WINGATE, N.C. – The Catawba College men's basketball team fell victim to lethal outside shooting by Wingate on Wednesday night, suffering a 90-85 defeat to the Bulldogs at Cuddy Arena.
TEAM STATS
- Catawba (8-6, 6-5 SAC) landed 48.5 percent from the floor, barely trailing Wingate (6-6, 4-5 SAC) who shot 49.0 percent
- Wingate was more efficient from three-point land than inside the arc, hitting 54.5 percent of its heaves compared to Catawba's 25.0 percent clip while recording their second-lowest number of attempts
- The hosts got a large chunk of their points at the free-throw line, making 28 of its 34 opportunities (82.4 percent) against the 16-for-20 (80.0 percent) made by Catawba
- The Bulldogs got the best of Catawba on the boards by a 35-33 margin, but the visitors' 13-9 lead in offensive rebounds contributed to the second-chance points spread of 21-9
- The blue and white finished with a mighty 13-7 edge in turnovers forced, leading to a slight 14-11 advantage in points off takeaways
INDIVIDUAL STATS
- Kris Robinson swished 18 points on seven field goals – two triples – and a perfect 2-for-2 at the free-throw line
- In just 17 minutes of action, Nick Walker compiled 14 points with five rebounds and a block
- Montraivis White supplied his highest scoring total in six games, adding 14 points
- Zion McDuffie netted 11 points coming off the bench while also contributing two boards, two assists, and two steals
- Solomon Tucker tore up the paint with a team-high nine rebounds and three assists, scoring nine points while going 2-for-2 from the field and 5-for-8 at the charity stripe
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- The 'Dogs delivered bullseyes from deep on their first two possessions, but White struck back with a trey and Walker chipped in back-to-back jumpers to inch closer, trailing 9-7
- After Wingate added five more points to its lead, Catawba raced out to an 18-14 lead thanks to an 11-2 run that ended with two McDuffie buckets
- The Catawba Indians began to settle in, upping its lead to seven when White nailed his third jumper in 70 seconds and drew a foul for a three-point play
- Three-balls by Jaden Lingo and Jordan Miller threatened to shift the momentum to Wingate, but solid shooting at the line and a couple of timely Robinson triples allowed Catawba to keep the edge at half, 49-43
Second Half
- Wingate exited the locker room with a vengeance, outscoring the visitors 13-4 including both a three-point and four-point play from Corbin Pack
- Tucker returned the favor, getting a hoop and harm to tie it as the squads traded buckets to keep it knotted at 58-58
- Pack and Mike Erbeck went back-to-back from three-point range as Kendall Taylor swished a trey minutes later, turning the tide in favor of Wingate by seven
- After the deficit reached eight, Caleb Jones and Robinson used lay-ins to cut the gap in half as McDuffie converted an and-one minutes later, putting Catawba on the doorstep at 75-74
- Robinson splashed a jumper to key another three-point play and landed a second dart in the paint to slice the margin to one possession inside the four-minute mark
- Stingy defense and a three by Pack with 1:11 to go helped Wingate fend off the blue and white and improve its home record against Catawba to 20-7 since 2000
UP NEXT
Catawba makes a short departure from South Atlantic Conference play on Monday, Jan. 13 in a non-conference tilt against crosstown foe Livingstone. The contest is slated for a 6 p.m. start.
