Men’s Basketball falls in NCAA Tournament opener

Augusta, Ga. —- The Catawba College men's basketball team fell Saturday night against USC Aiken 88-79 in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Southeast Regional at Augusta University. The Pacers advance to Sunday's regional semis and improve to 23-8 overall, while Catawba ends its season at 23-8. 

Jerome Bivins led Catawba with 16 points off the bench off 6-for-12 shooting and 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range. DeAngelo Epps recorded 12 points and three steals, while Peyton Gerald and Ray Kowalski each scored 11. Javeon Jones recorded 10 points, seven, rebounds and six assists while breaking the school record for steals in a single season. Tyler Johnson had a game-high 24 points for USC Aiken.

USC Aiken held Catawba to under 40 percent shooting from the field while converting nearly 47 percent of their field goal attempts. The Pacers also had a 47-35 rebounding advantage including 17 offensive rebounds which turned into 19 second-chance points. Catawba committed just five turnovers in the game and recorded eight steals on the other end.

Catawba held a small lead for the majority of the early going in the first half. Kowalski's three-pointer at the 12:44 mark pushed the Catawba Indian lead to 21-14, its largest of the game. USC Aiken responded right back, however, tying the game at 24 on Karon Boyd's jumper with just under 10 minutes to go, capping a 10-3 Pacer run. 

The teams continued on a scorching pace offensively, but a separate 11-2 Aiken run pushed the Pacers ahead 37-31 at the 5:11 mark. Catawba responded immediately with an 8-1 run, as Dre Nelson's layup put the Catawba Indians back in front 39-38 with just over three minutes left in the opening half. The Pacers scored six of the last eight points of the half to take a 50-46 lead at the break.

Catawba tied the game at 51 less than three minutes in on a Bivins three-pointer, but Aiken immediately answered with a 7-0 run, as Jalen McCoy's layup gave the Pacers a 58-51 lead at the 14:52 mark. After USCA's lead grew to as much as 10 points, Kowalski drilled back-to-back threes to pull Catawba within four with under 10 minutes to go.

USC Aiken responded right back with an 8-0 run of their own to take a 73-61 lead just after the under-8 media timeout. A Bivins three-pointer got Catawba to within seven points with around five minutes remaining, but Catawba could never get closer, as the Pacers pulled away to advance.

Catawba finished the season with school records in conference wins (15), team steals in a season (335) and Jones broke the single-season record for steals in a season with 88. The team also won the South Atlantic Conference Piedmont Division and claimed its ninth conference tournament crown in program history.