GREENWOOD, S.C. — After beating Lander by one point in the last year's opener, the Bearcats returned the favor as the Catawba College men's basketball team suffered a 69-68 loss on Friday night at Finis Horne Arena to begin the 2025 season.

TEAM STATS
- Catawba (0-1) was out-shot 47.3%-35.8%, but balanced the rough day from the field with a 26-for-32 (81.3%) clip from the free-throw line; Lander (1-0) only tossed 11 attempts, sinking eight
- Neither team was outstanding from long range, but the hosts posted nine treys on a 39.1% hit rate against Catawba's four-bucket, 25.0% three-point percentage
- The Catawba Indians swarmed the ball early and often, topping the Bearcats in rebounding 37-32 (14-8 in offensive boards) and forcing 19 turnovers
- Airborne shots were not off limits to being affected either as Catawba led the block count 7-4

INDIVIDUAL STATS
- Justin Banks tied his career-best scoring mark with 21 points, swishing three buckets from long-range (after coming in with seven career triples), while adding a team-high four blocks
- Nick Walker got into double figures with 18 points largely by going 10-for-10 at the charity stripe
- Carson Daniel earned his first career start and posted a scrappy statline that featured four points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block
- The six-foot tall Daniel twins combined for 13 boards as Chase Daniel led Catawba in both rebounds (7) and assists (4) with eight points and two swipes in a solid off-the-bench effort

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Four lead changes occurred within the first four minutes as Banks was a one-man band offensively, accounting for nine of Catawba's first 11 points
- After being tied 11-11, the Bearcats went on a 9-0 run by burning the blue and white on the fast break
- Catawba cut the deficit down to five 27-22, just as Lander opened up a seven-point burst in 90 seconds to roll the lead out to 12
- Over the final four minutes until halftime, the Catawba Indians gained two buckets apiece from Walker and Jordan Simpson to slim the gap down to 39-33

Second Half
- LeVionne Lindsey and Chase Daniel helped bring Catawba within two before the visitors eventually overtook the Bearcats at 49-48 thanks to Walker and Banks
- Lander's Grayson Pritzl then went on a spree from beyond the arc, hitting his next three triple attempts as the hosts regained a 10-point advantage with eight minutes to play
- For the ensuing four minutes, Catawba inflicted a 13-2 rampage that made it 66-65 favoring the blue and white
- Terry Leonard Jr. chipped in a jumper and a layup before the three-minute mark, putting Lander ahead by a three-pointer; Zion McDuffie replied by intercepting a pass and slamming it home
- Needing just one more bucket, the Catawba offense was rebuffed and went 0-for-3 in the final two minutes to finalize a 69-68 setback

NOTES
- Walker is the 15th player in program history to achieve perfection at the free-throw line with at least 10 attempts
- The Catawba Indians endured their first season-opening loss since the 2019-20 season when UNC Pembroke won a 95-90 barnburner in overtime (that year, Catawba qualified for the NCAA Tournament before it was canceled due to COVID-19)

UP NEXT
Catawba opens its home schedule on Sunday, Nov. 16, against fellow receiving-votes squad USC Aiken at 3:30 p.m.