Men’s Basketball caps bounce-back week with comfortable win at UVA Wise

Wise, Va. —- The Catawba College men's basketball team held a double-digit lead for the final 32 minutes on Saturday afternoon, cruising to an 85-67 win at UVA Wise to finish off a pivotal 2-0 week in South Atlantic Conference play.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba shot 33-for-71 (46 percent) from the field; UVA Wise went 24-of-56 (43 percent) from the floor

- The Cavaliers shot 11-for-27 (41 percent) from three-point range, while the Catawba Indians were 8-of-29 (28 percent) from deep

- Both teams struggled from the free throw line – Wise shot 8-for-14 (57 percent), while Catawba was 11-of-24 (46 percent)

- The Catawba Indians out-rebounded the Cavs 41-37, leading to a 17-7 advantage in second-chance points

- Catawba recorded 19 assists to just nine turnovers; UVA Wise had 13 assists to 20 turnovers, which the Catawba Indians turned into 25 points the other way

- Catawba enjoyed a massive 46-11 advantage in bench points, led 42-24 in points in the paint and recorded all six blocks of the game

- Catawba led for over 38 minutes

INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS

- Javeon Jones scored a team-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting with five rebounds, five assists and five steals

- Peyton Gerald added 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting with six boards

- Dre Nelson recorded a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds – six of which came on the offensive end

- DeAngelo Epps was the fourth Catawba Indian in double figures with 10 points

- Montraivis White chipped in nine points on three three-pointers and five assists

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

- Epps' layup capped a 12-0 run as Catawba sprinted out to an 18-5 lead in the first five minutes

- UVA Wise answered with seven of the next nine points to cut their deficit to eight points

- White's second three-pointer in as many minutes pushed the Catawba Indian advantage to 28-14 at the 12-minute mark

- Justin Banks' jumper capped Catawba's 14-2 lead to take a 21-point lead at the 7:58 mark

- The Cavaliers hung around, trimming the Catawba lead to 43-26 with under three minutes to go

- Wise got within 15 by the end of the half, as Catawba led 48-33 heading into the halftime locker room

SECOND HALF

- Jones' steal and layup returned the Catawba lead to 19 points in the early going of the second half

- Back-to-back Cavalier three-pointers cut their deficit to 54-41 under the 16-minute mark

- The Catawba Indians responded with a 7-0 run, capped by Nelson's free throw to take a 20-point stronghold

- Wise's Ben Bryson answered with five straight points to stay within 15, only to be matched with back-to-back baskets from Shad Thomas and Nelson

- A 7-0 Cavalier run cut the hosts' deficit to 74-60 with three minutes left

- With the game result in hand, Catawba scored six straight points late to return their lead to 20 points

- Bryson finished with a late basket, as the Catawba Indians rolled to the 85-67 final

UP NEXT

- A pair of teams above .500 in SAC play meet next Wednesday night in Gaffney, S.C. as the Catawba Indians battle Limestone at 7:30 p.m.