Catamounts finished 26-for-55 (47.3 percent) from the field, 11-for-26 (42.3 percent) behind the 3-point line, and 20-for-24 (83.3 percent) at the free throw line. Chattanooga was 22-for-64 (34.4 percent) from the field, 8-for-24 (33.3 percent) on 3-point attempts, and 16-for-23 (69.6 percent) at the free throw line.