ROCK HILL, S.C. — The Catawba College men's basketball team mounted a 20-0 run in the first half that ultimately made the difference in an 86-66 victory over No. 6 seed UVA Wise in the quarterfinal round of the South Atlantic Conference Championship Tournament on Thursday night at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center.
TEAM STATS
- Catawba (22-7) finished a bucket away from breaking even in shooting, going 49.2% on field goals with great success on jumpers while UVA Wise offered a 39.0% clip sustained by solid inside play
- From beyond the arc, the Catawba Indians went 6-for-14 (42.9%) as the Highland Cavaliers struggled with a 2-for-19 (10.5) ledger
- Three Catawba players were flawless from the charity stripe as the team posted a 20-for-23 (87.0%) night, significantly better than UVA Wise's 18-for-31 (58.1%)
- The Catawba Indians won the rebounding battle 39-33, but surrendered a 14-12 difference on offensive grabs
- The blue and white used their depth to their advantage, crushing the Cavs in bench scoring by a heavy 35-3 margin
INDIVIDUAL STATS
- Ibra Athie recorded his fifth double-double of the year, making a statement with team highs of 17 points and 11 rebounds
- LeVionne Lindsey picked a fine time to tally his season high in scoring with 16 points, enjoying an efficient performance by going 4-for-5 on field goals and 8-for-8 at the free-throw line
- Jordan Simpson and Jashaun Hawkins netted double-figure points with 14 and 13, respectively, as both seniors nabbed four rebounds
- Carson Daniel was influential in multiple facets of the game with nine points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals
- The twins of Carson and Chase Daniel made each of their 10 total shots (four field goals and six free throws) for a combined 15 points
- Justin Banks swatted four shots, increasing his season total to 61 blocks which ties the sixth-best campaign in Catawba history
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Early fouling troubled Catawba, but a three-pointer drilled by Banks helped the blue and white take their first lead at the initial media timeout 7-6
- UVA Wise regained control as a Yoro Diallo jumper gave the Cavs a two-possession buffer at 15-11, their largest (and last) lead of the game
- The Catawba Indians annihilated the ensuing five minutes, embarking on an emphatic 20-0 run that flipped a four-point deficit into a 31-15 advantage
- During the surge, Simpson poured in eight points while Hawkins had five; the team shot 7-for-9 and went 5-for-5 on free throws with three steals, leaving the Cavs 0-for-8 from the field with four turnovers
- The Highland Cavaliers put up a fight to end the half, however, slimming the gap to 35-27 at the break
Second Half
- Catawba opened the period with a second-chance triple from Carson Daniel, but UVA Wise kept coming and returned the margin to eight multiple times early in the half
- With the Cavs down 48-40 and needing a push, Hawkins laid in a bucket to get back to a 10-point gap before draining a three on the next possession – a painful one for Wise that saw Catawba grab three offensive boards before nailing the long ball
- Hawkins downed another three-pointer 20 seconds later as Athie followed with layups on consecutive possessions to bring the margin into the teens
- The Catawba Indians rode a 9-2 wave to lift the gap to 20, followed by a 9-0 run that hit the high-water mark of 80-56
- Zion McDuffie helped add the exclamation point with a big slam late as Catawba cruised to the finish line
UP NEXT
The Catawba Indians advance to the semifinal round where they will encounter No. 2 seed Lenoir-Rhyne tomorrow (Mar. 6) at 7:30 p.m.
