GREENSBORO, N.C. -- — Mason Faulkner had a season-high 28 points as Western Carolina narrowly beat UNC Greensboro 81-80 on Wednesday night.

Faulkner hit what proved to be the game-winning 3-pointer with 53 seconds left, breaking a 78-78 tie. I saiah Miller quickly answered with a layup before Faulkner missed another deep shot with 24 seconds to go.

The Catamounts got up two shots in the closing seconds but couldn't connect.

Kameron Gibson had 15 points for Western Carolina (10-15, 3-13 Southern Conference), which snapped its four-game losing streak. Matt Halvorsen added 15 points. Cory Hightower had 11 points and nine rebounds.

Miller had 28 points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals for the Spartans (17-8, 12-5). Keyshaun Langley added 15 points. Kaleb Hunter had 10 points. Mohammed Abdulsalam had a career-high 16 rebounds plus 4 points.

The Catamounts leveled the season series against the Spartans. UNC Greensboro defeated Western Carolina 77-56 on Monday.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com