Men’s Basketball downed by USC Aiken in opening round of NCAA Regionals

COLUMBUS, Ga. – The Catawba College men's basketball team finished its 2024-25 campaign in the NCAA Southeast Regional quarterfinal round with an 80-71 defeat at the hands of second-seeded USC Aiken on Saturday afternoon at the Lumpkin Center.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba (18-13) maintained a marginal edge in shooting efficiency, posting a 44.1% clip against the Pacers' (23-8) 40.0%

- The squads combined for just 20 three-point attempts and had identical 25.0% success rates; USC Aiken went 2-for-8 while Catawba had a 3-for-12 day

- Performance at charity stripe was the difference maker as the Pacers scored over half of their points at the free-throw line, going 42-for-53 (.792) compared to the 16-for-20 (.800) from Catawba

- USCA out-rebounded the Catawba Indians 36-31 and boasted a 13-8 edge in second-chance points, despite the blue and white holding a 12-11 advantage in offensive boards

- The turnover battle finished at an even 17-17 and each side blocked five shots apiece

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Kris Robinson led the way in scoring for the 14th time in his senior season, supplying 16 points with a perfect 7-for-7 outing on free throws while adding five rebounds and team highs of three steals and three assists

- Nick Walker broke into double figures with 11 points as Jashaun Hawkins fell just shy of his third straight double-digit point game at nine points

- Justin Banks swatted three shots in an eight-point affair and Solomon Tucker collected two blocks during his seven-point return to the court

- Caleb Jones racked up a team-best six rebounds, gathering three on offense and three on defense

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half

- Walker hooked in the contest's first bucket as the Pacers responded with four points, but the Hattiesburg, Miss. product converted an and-one around the first media timeout for a 5-4 Catawba lead

- USCA went on a furious 11-2 kick fueled by a seven-point burst from Rhyjon Blackwell

- Catawba provided a rebuttal over the next two minutes when Walker, Robinson and Hawkins strung together three baskets to cut the Pacer edge to 15-13

- The Pacers gradually locked in a multiple-possession lead, reaching an eight-point buffer with 4:42 to go in the half

- Down by seven, Catawba received an impressive 35 seconds from Hawkins who nailed a three and pickpocketed the Pacers before serving up an alley-oop to Tucker; USCA restored its lead to 36-29 at the break

Second Half

- Catawba trimmed four points off its deficit in just over three minutes thanks to a pair of Montraivis White jumpers

- Jalen Hilliard sent in a second-chance layup from the offensive grab and distribution from Carson Daniel as the Catawba Indians slimmed the margin to 45-43

- Daniel dropped in a bullseye from deep before Banks laid in the rock on the next possession, tying the contest at 48-all midway through the second half

- A Simeon German three-point play keyed a 9-0 run to the under-eight media break

- Four points by Hawkins and a 3-for-3 trip to the line for Robinson were matched by USCA's ability to get to the stripe and convert on the opportunities, keeping the Pacer lead mostly stagnant

- The Pacers stretched the gap to 72-62 with 2:30 left and did so again with 47 seconds on the clock, securing a semifinal berth for USCA and eliminating Catawba from the regional bracket

FINAL NOTES

- Robinson completes his career as a Catawba Indian with program records in single-season three-pointers (94), career triples (288) and career free throw percentage (.865)

- Head Coach Rob Perron wraps up his 11th year at the helm with his third straight winning season and fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament

- Catawba is slated to graduate five seniors with 12 players expected to return in 2025-26

- Next season will mark the 100th year of Catawba College men's basketball; wrapping up the campaign at 18-13, the program's winning percentage improves to .548