CATAWBA BASKETBALL

BY HORACE BILLINGS
SALISBURY POST

Catawba extended its winning streak at home another notch with a 73-65 triumph over Shaw University's Bears Wednesday night.

The Indians built up a 19-point lead in the second half but had to withstand a Shaw rally down the stretch to take the decision. Shaw reduced the Tribe lead to five points on three occasions. That last time was at 64-59 with 3:20 left to play.

Catawba was able to hold on in spite of some poor free throw shooting. The Indians made seven of their last 13 chances at the foul line.

It was Catawba's second victory. The Indians opened with a free-scoring 97-81 win over Livingstone's Bears Monday night.

"We did some good things in the first half,'' said Coach Jim Baker of the Indians. "We played really well. We played under control and hit some 3-pointers.''

The Indians managed a 40-28 advantage at halftime. They made four of their seven 3-pointers in the opening half.

The Redskins bolted ahead by 19 at 55-36 with 13:33 left to play. But then Shaw began to chop away at the big Tribe lead.

Shaw pulled within 63-47 with 9:30 to go.

The Indians hit a cold streak. They scored only one point during a 6:25 span. Shaw reduced the Catawba advantage to 64-59 with 3:20 left.

Marvin Moore, who led the Indians again at scoring, stole the basketball for a layup. He was fouled on the play and made a free throw to give the Indians a 67-59 cushion. It was the Tribe's final field goal.

They made six free throws during the rest of the game.

"I was disappointed by the way we played going down the stretch,'' explained Baker. "We did not play like a Catawba team during that time. We were awful. We shot too quickly and threw the basketball ball away at times. When we got the big lead, we slacked off. But that's is a growing experience. I think we are going to be a good basketball team.''

Baker was impressed the way the Indians stopped Shaw's leading scorer Kendrick Moore. He was held to four points on two-for-eight shooting.

Moore, who had 28 in the opening win over Livingstone, paced the Indians with 24. He was 7-for-14 from the field, including 4-for-8 from the 3-point range. He added six at the foul line. Davor Krusevljanin, who fired in 18 in the first game, repeated with 18 against Shaw. He made 8-for-13 from the field. He had two free throws.

Michael Sanders led Shaw with 14. Kelly Gunby had 12.The loss left the Bears with a 1-2 record.

Shaw jumped ahead by 13-7 in the opening minutes, but the Indians scored 10 straight points to take the lead at 17-13 and stayed out front for the rest of the game. Krusevljanin had four points and Kelvin

Pannell and Moore had three apiece.

Catawba gradually inched ahead and led by 40-26 in the last minute of the half. The Indians held a 40-28 edge at intermission. Moore, Pannell and Krusevljanin had 32 of the Tribe's first-half points.

The Indians bolted away at the start of the second half. They built their lead to 47-30 after three minutes and increased the advantage to 19 at 55-36 before seven minutes had elapsed.

But then the Tribe hit a cold streak. Shaw began shaving the lead. The Bears pulled within 63-47 when Catawba lost its scoring touch. The Indians scored only one free throw in slightly more than six minutes.

However, Catawba managed to hit enough free throws down the stretch to take the decision.

The Indians made 42.9 percent of their field goal attempts, sinking 27 of 63. They hit seven of 20 from the 3-point area.

Baker is looking for a tough game with Claflin, which is fresh from a 65-60 win over St. Augustine's in its last game. Claflin split two earlier games.