ROCK HILL, S.C. — The Catawba College men's basketball team powered its way past No. 2 seed Lenoir-Rhyne in wire-to-wire, 96-89 fashion in the semifinal round of the South Atlantic Conference Championship on Friday night.

TEAM STATS
- Catawba (23-7) shot a sturdy 41.8% from the field, but Lenoir-Rhyne (24-8) was better at 47.6%; the Bears' misfortune stemmed from a 16-shot deficit
- After going 1-for-12 from deep in the first half, LR was lights-out in the second stanza to end with a 13-for-31 (41.9%) ledger that overshadowed Catawba's 7-for-24 (29.2%)
- The blue and white swished 13 of its 19 free throws (71.9%), a below-average mark that LR undercut at 16-for-27 (59.3%)
- The Catawba Indians pocketed 48 boards, their fourth-most this season, while out-rebounding the Bears by 12; LR was doubled up in offensive grabs (23-10), leading to a 15-7 gap in second-chance scoring
- Catawba forced 16 Bear turnovers and committed nine, contributing to positive margins in points off turnovers (21-9) and fast break points (26-17)

INDIVIDUAL STATS
- Jordan Simpson splashed six three-pointers en route to a career-high 32 points with three steals defensively
- Ibra Athie logged his second consecutive double-double with a Catawba career-tying 23 points to go with 13 rebounds, his third-highest mark of the year
- Carson Daniel earned 12 attempts at the free-throw line, nailing nine while splashing his lone three-point shot to rack up 11 points with team highs of seven assists and three swipes
- Like his brother Carson, Chase Daniel helped feed the Catawba Indian offense with six assists while adding five rebounds
- Despite getting into foul trouble, Zion McDuffie tallied eight points in eight minutes
- Justin Banks chipped in seven points and elevated for two blocks, moving into fourth all-time in single-season denials (63) and closing the career gap to five behind third place (153)
- Nick Walker and Jashaun Hawkins each recorded six rebounds, amassing nine offensive boards in 27 minutes combined

UP NEXT
With hardware on the line, the Catawba Indians battle top-seeded, seventh-ranked Anderson in the SAC Championship tournament final tomorrow (Mar. 7) at 4 p.m. inside the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center. The game will be broadcast free of charge via FloCollege on YouTube.