Men’s Basketball caps action in 2023 with decisive win over Trojans

Salisbury, N.C. —-- The Catawba College men's basketball team saw four players score in double figures on Wednesday night, as the Catawba Indians wrapped up play in the 2023 calendar year with an 88-76 victory over Anderson in South Atlantic Conference action in Goodman Arena.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba shot 35-for-72 (49 percent) from the field, while Anderson went 28-of-60 (47 percent) from the floor

- The Trojans were 5-of-14 (36 percent) from three-point range; the Catawba Indians were 9-for-26 (35 percent) from deep

- Catawba was 9-for-11 (82 percent) from the free throw line, while AU was 15-of-20 (75 percent) from the charity stripe

- The Catawba Indians out-rebounded Anderson 39-35, leading to a 21-12 advantage in second-chance points

- The Trojans recorded 15 assists to 17 turnovers, while Catawba had 12 assists to 14 turnovers; the Catawba Indians held a 25-14 edge on points off turnovers

- AU out-scored Catawba in the paint, 44-32, but it was Catawba's bench that held a huge 55-26 advantage over Anderson's reserves

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Kaleb Wallace recorded a game-high 16 points off the bench on 7-for-10 shooting from the field

- Justin Banks added 15 points on perfect 7-for-7 shooting before fouling out of the contest

- DeAngelo Epps chipped in 12 points and six rebounds

- Justin Mitchell was Catawba's fourth in double figures with 10 points

- Montraivis White provided a key 23 minutes off the bench, recording eight points, three assists and three steals

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

- Anderson sprinted out to a 6-0 lead, forcing Catawba to take an early timeout

- Javeon Jones recorded Catawba's first basket at the 16:38 mark

- White buried a triple to cut the Trojan lead to 14-13 just over six minutes into the game

- Catawba took its first lead at 21-18 after another White three-pointer at the 12-minute mark

- Dre Nelson's layup pushed Catawba's run to 17-6, as the Catawba Indians took a seven-point lead

- Anderson kept it close, however, with Cole Middleton's lay-in keeping it at a four-point game

- An Epps jumper and a Wallace triple pushed Catawba's lead to nine at the 5:49 mark

- Wallace later added a layup to give Catawba its first double-digit lead of the night at 40-29

- The teams traded baskets for the rest of the half, as the Trojans scored the final five points of the opening 20 minutes to cut was once an 11-point Catawba lead to 44-38 at the break

SECOND HALF

- Catawba sprinted out of the second half locker room, scoring the first five points to return their lead to 49-38 after Epps' three-pointer

- Kris Robinson drilled a three before the first media timeout to build Catawba's lead up to 14 points

- Catawba's lead ballooned to 20 points by the 12:44 mark; another Wallace triple capped a 20-6 Catawba Indian run in the opening seven-plus minutes of the second half

- The Catawba lead bounced between 16 and 20 points until an Epps and-one gave the Catawba Indians their largest lead of the game at 78-56

- AU went on a 16-6 run over the next five minutes, but the Trojans never got within 10 points of the Catawba lead, as the Catawba Indians moved to 3-0 in SAC play for the first time since the 2018-19 season

UP NEXT

- Catawba returns to action in the new year, hitting the road to take on Coker on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 7:30 p.m.