Men's Basketball falls to 11th-ranked LMU

HARROGATE, Tenn. — The Catawba College men's basketball team was held to its lowest scoring output of the season in an 83-53 loss to No. 11 Lincoln Memorial on Saturday afternoon.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba (10-7, 7-6 SAC) posted a frigid 23.9 shooting percentage while Lincoln Memorial (13-2, 11-1 SAC) buried over half of its attempts with a 50.8 percent clip

- The blue and white were similarly unsuccessful from beyond the arc, going 3-for-21 (14.3 percent) as LMU had an 8-for-18 (44.4 percent) day at Tex Turner Arena

- A third of Catawba's points came from the free-throw line as the visitors landed 85.7 percent (18-for-21), topping the Railsplitters' 68.2 percent success rate (15-for-22)

- LMU hammered the boards to take a 44-34 advantage in rebounding, but Catawba possessed the edge in second-chance points at a 14-7 differential

- The Railsplitters made a living on fast breaks, out-scoring the Catawba Indians in transition by a hefty 26-5 margin

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Nick Walker was the lone Catawba Indian in double figures at 10 points, swishing 3-of-6 from the field and 4-of-4 at the charity stripe, while grabbing six rebounds

- Kris Robinson put up eight points as fellow guard Chase Daniel tallied six, adding a trio of rebounds as well

- Zion McDuffie blocked a career-high three shots with six points and six rebounds without committing a turnover

- O'Mazeon Tinsley and Montraivis White chipped in five points apiece as Tinsley paced the seven-swiper lineup with two steals

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half

- Following a scoreless opening minute, Robinson opened the ledger with a bucket off a steal and feed by Ibra Athie

- The Railsplitters soared into the driver's seat using a 17-2 run, but their momentum was pinched by a three-point play from Robinson

- Walker poured in the Catawba Indians' next six points in a two-minute span to slice the deficit down to 10 at the under-8 media timeout

- McDuffie supplied a jumper and a free throw to bring the gap to 25-16 with 6:53 left in the half, but Catawba fell silent for the rest of the period while LMU bolstered its lead to 38-16

Second Half

- White ended the drought with a triple, following it with a two-point jumper as Robinson connected from deep less than a minute later to give the visitors an 8-4 start to the stanza

- The Splitters responded using a three-ball by Jordan Walters and an Osmar Garcia-Araujo lay-in before both teams failed to drain a bucket from the floor over the ensuing two minutes

- A mid-period 7-2 run for Catawba pushed the score to 53-34, but a 13-0 slide in the hosts' favor stretched the deficit to 32

- Boasting a 37-point lead with four minutes to play, LMU cruised to its 11th conference win while handing Catawba its largest margin of defeat since Feb. 8, 2020 in a 106-72 loss at the same venue

UP NEXT

Catawba returns home for a South Atlantic Conference matchup with Wingate on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 7:30 p.m.