SALISBURY, N.C. – The Catawba College men's basketball team wraps up its four-game homestand on Wednesday evening, welcoming the Coker Cobras to Goodman Arena for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
Three in a Row
- Catawba recorded its third consecutive win on Saturday afternoon, handing an 87-77 defeat to Anderson featuring a 22-11 advantage in the points off turnovers category
- While efficient shooting kept rebounds minimized against the Trojans, the blue and white racked up boards in the 66-55 victory over Tusculum on Feb. 1; Catawba held a 20-9 lead in second-chance scoring thanks to its 52-33 rebounding edge
- The streak began two weeks ago when Newberry fell victim to an 90-83 Catawba triumph, surrendering a halftime lead after getting outscored 53-44 in the last 20 minutes
By the Numbers
- Although Nick Walker did not appear in Saturday's contest, he remains the team's top scorer with 14.4 points per game and leads the way in total points and rebounds. Walker ranks eighth in the nation with a 66.5% field goal percentage
- Kris Robinson is averaging 12.8 points per game and sits 40th on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,147 points
- Ibra Athie has recorded five double-doubles, leading the rebounding category with 7.3 grabs per game while notching 11.1 points
- Montraivis White paces the team in both assists (3.4) and steals (1.7) per game, ranking in the top 10 among South Atlantic Conference players
- Logging Catawba's lone block against Anderson, Justin Banks lifted his season total to a team-high 17 stops
Great Nights in Goodman
- 2254 Yost Street has been a bastion of Catawba Indian excellence this season, exhibited by a 10-2 record and eight straight home victories on Sam Moir Court
- Three of the last four games at Goodman Arena saw Catawba get payback for losses taken on the road against Wingate (Jan. 22), Newberry (Jan. 29) and Anderson (Feb. 8)
- The only two teams that beat Catawba in Salisbury are currently ranked in the NABC Coaches' Poll (No. 7 Lincoln Memorial, No. 16 Lenoir-Rhyne)
- In Head Coach Rob Perron's tenure, Catawba is 98-46 (.681) on home court including a dominant 33-6 clip in the last three years
Robinson's Race to the Record Book
- With six games left in the regular season of his senior campaign, Robinson is nearing multiple Catawba program records for his scoring ability over the last four years
- At 250 career three-pointers, Robinson trails all-time leader Antonio Houston by 16 triples; at his current pace of 2.55 threes per game, the record would be broken in the opening round of the SAC playoffs
- Robinson needs just five more free throws to qualify for the all-time efficiency list (50 made free throws per year) and is positioned for the No. 1 spot, going 195-for-228 (.855) which would overtake Devin Cooper's .847
All-Time Series
- Catawba's victory in Hartsville earlier this season strengthened its grip on the all-time series to 21-4 and made five straight wins
- The blue and white are 11-2 against the Cobras on home floor – 10-1 in the Perron era – but Coker's last win was not long ago, occurring on Dec. 14, 2022 in 80-77 fashion
- Neither team has fared very well on Wednesday nights this year as Catawba is 5-4 and Coker is 4-4; that includes losses to league leaders Lincoln Memorial and Lenoir-Rhyne for both teams, plus the Cobras' loss to Catawba back on Jan. 15
Scouting the Cobras
- Slotted 10th in the region – one spot behind Catawba – Coker enters Goodman Arena bearing a 15-7 ledger with an 11-7 record in SAC play
- The Cobras got into a shootout with a five-win Emory & Henry program on Saturday, coming from behind in the second half to prevail in a 102-91 triumph
- Averaging 104.1 points per contest, Coker has the country's second-highest scoring offense powered by 14.5 threes per game, which is the top mark nationwide
- Individually, however, Coker does not have one standout scorer as six Cobras have double-figure scoring averages led by Ian Blue's 14.1
- Sebastian Cole has the Cobras' best per-game steals (1.8) and assists (2.9) tallies
Follow Along
The matchup will be streamed on FloCollege ($) with live stats on CatawbaAthletics.com.
