SALISBURY, N.C. — The Catawba College men's basketball team added an eighth tally to its flawless home record by using suffocating defense to ground Carson-Newman, 71-56, at Goodman Arena on Friday afternoon.
TEAM STATS
- Catawba (14-4, 9-3 SAC) benefitted from extra shots and capitalized on them, shooting 41.8% from the field compared to Carson-Newman's (10-8, 5-7 SAC) 40.0% clip
- It was tough sledding from three-point range for Catawba in the first half, but the blue and white swished five in the final period for a 7-for-25 (28.0%) day; the Eagles were slightly less efficient at 5-for-20 (25.0%)
- The free-throw line was tough to conquer for each squad with the Catawba Indians possessing a narrow 66.7%-63.6% advantage in efficiency
- The rebounding battle was even at 33 apiece with the offensive board count landing at 8-5 led by the hosts
- Catawba committed just six turnovers while forcing 15, producing 11 steals; the Eagles were held without a steal
INDIVIDUAL STATS
- Chase Daniel had a career day with personal bests of 16 points and nine rebounds — coming one board shy of a double-double — while chipping in four assists and three steals
- Justin Banks finished with a diverse stat line, collecting 14 points, five boards, three assists and two swipes as well as a late block
- Ibra Athie swished six field goals for 12 points, also contributing four rebounds and a couple of dimes
- LeVionne Lindsey went 4-for-8 from the field to supply nine points with three boards and a three-pointer block
- Carson Daniel generated six points and six assists, accounting for 19 points, with five rebounds and a quartet of takeaways
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Carson Daniel downed a triple on the opening possession as the Catawba Indians assumed an advantage that ranged from one to two buckets for a good portion of the half
- During a scoreless 2:36 span midway through the stanza, Catawba began to sustain a 16-11 advantage but it teetered as a 6-2 shift pulled C-N within one
- The Eagles' prodding paid off when they took a one-point lead with 4:22 to go, forcing the Catawba bench's hand in calling a stop-the-bleed timeout
- Slipping back into the driver's seat, Catawba turned a one-point edge into a 34-26 halftime cushion thanks to a 7-0 run to close the period
Second Half
- Catawba came out of the locker room steaming hot, rolling on an 11-2 burst up to the under-16 media timeout
- The gap reached a 20-point ceiling twice, but it trickled down into the teens as C-N's Rylan Houck tickled the twine for a trio of timely baskets
- With limited time for the Eagles to rally, Banks drilled a second-chance three at the five-minute mark to aggravate the visitors' comeback chance
- A couple of buckets from Jack Browder and a triple from Houck kept the Eagles hanging on by a thread, but the big surge never came as Lindsey put it out of reach with a last-minute three-ball that helped secure the 71-56 win
UP NEXT
Next on the docket for Catawba is a home matchup against nationally-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 7:30 p.m. Follow Catawba Athletics on social media for updates regarding forecasted winter weather and its potential effect on upcoming games.
