HICKORY, N.C. — The Catawba College men's basketball team ends its 10-day hoops hiatus with a trip to Lenoir-Rhyne for the South Atlantic Conference opener at Shuford Memorial Arena on Wednesday evening.

Classic Catawba
- The Catawba Indians are coming off a 2-0 sweep at the Clayton State Classic, knocking off No. 16 Columbus State in neutral-site play on Friday before dropping the host Lakers the following day
- Justin Banks flourished in the two-day event, averaging 20.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.0 assists with a 21-point affair against Clayton State that tied his career scoring high
- Ibra Athie commanded the paint with averages of 10.0 points and 11.0 rebounds, pulling down a career-high 15 boards while adding 11 points to help beat the Cougars
- Jashaun Hawkins poured in double-figure scoring marks in both contests – the fifth and sixth occasions as a Catawba Indian – with 12 and 14 points

Daniel Duo Distribution, Inc.
- The brotherly pair of Chase Daniel and Carson Daniel rank first and second in the SAC, respectively, in assist-to-turnover ratio with a combined value of 4.63
- Chase slots ninth in Division II with an impressive 5.67 A/TO ratio; he ranks second among freshman and sophomores, while Carson is seventh (26th overall) in underclassman standings
- Carson recorded back-to-back eight-dime performances (USC Aiken, Columbus State); that high-water mark was only met three times in the last two years – all by Montraivis White

Banks with the Blocks
- Starting his senior campaign with 11 blocks in four contests (2.75 per game), Justin Banks is 10th in the country and third in the conference for blocks per game
- Banks has moved into 11th all-time in career blocking with 101 deflections; seven more blocks puts him in sole possession of sixth place on the list
- At his current rate, the Schaumburg, Ill., product could finish with the program's third-best blocking campaign at 77 swats; no Catawba Indian has blocked 45+ shots in over a decade

All-Time Series
- Lenoir-Rhyne holds a tight 118-104 advantage in a storied rivalry that is both programs' only 200-meeting series; in Hickory, the Bears' ledger improves to 46-21
- Entering this season, the 222 matchups with LR account for 8.5% of Catawba's all-time history
- Catawba looks to reverse course from last season's 0-3 record against the Bears, losing by four points in overtime at Goodman Arena, by 15 after coming out flat in Hickory, and by one in the semifinal round of the SAC Tournament

Scouting the Bears
- Six consecutive wins following a two-loss start have NABC Top 25 vote receiver LR rolling as they approach an opportunity to start 4-0 on home court
- Last season, the Bears romped to one of the program's best campaigns ever with a 29-6 record, the SAC Tournament crown and an appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight
- LR was selected to repeat as SAC champions and Conrad Luczynski, the NCAA Southeast Regional MVP, was tabbed to the Preseason All-Conference Team
- Luczynski, a 7-foot-2 junior center, paces the lineup with team-high averages of 15.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game
- Needing to retool its offense with three of its four leading scorers departing including leader Ziare Wells (who transferred to Division I mid-major power Oakland), the Bears are benefitting from the addition of Blessin Kimble (12.3 PPG) and Akili Evans (12.0 PPG, 2.6 APG)

Follow Along
- All South Atlantic Conference games are broadcast live on FloCollege
- Live stats will be available on lrbears.com