Men’s Basketball matches program conference win record in road win at E&H

Emory, Va. —- The Catawba College men's basketball team matched its program record for most conference wins in a season on Saturday afternoon, winning their 14th South Atlantic Conference game of the season, 88-79 over Emory & Henry College. The Catawba Indians improve to 19-6 overall and 14-2 in the SAC, while the Wasps drop to 14-11 overall and 6-10 in league play.

Catawba utilized a balanced scoring attack on Saturday, with seven players scoring in double figures. Adrian Scarborough and Jerome Bivins led the way for the Catawba Indians, scoring 14 points apiece. Peyton Gerald added 13 points, while Kris Robinson, Javeon Jones and Ray Kowalski each recorded 11 points. DeAngelo Epps had 10 points off the bench. Gabe Brown had a game-high 16 points for Emory & Henry.

The team continued to capitalize on its pressure defense, turning 22 Wasp turnovers into 22 points the other way. Catawba also got out in transition, out-scoring Emory & Henry 25-13 in fast break points.

The first half remained neck-and-neck largely the whole way, as a 17-7 Catawba run early on turned a five-point Wasp advantage into a 21-16 edge for Catawba, but neither team led by more than five points in the opening 20 minutes. Kowalski's three-pointer broke a tie with 1:22 to go in the opening half before an E&H bucket cut the Catawba lead to a single point at the halftime break.

With 13 minutes to go, back-to-back Kowalski triples turned a slim one-point lead into a seven-point advantage. Bivins added a free throw to make it a 7-0 run, as Catawba led 59-51 just before the 12-minute mark. Later, a quick 9-2 Wasps' run got the game within a single possession, but Catawba survived every E&H counterpunch and scored the game's final seven points to walk away with the win.

The team looks to break its program record for conference wins in a season at home against Coker on Wednesday. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.