Paint domination pushes Men’s Basketball past UVA Wise, 82-78

WISE, Va. – The Catawba College men's basketball team had to fend off UVA Wise, but never trailed en route to an 82-78 victory in South Atlantic Conference action at the David J. Prior Convocation Center on Tuesday night.

TEAM STATS

- The Highland Cavaliers (3-3, 1-2 SAC) shot 46.0 percent from the field and 80.0 percent at the charity stripe, topping the visitors' respective marks of 44.6 and 75.0 percent, while boasting an 8-3 edge from three-point land

- Catawba (4-2, 2-1 SAC), the nation's 13th-ranked team in steals per game, forced 22 turnovers featuring 15 steals compared to UVA Wise's 13 takeaways caused and seven steals

- The blue and white out-rebounded its opponent for the sixth consecutive game, leveraging a 39-34 advantage on the boards

- Catawba led the Cavs in most scoring metrics, posting wide leads in bench points (29-8), points off turnover (26-6), and points in the paint (44-28)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Nick Walker headlined the Catawba Indians with 18 points – 14 in the second half – and 10 rebounds in his second double-double performance of the year

- Montraivis White also notched a double-figure night in the scoring column, dropping in 11 points with a team-high six assists

- Ibra Athie sank five of his six free throw attempts in a nine-point, six-rebound outing

- Chase Daniel led the team in first-half scoring, finishing with nine points, four assists, and two rebounds

- Also tacking on nine points was Justin Banks who corralled four boards in 16 minutes

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half

- After about two minutes of scoreless hoops, Catawba scored on four of its next five possessions to start the contest ahead 10-0

- UVA Wise shrunk the gap over the next four minutes as Bradley Dean and Calen Lightford drilled back-to-back threes, narrowing the deficit to 14-12

- Catawba went back and forth with the Cavs, leveling the score and keeping it one shot away until the twins connected as Carson Daniel got a steal to assist Chase on a bucket from downtown

- Five free throws in the last 3:39 and air-tight defense allowed the Catawba Indians to head into the locker room with a 38-30 advantage

Second Half

- Caleb Jones started the half with a lay-in on the initial possession, lifting the lead to double-digit range where it remained until Patrick Shelley splashed a three before the under-16 media timeout

- Three buckets in a two-minute span from Evan Ramsey thrust the Cavs back to striking distance at 48-44, but Catawba stretched the gap to 10 again

- After chasing by 2-3 possessions, UVA Wise closed in down the stretch as Lav Cvetkovic' nailed a trey to make it a 72-68 game with 3:38 remaining

- In a flurry of Catawba put-back attempts a minute later, Walker grabbed the fourth offensive board and drew a foul, making two free throws before inflicting a steal-and-score that bumped the visitors ahead by eight

- Despite late buckets by Dean and Zy'Ever Wingfield, a successful 2-for-2 trip to the line for O'Mazeon Tinsley put a bow on Catawba's second conference triumph

UP NEXT

Catawba returns to Goodman Arena after Thanksgiving to battle No. 9 Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 4 p.m.