Robinson's career night pushes Men's Basketball to win in season opener

Belmont, N.C. —- Catawba College junior guard Kris Robinson poured in a career-high 27 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three-point range, as the Catawba College men's basketball team pulled away late from Belmont Abbey on the road in the season opener.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba shot 30-for-71 (42 percent) from the floor; Belmont Abbey was 23-of-55 (42 percent) from the field

- The Catawba Indians wer 8-for-19 (42 percent) from three-point range, while the Crusaders were 10-of-29 (35 percent) from deep

- BAC shot 27-for-35 (77 percent) from the free throw line; Catawba was 22-of-29 (76 percent) from the charity stripe

- Catawba held a slight 39-38 advantage in rebounds

- The Catawba Indians had 12 assists to 12 turnovers; BAC had 13 assists, but committed 20 turnovers

- Catawba turned those turnovers into a 32-10 edge in points off turnovers

- The Catawba Indians doubled up Belmont Abbey in points in the paint 40-20

- The back-and-forth game had 12 ties and 12 lead changes

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Robinson went for a career-high 27 points, going 6-for-8 from three-point range and 7-of-10 from the free throw line

- Javeon Jones added 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals

- Justin Banks and Justin Mitchell both had eight points and six boards

- Montraivis White chipped in seven points off the bench

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

- Robinson scored Catawba's first six points on back-to-back three-pointers

- Catawba opened up an 11-3 lead on Robinson's third triple of the first four minutes

- Robinson drained his fourth at the 15:38 mark

- Catawba led 19-5 after Robinson's fourth three-pointer in the first six minutes

- The Catawba Indians led by as much as 27-7 midway through the opening half

- A 7-0 Crusader run cut into their large deficit

- Catawba maintained their 13-point lead later in the half on Jones' layup at the 4:56 mark

- Belmont Abbey ended the half on a 10-2 run to wipe away Catawba's big lead, as the visitors led 44-42 at the break

SECOND HALF

- The teams traded baskets until BAC's Wade Jackson's tied the game on a three-pointer for the first time in the game since 3-3

- Abbey took its first lead on Khamani Wertz's three-pointer at the 14:56 mark

- The Crusaders led by as much as 59-53 with under 12 minutes to go

- Jones' three-pointer cut Catawba's deficit in half

- Mitchell's lay-in gave Catawba back the lead, 63-62, at the 9:03 mark

- The teams traded the lead multiple times over the next few minutes; Robinson's fifth three-pointer broke a 72-all tie

- Banks' dunk gave Catawba a five-point lead with under four to go

- Jackson's layup brought the Crusaders to within a single point

- Catawba used the free throw line to score seven unanswered points, taking an 88-80 lead with 16 seconds left

UP NEXT 

- Catawba hits the road over the holiday weekend, traveling to Lakeland, Fla. for a pair of games against #25 Florida Southern and Saint Leo

- Catawba Indians face the host Mocs on Friday at 7 :30 p.m.