SALISBURY, N.C. — The Catawba College men's basketball team returns from its mid-season break to battle the Mars Hill Lions at Goodman Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Where They Left Off
- The Catawba Indians' last competition was a 68-54 setback to Newberry on Dec. 18, dropping the squad's record to 7-5 (5-4 in South Atlantic Conference play)
- Despite a scoreless night to end the first semester, Nick Walker started his Catawba career on fire with 12.8 points per game and a stellar field goal percentage of 70.7
- Kris Robinson eclipsed the 1,000-point mark against Carson-Newman on Dec. 14 and continues to chase the program's career three-pointers record of 266 set by Antonio Houston, needing 39 more to tie it
- Ibra Athie stacks up first in the league at three offensive boards per tilt, echoed by per-game averages of 10.2 points and 6.9 rebounds that have produced a team-high three double-doubles
Mr. Efficient
- Walker's 70.7 percent (65-for-92) success rate from the field leads the South Atlantic Conference and stands fifth among all Division II hoopers
- The Hattiesburg, Miss. native's ledger has also picked up a chunk of points from the charity stripe, hitting 66.7 percent (24-for-36) of his free throws
- If Walker continues his current pace, he could threaten the Catawba single-season field goal percentage record of 68.5 that Jolly Manning recorded in the 2005-06 campaign
First of the Year
- In Rob Perron's tenure, Catawba is 5-5 in the initial contest following the winter hiatus
- The last two seasons produced favorable results for the blue and white as Catawba took down non-conference foe Virginia Union to open 2023 and pulled out a three-point triumph at Coker in 2024
All-Time Series
- Mars Hill is the third-most beaten program in Catawba history, trailing only Lenoir-Rhyne (104) and Guilford (91)
- The series began in the 1929-30 season when the Catawba Indians rolled to a 44-16 victory
- Catawba has been dominant on home court, posting a 39-5 record in meetings in Salisbury
- The previous three matchups have gone to Catawba as the last time Mars Hill prevailed over the blue and white was Feb. 21, 2022, completing a season sweep for the Lions
Scouting the Lions
- Mars Hill compiled a 4-7 record in the fall including a pair of SAC wins against Limestone and Anderson
- After an unexpected 4-0 start that lifted MHU to 10th in the D2CSC regional poll, the squad has taken seven consecutive losses; a 30-point drubbing at UVA Wise before the break left a sour taste in the Lions' mouths
- Kory Davis the highest-scoring Lion thus far at 15.5 points per game, reaching double figures in 10 of 11 contests, with a team-high 87.8 free throw percentage
- Guards Dinari Boykin (12.6) and Kadyn Dawkins (12.1) are also consistently in double-digit scoring
- Boykins, a defending All-SAC pick, leads the Lions with two steals per game
Follow Along
The contest will be streamed on FloCollege with live stats on CatawbaAthletics.com.
