Men's Basketball Season Ends in Loss at Anderson

ANDERSON, SC -- Catawba saw its men’s basketball season come to an end with a 76-57 loss to top-seeded Anderson in the opening round of the 2012 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday night at the Abney Center.  The Trojans improve to 23-4 overall and advance to the tournament semifinals on Saturday.  The Catawba Indians wind up at 9-18.

The Indians led in the early going at 10-7 after a jumper by Justin Huntley (Mooresville, NC/Mooresville HS).  Anderson took control from there, scoring seven straight points to start a 24-6 run that put the hosts up 31-16 with 8:41 left in the opening half.  The Trojans held a 40-28 lead at the break, shooting 68% from the field in the first half.

Anderson steadily increased its lead in the second half.  Denail Jones and Jo’el Lamb hit early three-pointers to go on top 48-28 three minutes into the half.  The largest lead for the Trojans came at 76-51 with three minutes left.

Catawba shot 45% for the game, but could not match the hand from Anderson, who connected on 60&.  The Trojans were 11-of-16 (69%) behind the arc with the Indians going just 2-for-15 (13%).  Anderson also held a 33-23 edge on the boards.

Huntley led Catawba, scoring 16 points in his final collegiate game.  Keon Moore (Colerain, NC/Bertie HS) added 13 points.  Tyrece Little (Greenville, NC/Rose HS) scored nine points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked a pair of shots.

Anderson was led by Jones, who tallied 15 points.  Taylor Shugart had 10 points and nine rebounds, while Nick Trull also scored 10 points.

VIDEO: Coach Baker Discusses 2012 Season

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