Robinson banks in three at regulation buzzer; Jones’ FTs cap Men’s Basketball’s wild OT win at Limestone

Gaffney, S.C. —- Catawba College's junior guard Kris Robinson banked in a three-pointer at the end of the regulation and senior guard Javeon Jones converted the game-winning free throws in a wild overtime win at Limestone on Wednesday night in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action at the Timken Center in Gaffney.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba shot 33-for-64 (52 percent) from the field, while Limestone was 30-of-68 (44 percent) from the floor

- The Saints were 10-for-26 (39 percent) from three-point range; the Catawba Indians shot 6-of-19 (32 percent) from deep

- Catawba was 21-for-27 (78 percent) from the free throw line, while LU went 22-of-29 (76 percent) from the charity stripe

- The Catawba Indians out-rebounded Limestone 40-38, leading to a slim 16-12 advantage in second-chance points

- The Saints recorded 18 assists to 17 turnovers and Catawba had 12 assists to 18 turnovers, but it was the Catawba Indians who held the 20-19 edge in points off turnovers

- Catawba dominated in points in the paint (46-32) and bench points (32-3)

- The game featured a whopping 42 ties and 34 lead changes

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Kris Robinson scored a team-high 21 points on five three-pointers, including the banked-in triple at the buzzer to send the game to overtime

- Javeon Jones added 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals and the game-winning free throws in the final minute of overtime

- Justin Banks came off the bench for 12 points 

- DeAngelo Epps was the fourth Catawba Indian in double figures with 11

- Peyton Gerald and Montraivis White each scored seven points

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

- Robinson's triple four minutes in pushed Catawba's early lead to 9-4

- Limestone answered with an 11-0 run to swing the lead in their favor

- The Catawba Indians counterpunched with a 9-0 run, capped by Justin Mitchell's and-one at the 11:22 mark

- Catawba's lead grew to as much as six, but the Saints responded with back-to-back three-pointers

- Ayden Hickman's dunk extended Limestone's lead to 34-30 at the 3:31 mark

- A Robinson three-pointer and four straight points from Dre Nelson flipped the lead in favor of Catawba

- Two Zeb Graham free throws with under a second left in the half gave the home team a 43-41 lead at the break

SECOND HALF

- Epps and Robinson layups got the momentum turning Catawba's way to start the second half, leading 45-43 in the opening two minutes

- Hickman's jumper put the Saints on top 53-52 at the 13:23 mark

- White's three-pointer put Catawba up three, just to be answered by a triple from Graham, who scored a game-high 31 points on the night

- Shad Thomas' free throws gave Catawba a four-point lead at the midway point of the half

- A 7-0 Limestone run gave the Saints a a 63-60 lead at the 7:25 mark

- LU led by as much as eight with 1:52 remaining

- White's layup cut the Catawba deficit to five, and after a defensive stop, Robinson's lay-in made it a one possession game with 24 seconds to go

- Limestone missed three consecutive back-ends of trips to the line, allowing Catawba to cut the deficit to a single point on Banks' dunk with six seconds left

- After Graham made both free throws, Robinson's heave at the buzzer from the right win banked in to tie the game at 85 and send the game to overtime

OVERTIME

- Epps' dunk was the first score of overtime at the 4-minute mark

- Greg McKay gave Limestone the lead on a layup at the 2:20 mark, but Robinson's jumper returned the advantage to Catawba; it was the last field goal made of the game

- The teams traded free throws the rest of way, as Jones' pair with 26 seconds left proving to be the difference

- Limestone's try for the win was no good and Catawba secured the rebound as the final buzzer sounded

UP NEXT

- The Catawba Indians return to Goodman Arena on Saturday, hosting Carson-Newman in a matchup of two of the top four teams in the league's standings