HICKORY, N.C. --- In a game that saw six lead changes in
the final four minutes, Catawba held off Tusculum to claim the Food
Lion South Atlantic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Championship with a 63-61 victory on Sunday afternoon at the
Multipurpose Facility at Catawba Valley Community College.
With the win, the Catawba Indians (21-9) claim the league's
automatic bid to the NCAA II South Atlantic Regional Tournament.
Tusculum (20-10) will await word on an at-large bid.
The fourth-seeded Indians scored its second straight tournament
title, both by two points, and their seventh overall. Dominick Reid
sank two free throws with nine seconds to play to put Catawba on
top 62-61. After a missed shot by the Pioneers, who were seeded
third, Cliff Burns grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 0.2
seconds left. He added a free throw for the final margin.
Tusculum overcame an eight-point deficit in the final eight
minutes and twice took one-point leads in the final minute.
Kyle Moore gave the Pioneers a 58-57 edge on a
three-pointer with 49 seconds. Catawba went back on top when
tournament MVP Antonio Houston grabbed an offense
rebound and converted a three-point play with 33 seconds to go,
giving Catawba a 60-58 edge.
Wes Taylor again gave the Pioneers a lead on a
three-point play with 16 seconds remaining. That set up Reid, who
sank the winning free throws.
Catawba led by six out of the gates at 10-4, but Tusculum would
lead much of the half, taking a 24-17 edge with just over two
minutes left in the opening stanza. The Pioneers led 26-23 at the
half. Catawba surged ahead early in the second half, using an 8-0
run to go ahead 33-30 with 16:20 left. The Indians held the lead
until a layup by Moore with 3:31 to go set up the back-and-forth
finish.
Houston led Catawba with 16 points with Rob
Fields coming off the bench to add 14. Burns posted a
double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Moore led all scorers
with 18 points for the Pioneers. Josh Bennett
added 11 points.
Neither team shot well. Catawba made just 36.5% with Tusculum
hitting on 37%. Catawba held a 40-31 edge on the boards. Tusculum
made five turnovers, half as many miscues as the Indians.
Reid joined Houston on the all-tournament team for Catawba. Moore
and Bennett represented Tusculum on the team. Newberry's Clemente
Martin rounded out the squad.
- SAC -
