GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – The Catawba College men's basketball team spread the ball around with 11 different scorers as nine grabbed multiple rebounds in its 76-68 defeat of Tusculum on Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena.
TEAM STATS
- From the field, Catawba (6-4, 4-3 SAC) drilled 46.8 percent of its attempts to lead Tusculum (3-7, 3-3 SAC) who shot 38.5 percent, but found better luck from three-point range at a 34.8-26.7 percent margin
- The visitors went 14-for-19 (73.7 percent) at the free-throw line, topping the Pioneers' 10-for-16 (62.5 percent) outing
- Catawba out-rebounded Tusculum by a 44-36 gap, the difference being made on the defensive boards at a 29-21 split
- The Pioneers held a 15-11 edge in the takeaways department, giving Catawba just its second turnover battle loss
- Strong defense and tough buckets in the lane contributed to the blue and white boasting a 46-24 advantage in paint scoring
- Half of Catawba's scoring output came from reserves, possessing a wide 38-7 gap in bench points
INDIVIDUAL STATS
- Nick Walker continued to hammer opposing defenses with 19 points, pulling down five rebounds and stripping away four steals
- Kris Robinson tallied 11 points featuring three treys while tacking on a career-high six boards
- Coming off the bench, Solomon Tucker swished all five of his field goal attempts for 10 points
- O'Mazeon Tinsley chipped in eight points with three assists and no turnovers
- Ibra Athie collected six points on two free throws and a pair of put-backs, finishing with five rebounds (three offensive) and three dimes
- Recording a season-high eight rebounds, Caleb Jones led Catawba on the boards while adding four points, two assists, and a steal
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Tusculum's Denaj Kimber provided the first score of the contest, but the Catawba Indians roared back with the next eight points including four from Justin Banks
- The hosts ended the dry spell of nearly six minutes with five points in three possessions, cutting the deficit to one
- Catawba pumped its advantage back to a multi-possession level as scoring began to stall before Jashaun Hawkins and Malachi Hale traded three-pointers with around three minutes left
- Inside the last minute before halftime, Chase Daniel hit two free throws and Tinsley flushed a jumper to enter the locker room with a comfortable 31-22 lead
Second Half
- Walker came back swinging with five points in the first 78 seconds, finished off by a converted and-one to extend Catawba's edge to its widest total of 16 points
- The Pioneers roared back with a 12-2 run, squeezing the gap to 40-34 in a matter of three minutes
- A couple of Athie baskets amid a flurry of Catawba scoring kept the visitors in control, until Tusculum made a mad dash with back-to-back threes by Kimber and Bryce Jackson to make it a 53-50 ballgame
- Robinson responded accordingly, splashing each of his three buckets from deep in the ensuing two minutes
- The hosts gradually closed the gap again, but six points from Tucker in the final stretch helped the blue and white ride out with a 76-68 triumph
UP NEXT
The Catawba Indians are back at Goodman Arena on Saturday, Dec. 14 for the last home game of the calendar year against Carson-Newman at 4 p.m.
