Men’s Basketball capitalizes on turnovers in victory over Young Harris

SALISBURY, N.C. – Lockdown defense down the stretch allowed the Catawba College men's basketball team to fend off Young Harris, 73-69, at Goodman Arena on Wednesday night.

TEAM STATS

- The Mountain Lions (1-2) shot 25-for-51 (.490) from the floor to lead the game in efficiency, but failed to generate enough volume as Catawba (2-1) sank 27 buckets on 64 attempts (.422)

- Young Harris was lethal from the three-point arc, hitting 10-of-19 (.526) compared to the Catawba Indians' 9-for-27 (.333)

- The blue and white possessed a minimal edge in the free throws department, besting the Mountain Lions by a 10-9 margin

- Catawba shredded the visitors on points off turnovers, holding a 29-9 advantage, with a 14-4 margin in fast-break points

- Offensive rebounds remained a bragging right for Catawba who pulled down 17 while YHC managed to grab 11

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Kris Robinson tied his career high of six three-pointers en route to a season-best 22 points

- O'Mazeon Tinsley recorded 12 points with three takeaways and two assists

- Also turning over the Mountain Lions three times was Caleb Jones who tallied eight points, finishing at a team-high plus-minus of +8

- Justin Banks posted eight points with six rebounds and two assists, blocking three shots including a swat on the potential game-tying basket with 30 seconds to play

- Shad Thomas and Ibra Athie led the squad with three offensive boards while adding one block apiece

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half

- Threes by Robinson and Jones as well as a pull-up jumper from Tinsley helped the Catawba Indians roll out to an 8-4 lead at the first media timeout

- A 39-second, five-point flurry from Jashaun Hawkins was made possible by two YHC miscues but the Mountain Lions fought back, cutting the deficit to one possession before jumping into the lead when a Morgan Rashed driving layup made it 20-19

- Three long-range buckets by Kolbe Ashe gashed Catawba who responded with second-chance bullseyes to keep the score close

- Catawba ended the half on a 10-3 run with all of the hosts' points coming from Robinson who netted a trio from downtown featuring a four-point play, to enter the break up 39-34

Second Half

- Just seconds into the period, Jones went on a scoop-and-score as he parlayed a steal into a slam dunk before Nick Walker's jumper off a second Mountain Lion turnover stretched the Catawba lead to nine

- Karl Chavis played a major part in the YHC effort to trim the gap, drilling two three-balls after the hosts reached their biggest lead of 11 points

- Nine straight points by the guests forced a Catawba timeout as the score difference exceeded four points just once in the last 12:27 of the contest

- Chavis, Ashe, and Carl Cleveland battled against the sharp shooting of Banks and Tinsley; Chavis' buried a three dished out by Cameron Bleshoy, tying it at 67-all with 2:15 left

- A driving score from Robinson on the ensuing possession and another Jones steal-to-score gave Catawba a four-point edge before Cleveland drew a foul, hitting both shots at the stripe

- Banks sent the Mountain Lions' next shot packing as Jones drew a foul on the other end, sinking one of two. Attempting to set up a three-pointer, YHC was stripped by Montraivis White in the final seconds as the blue and white pocketed another exciting triumph at Goodman Arena

UP NEXT

Catawba takes a one-week hiatus, then ventures to Anderson on Wednesday, Nov. 20 for the South Atlantic Conference opener against the Trojans at 7:30 p.m.