Men’s Basketball held off by USC Aiken in highly-contested battle

AIKEN, S.C. – The Catawba College men's basketball team came close to pulling off another victory via comeback, but USC Aiken held on to prevail in an 81-79 barn burner at the USCA Convocation Center on Sunday afternoon.

TEAM STATS

- The Pacers (2-0) buried 53.4 percent of its shots compared to Catawba's (1-1) shooting percentage of 46.2

- The visitors' efficiency was largely impacted by a 9-for-28 (.321) day from long range as USC Aiken swished three of its nine three-pointers

- As was the case against Lander, missed free throws loomed large down the stretch as the Pacers' 16-for-32 (.500) mark at the charity stripe kept Catawba in business; the blue and white put together a 10-of-15 (.667) performance

- Catawba maintained the advantage in rebounds at 39-37, a margin decided by a 16-14 difference in offensive grabs

- Turnovers burdened the Catawba Indians who gave up possession 23 times (11 without Pacer steals), rivaling the 19 committed by USCA

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Kris Robinson led Catawba in scoring for the second time with 19 points while chipping in three boards and a pair of takeaways

- Coming off the bench, Jashaun Hawkins bagged 17 points and pick-pocketed USCA six times, becoming the 20th player in program history to accomplish the feat

- Nick Walker went 6-for-8 from the floor, flirting with a double-double at 12 points and nine rebounds including four on offense

- Dishing out eight assists was Montraivis White who put up also seven points and corralled three steals

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half

- The contest began in familiar fashion: Justin Banks won the tipoff to set up a first-possession slam, this time from Walker

- As each team settled in, a drag race appeared imminent as the first two-possession lead was not taken until the 13-minute mark when Solomon Tucker's free throw made it 14-10 Catawba

- In the ensuing five minutes, the Pacers went on a 15-2 run capped by a Cam Perkins three-ball, steal by Davion Cunningham, and a Perkins and-one conversion

- Hawkins drilled two attempts from downtown with Robinson and White tallying one apiece, reducing the deficit to 36-30

- Six points in 83 seconds from Zion McDuffie placed Catawba on the doorstep, trailing 41-38 at the break

Second Half

- Back-to-back makes from Robinson in the early going leveled the score at 49-all before a Hawkins dunk and jumper gave Catawba a 57-56 advantage with 12:29 left in the half, its first lead in over 20 minutes

- USCA's Jalen McCoy and Mason Grant fronted a successful effort to overtake the Catawba Indians, but Robinson fired two consecutive treys followed by a Walker dunk to cut the gap to one point

- Cunningham stripped the visitors and found McCoy for a lay-in with 6:24 to go, extending the Pacer edge to 72-65

- Trips to the charity stripe for Robinson and Banks ended a combined 4-for-4 to allow Catawba to catch up, but seemingly every bucket for the blue and white was offset by a host make

- Hawkins' basket with 59 seconds remaining whittled the gap down to one point

- A costly turnover preceded stingy defense by the Pacers on the final possession, producing a Catawba miss and foul

- McCoy missed both free throws; however, Catawba failed to bring in the board with enough time to call a timeout, sealing it for the Pacers

UP NEXT

The Catawba Indians return home to face Young Harris on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at Goodman Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. following the women's matchup between Catawba and Johnson C. Smith.