Indians Never Trail in Victory Over Lions

SALISBURY, N.C.-Catawba scored first and never trailed in an 87-77 victory over visiting Mars Hill at Goodman Gym Wednesday night. The Indians improved to 8-17 overall, 5-12 in the SAC, while the Lions fell to 6-21 overall, 3-14 in conference play.

Four Indians scored in double figures, paced by Keon Moore's 33 points on 11-of-16 shooting. Justin Huntley added a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Stuart Thomson (14) and Cameron Lovelace (10) also reached double figures for Catawba. Sammy Emile paced the Lions with 30 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while Terrell Harris added 18 markers. The victory gives the Indians the final berth into the SAC Tournament.

A pair of Moore triples gave Catawba an early 6-2 lead, but the Lions tied it up on a jumper by Emile and a lay-up by Ben Marett. A three by Thomson and three straight points from Huntley gave the Indians a 12-6 lead. Hot shooting from beyond the arc in the first half helped spot the Indians to a 43-34 halftime lead. Catawba buried 10-of-11 of its attempts from three-land in the first half.

The Lions cut the deficit to as little as eight with eight minutes to play in the second half. A three-ball by Cody King and a lay-in from Petar Kostic cut the Indians lead to 67-59, but couldn't get any closer. A King three-pointer cut the deficit to 74-64 with a 5:24 to play, but a 9-1 run by the Indians put the game out of reach.

Mars Hill will be in action again on Saturday, Feb. 25 when they close out the season at Tusculum. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.