ANDERSON, S.C. — The Catawba College men's basketball team puts its six-game winning streak on the line Wednesday as the blue and white stand against the No. 4 Anderson Trojans at Abney Athletic Center.
Sixth in a Row
- The Catawba Indians possessed a strong lead and saw it slip away, but late shot-making helped them fend off UVA Wise in a 72-66 effort at home on Saturday
- Catawba prevailed 43-35 in the rebounding battle – improving to 11-1 when winning on the boards – but lost in 16-15 in turnovers, which extends the squad's record to 5-0 when it happens
- Jordan Simpson, named the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week last Monday, continued his streak of big performances with 20 points
- Nick Walker recorded his second straight double-double using a 15-point, 10-rebound affair while also tacking on four blocks and a trio of assists
Receiving Votes
- Catawba appeared in the NABC Coaches' Poll on Tuesday as the sixth team outside the Top 25 receiving votes, earning eight points
- The Catawba Indians rejoin the list of vote-getters after sporting 15 points in the preseason poll release; however, 38 teams held "receiving votes" status while only 16 currently do
- The South Atlantic Conference is represented by two teams who are nationally ranked (No. 4 Anderson, No. 21 Lenoir-Rhyne) with Catawba being a third receiving votes
Against the Poll
- Thanks to the win on Saturday, Catawba improved to 3-1 against teams who are ranked or receiving votes in the latest NABC Coaches Poll leading up to competition
- Following a season opener loss to Lander, the Catawba Indians rolled past USC Aiken, who was receiving votes, and No. 24 Columbus State in the next two contests
- With Catawba starting 4-1, defending SAC king and Elite Eight entrant Lenoir-Rhyne handed the blue and white their second loss and first to a nationally-recognized program
- UVA Wise had been receiving votes in the poll, but the Cavs' loss to Catawba factored into their exclusion in the latest release
Simpson Nearing 1,000
- Despite being in his first season as a Catawba Indian, Jordan Simpson is just four points away from reaching 1,000 in his collegiate career
- The Orangeburg, S.C., product is averaging 12.4 points per game in 2025-26, netting 161 points in 13 contests (seven starts)
- Simpson did the bulk of the damage at Francis Marion last year as he led the Patriots in per-game points at 15.8 (totaling 442)
All-Time Series
- The series ledger slightly favors Catawba with the blue and white holding a 20-18 advantage in the relatively-young SAC matchup
- However, Anderson has a leg up in the series when playing in the Palmetto State as the Trojans are 11-7 at home
- The Catawba Indians and Trojans split last season with each side pocketing a home win, although Anderson's was overdue as Catawba had claimed eight straight victories leading up to AU collecting the 76-71 triumph in November
Scouting the Trojans
- Anderson is one of four NCAA Division II programs standing without a loss at 14-0, ranking third for the longest winning streak; dating back to last year, AU is 12-0 at home
- The Trojans have beaten every team in their path by double digits, defeating their last two foes (Coker and Tusculum) by a combined 54 points
- AU leads the SAC and slots inside the top 10 nationwide in multiple categories, highlighted by top marks in scoring margin (26.1), field goal percentage (51.5%), three-point percentage defense (26.8%), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.62)
- Freshman Rashawn Inglemon and Lincoln Memorial transfer Osmar Garcia-Araujo pave the way for the Trojans, combining for 32.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game; Garcia-Araujo has also shown great efficiency as his 69.0% clip ranks second in the country
Follow Along
- All SAC games are broadcast live on FloCollege
- Live stats will be available on autrojans.com
