Men’s Basketball invades Mossy Creek, knocks off nationally-ranked Eagles

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Behind two 20-point performances, the Catawba College men's basketball team dropped No. 24 Carson-Newman, 86-76, on Saturday to record its 15th victory over a ranked opponent in program history.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba (3-2, 1-1 SAC) swished 33-of-80 (.413) from the field while Carson-Newman (6-2, 2-1 SAC), the 11th-most efficient offense in the nation, continued to scorch the nets with a 26-for-50 (.520) day at the office

- The efficiency margin was much smaller on three-pointers as Catawba shot a season-best 45 percent (9-for-20) against the 42.3 percent (11-for-26) mark from C-N

- The blue and white dominated in ball control, committing just four turnovers – the fewest since Jan. 21, 2023 vs. Anderson – compared to the Eagles' 18, 12 of which were stolen by Catawba

- Catawba made a living on the boards, highlighted 16 offensive grabs, to out-rebound the Eagles by a 41-35 difference

- The visitors mastered capitalizing on offensive rebounds and takeaways, winning big in second-chance points (19-3) and points off turnovers (28-5)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Montraivis White shattered his career-high scoring total with 25 points featuring 10 field goals, pouring in half from beyond the arc, while adding five assists and three steals

- Ibra Athie commanded the paint in a double-double effort, netting 20 points on seven buckets and a 6-for-6 ledger at the free-throw line with 13 rebounds including seven on offense

- Nick Walker broke into double figures with 10 points, chipping in six boards and dishing out two dimes

- In Chase Daniel's fifth collegiate game, the freshman guard nabbed a team-high six steals along with five points, two rebounds, and four assists

- Jalen Hilliard made his first appearance of the 2024-25 campaign, sinking one basket with three rebounds in five minutes of action

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half

- The Catawba Indians sprinted out to a 7-2 lead featuring five points from White, but C-N closed the gap on a Nick Brenegan three and two Trey Hubbard free throws

- A trio of baskets by White were followed by second-chance tallies by Athie whose and-one conversion capped a 13-2 run, lifting Catawba ahead by 11

- The Eagles remained competitive thanks to two Jack Browder three-balls and one by John Zhao, cutting the visitors' lead down to 27-20

- Minutes later, White and Zhao traded pairs of long-range bullseyes as Catawba reached its biggest lead of the game at 15 points

- C-N closed the half on a 15-6 surge to slim the deficit to 49-43 at the break

Second Half

- Athie got the first score of the period, but the Eagles splashed the next three including threes by Zhao and Braden Ilic, tying proceedings at 51-all

- Zhao makes at the charity stripe helped C-N to two brief leads, but timely hits from Daniel and O'Mazeon Tinsley keyed a Catawba charge back into the driver's seat

- Another short-lived advantage for the Eagles was erased by White and Kris Robinson jumpers, evening the score at 70-70 as the hosts never saw the lead again

- Catawba blitzed C-N with a 9-2 run around the under-four media timeout as Athie rebounds and multiple clutch lay-ins followed, icing a marquee win over one of the South Atlantic Conference's two preseason favorites

UP NEXT

On deck for the Catawba Indians are two matchups against nationally-recognized opponents, beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at vote-receiving UVA Wise for a 7:30 p.m. tip.