Men's Basketball Picks Up First Win of Season Against Morris College

SALISBURY, NC -- Catawba secured a 88-72 victory over Morris Saturday afternoon at Livingstone’s Trent Gymnasium in the consolation game of the Highway 52 Shootout. The Indians equal their record at 1-1 as the Hornets fall to 0-2.

Keon Moore (Colerain, NC/Bertie HS) led the Indians in scoring and rebounding as he contributed 22 points to go with 10 boards and a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. Tyrece Little (Greenville, NC/Rose HS) chipped in with 18 points and two blocked shots while teammate Willie Gilmore (Fayetteville, NC/Trinity Christian) tallied 13 points with four assists.

Catawba held a slim three-point lead at 70-67 with 5:47 to play in the game when it went on an 18-5 run to close out the contest and Morris. Moore had nine of his 22 points and four rebounds in the stretch including a three-point play that began with a steal with just under three minutes to play that put the Indians up 10.

Catawba hounded the Hornets into 27 turnovers for the game, while outrebounding them 40-34. The Hornets went cold in the second half, shooting just 30.6%, while managing only 38.6% for the game.

Leading 42-38 at the half on 56.3% shooting, the Indians ballooned it to a 10-point lead at the 17:14 mark, but Morris battled back over an 11-minute stretch. Andreaus Canty (14 points) and Avery Johnson (12 points) led the charge for the Hornets who pulled within three points four times before the final run by Catawba.  

The Indians started their night of good marksmanship off early racing to a 9-0 on two jumpers and a block by Little. As they did all night the Hornets fought back with two layups apiece by Derrick Williams (11 points, eight rebounds) and Johnson to cut it to 9-8 at the 13:03 mark in the first half.

It was nip and tuck the rest of the way with Morris taking a 38-35 lead, its only one of the night, with two minutes left. Two layups by Gilmore and Little, then a trifecta by Moore would quickly wipeout the Hornet’s lead going into intermission.

Catawba next hosts St. Augustine’s on Friday, Nov. 18 at 7:00 pm.