Little Claflin Upends Bigger Indians

BY RONNIE GALLAGHER
SALISBURY POST

Hey Claflin, why don't you pick on somebody your own size?

That was the battle cry from Catawba after the tiny NAIA Panthers upset the much-taller Indians Thursday night 85-83.

Claflin, located in Orangeburg, S.C., is a little college with little players and Thursday night in Goodman Gym, it proved to Catawba and its fans that big is not always better.

The Panthers, whose tallest player is 6-7, overcame a decided height disadvantage and won with quickness, experience and clutch shooting at the end.

Claflin's Little Big Man, 6-7 Lamario Harrell, blistered the Indians (2-1) at their own game inside. He finished with 25 points, the last two on a rebound basket with 5.2 seconds that was the eventual game winner.

"He was a bull in a china shop," sighed Catawba coach Jim Baker.

If the game proved anything to Baker, it was that his team is having trouble with smaller clubs. He got a quick dose of that dilemma a night earlier in a win over Shaw when that team went small at the end and came back quickly from a 19-point deficit. It was the same thing last night.

"(Claflin) was quicker than us because they were so dadgum small," said Baker, who admitted that was instant trouble for players like 7-2 Gaetan Cotigny and 6-8 Joe Fling.

"It's hard for them to guard kids 6-4," Baker said. "When (6-8) Jacob Parks went down with a foot injury, I knew we'd have trouble against small, quick teams."

Against Claflin, Baker's worst fears were realized with nine minutes left when his team trailed 70-57.

Claflin's outside shooters Terrence Scriven, all of 5-10, and 6-3 Jeff Starkey consistently hit three-pointers in a 23-12 run to open the second half was keyed by Harrell. The burly senior somehow climbed Catawba's trees for 13 of the points, including the Panthers' first 11 of the second half.

Only then, did the Indians - and their fans - wake up.

Led by Davor Krusevljanin and freshman Terrence Hamilton, Catawba scorched the nets on a 12-0 surge to cut the margin to 70-69. Hamilton blocked a shot and drew a charge during the run while Krusevljanin scored the first five points of the rally on a layup and a long three-pointer.

When Hamilton skied to slam home a spectacular dunk off a lob from Marvin Moore, Catawba had its first lead since the five-minute mark of the first half, 78-76. But even with the roar of the crowd, Baker was not expecting the Panthers to crumble.

"When I looked at their roster and saw three seniors and two juniors starting, I knew they knew how to play," he said. "And they did. Their experience kicked in."

Especially at the free throw line. Before Catawba's late run, the Panthers were a hapless 5-of-17 from the line. They hit their last seven free throws to finish 11-of-23.

"The kids hung in there and hit the free throws when they needed to," said Guydon, whose team improved to 3-5.

After Scriven and Moore traded acrobatic scoring drives, Catawba led 81-80. But Starkey converted a three-point play. Moore then tied it with two free throws, setting up a Claflin timeout with 38.6 seconds remaining.

"We wanted the last shot," Guydon said. "We weren't going to lose it. The worst we could do was tie."

Baker told his team to play solid defense on Scriven and Starkey. Both missed shots on the last possession but Harrell, who hadn't scored since the 10-minute mark, was there again. He banked in the Panthers' third shot on the trip with 5.2 seconds left.

"We knew they'd go to one of those guys (seniors Scriven and Starkey)," Baker said. "Unfortunately, they got a stick-back."

With the length of the court to negotiate, Krusevljanin tossed to Moore at halfcourt. He bobbled the ball and called time with one second remaining. He then received an inbounds pass from Kelvin Pannell in the corner but his off-balance shot bounded off the rim and Catawba had suffered its first loss of the season.

"We've got to play 40 minutes," Baker stressed. "Last night, we only played 33.

"At halftime, I was disappointed we didn't rebound better," Baker said. "But we bowed it up and did better in the second half. I thought we guarded them OK but we gave up too many second shots."

And, as it turned out, one too many third shots.

NOTES: Claflin's three senior starters combined for 70 of the team's 85 points. Scriven had 24 and Starkey 21. They were 29-of-49 from the field. ... Nedzad Gusic led Catawba with 19 but picked up his fourth foul with 7:19 left and was a non-factor down the stretch. ... Moore had 17 points while Krusevljanin scored 14. Tony Davenport added 13. ... Claflin outrebounded Catawba 39-31. ... Moore's nine assists moved him into eighth spot all-time at Catawba. ... It was the second straight win over a Division II opponent for Claflin, which defeated St. Augustine's Monday 65-60. ... Catawba lost despite shooting 50 percent from the field and hitting 13 three-pointers. In fact, the Indians' first seven baskets were three-pointers.