SALISBURY, N.C. – Catawba used an early second-half run to overcome a five-point halftime deficit and defeated, Anderson, 87-81, in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action, Saturday afternoon at Goodman Gym.
Anderson (11-16, 8-15 SAC) suffered second consecutive setback and its fifth loss in its last six outings, while Catawba improved to 10-13 overall and 9-12 in league play by snapping a four-game losing streak and swept the regular-season series with the Trojans.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Junior guard Crosby James II scored a team-high 23 points and handed out three assists, with forward Parker Dortch tossing in 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field. The Columbus, N.J., native shared game-high rebounding honors with eight boards. Josh Livingston added 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, while guard Rahim Jenkins netted 11 points. Guard Mason Carver recorded nine points, three rebounds and three assists, with Mack Burgett pulling down eight rebounds. Freshman Myles Jenkins recorded five points and seven rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The Trojans pushed out to an 18-12 lead on a Crosby James layup with 12:40 on the clock, before Catawba countered with a 10-4 surge over the next two minutes to knot the score for the third of five times on the afternoon.
James answered with a 3-pointer on the other end, with Catawba's Trevion Lamar knocking a down a trey for the Indians to again tie the score, at 25-25, midway through the half.
Moments later, Rahim Jenkins and James scored nine unanswered points, as the Trojans gained their largest advantage of the afternoon (39-30) before settling for a 41-36 halftime advantage.
Second Half
Catawba opened the second half by connecting on seven of its first 11 field goal attempts and opened a 58-47 lead with just less than 13 minutes left in the contest.
AU cut the Indians' lead to just five (75-70) at the 3:44 mark, but Catawba was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line to hold off the Trojans down the stretch.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
The Trojans won the rebounding battle, 41-30, and pulled down 11 offensive boards.
NOTABLES
• AU outscored Catawba, 44-26, in the paint.
• Catawba has won four straight over the Trojans.
• The Trojans and Indians have met 32 times since the 1995-96 season, including 29 occasions since the 2009-10 campaign ... The Trojans hold a 17-15 advantage in the all-time series.
• With one game left on its regular-season schedule, AU is in ninth place in the battle for a berth in next month's eight-team SAC Tournament – two games behind seventh-place Catawba and 1 ½ games behind eighth-place Lenoir-Rhyne. The Trojans are one game in front of 10th-place Limestone. AU swept LR during the regular season, while Catawba swept the Trojans.
• Catawba still has three regular-season games remaining, while Lenoir-Rhyne has a pair of games left on its regular-season slate and Limestone has three regular-season games remaining.
UP NEXT
Following a six-day layoff, the Trojans wrap up the regular season by playing host to Tusculum on Senior Day. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. at the Abney Athletic Center.
