Early hiccups derail Men’s Basketball at #15 Lenoir-Rhyne

HICKORY, N.C. – Held to four points in the first nine minutes, the Catawba College men's basketball team dropped a largely-uphill battle to No. 15 Lenoir-Rhyne, 82-67, on Wednesday night at Shuford Arena.

TEAM STATS

- Lenoir-Rhyne (22-5, 19-4 SAC) went 46.3% from the field while Catawba (16-11, 13-10) posted a 33.3% clip, starting with its second-lowest first half shooting percentage of the year at 25.0%

- The squads attempted three-pointers at similar rates with LR retaining the edge in efficiency at 33.3%-26.9%

- Catawba also struggled from the free-throw line, swishing 10-of-17 (58.8%) as the Bears were slightly better at 12-for-18 (66.7%)

- The blue and white made up for rocky shooting with a 44-42 advantage in rebounding, producing a 23-10 margin in second-chance scoring

- LR forced 16 turnovers and gained eight steals, while the Catawba Indians caused 15 takeaways and pocketed 12 steals

- The visitors swatted four Bear shots and were blocked seven times, recording the second-highest total for a Catawba opponent this season

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Kris Robinson drained four three-pointers en route to a team-high 17 points

- Justin Banks poured in 11 points with five rebounds, two blocks, and one steal

- Montraivis White also chipped in 11 points while gathering four boards with two assists and two steals

- Carson Daniel was Catawba's top swiper at three steals in just 10 minutes of action

- Ibra Athie grabbed a team-high eight boards with pairs of steals and assists

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half

- Held scoreless while LR scored the first seven points of the game, Banks got Catawba on the board with a hoop-and-harm conversion 3:33 into the contest

- A scoring drought lasting over five minutes allowed Tay Smith and the potent LR offense to stretch its lead to 18-4

- Banks and White laid in buckets on back-to-back possessions ahead of the under-12 media timeout, then Caleb Jones made a layup through contact and drew the foul that provoked the under-8 break

- Smith, Hantz Louis-Jeune and Gabe Cerda continued to bolster the Bear offensive attack as Robinson tripled off a takeaway and sank another on the ensuing possession

- Jashaun Hawkins drove the lane for a basket late in the stanza, but Julian Dozier and Conrad Luczynski bookended it to widen the Bears' advantage to 42-23 at halftime

Second Half

- Catawba's first three scores in the second half occurred on second chances before getting a steal and slam from Zion McDuffie to slice a bucket off the LR lead

- Smith retaliated with a long-range dart as Junior Hodnett struck twice from beyond the arc, reaching a high-water mark of 25 points at a 64-39 margin

- Robinson drilled a three while getting fouled and made the bonus shot, the first four-point play of the second half ahead of Nick Walker's two free throws and immediate bucket thanks to possession awarded by an LR technical foul

- The program's career leader in three-pointers served up another bullseye from downtown, shrinking the gap to 12 but a late 8-0 run from the Bears dashed the visitors' chance at a comeback and locked in the final score of 82-67

UP NEXT

Catawba returns home for the regular-season finale on Saturday, Mar. 1 against UVA Wise. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. with Senior Day festivities held prior to the contest.