SALISBURY, N.C. -- Catawba pulled away from a pesky Limestone squad midway through the second half to claim a 90-70 win in an opening round game of the South Atlantic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday night at Goodman Gym. The Catawba Indians, the top seed from the Piedmont Division, improves to 21-7, while the Saints, seeded fourth out of the Mountain Division, end their season at 13-16.
Limestone was within a point with 10:32 remaining then Catawba used a 10-0 run in less than a minute to grab a 69-58 edge with 9:40 left. It was an 8-0 in the final six minutes that shot the lead up to 15 points with 3:24 to go.
Catawba had raced out to a 27-15 lead after just eight minutes, but cooled off and scored just 15 points the rest of the half. Limestone went on top early in the second half and led 52-49 following a three-pointer by Ben Gahlert with 15:19 left. Peyton Gerald tied the game on a dunk following a steal by Kris Robinson and the Indians went on top for good when Javeon Jones canned a three-pointer with 13:23 remaining.
Jones and Gerald paced Catawba as each scored 16 points and grabbed eight boards. Jones dished out six assists with three steals, while Gerald added three blocks. All five Catawba starters reached double figures with DeAngelo Epps adding 13 and Robinson 11. Adrian Scarborough chipped in with 10 points.
Limestone got 17 points from Gahlert and 13 points and eight rebounds from Greg McKay off the bench. Zab Graham produced 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Limestone shot 54% in the opening half then cooled off to 36% in the second. The Saints struggled from long range, making just 6-of-26 and only 3-of-17 (18%) in the second half. Catawba shot 48% for the game and went 12-of-20 (60%) behind the arc.
Although Limestone committed 16 turnovers, six more than Catawba, the Indians held a 29-4 edge in points off those miscues. Catawba held a slight 39-37 edge on the glass.
Catawba advances to Saturday's semifinals at Timmons Arena on the campus of Furman University. The Indians will face Tusculum, the #2-seed from the Mountain Division at 7:30 p.m. The Pioneers edged Wingate 73-71 in their opening round game.
